Love Thy Neighbor…Really??

I’m just returning from a lovely vacation staying in a short stay rental in the Marina district of San Francisco. We arrived and followed the instructions to get the keys and explored the garden apartment. It was lovely!

We were greeted by a young boy (5-6 years old?) banging on the glass backdoor waving hello. How cute! Once we began to settle in, we realized that the boy and his family lived in the unit above us.

Thump, thump, thump – we heard as he ran the length of the upstairs unit squealing again and again. I must admit as the mother of almost grown sons that it’s been a long time since I’ve been around screaming kids.

Not to be an old fogey, but “Come on…give me a break!” I thought. I said to my husband, “Where is his mother? Doesn’t she know how loud he is being and that we are down here?”

Fast-forward 4 days to the last morning. When we were packing up to leave I met his mother in the garage. She couldn’t have been more delightful. They also have a 17-month-old son. She smiled and asked if we needed her to move her car. I felt a little bad for questioning her parenting skills now that I was actually meeting her.

So you may be wondering what this story has to do with shortcuts to engagement, productivity & satisfaction. Fair enough – here goes with today’s food for thought.

It’s way easier to dislike someone or question their judgment when you don’t know them or haven’t even met them. This happens at work all the time. Think of someone who works in another department or location. Someone who annoys you or doesn’t perform up to your expectations. It’s easy to bad-mouth or complain about these folks (think sales & distribution; Labor & Delivery & Post Partum; ER & ICU; Any nursing unit & Pharmacy, etc.).

So here’s my suggestion – one that I learned from my mom, the “Welcome Wagon” lady in our neighborhood in the suburbs of Atlanta. It’s always best to go and meet your neighbors. It’s nice to know their names and faces and to start out the relationship by giving them benefit of the doubt.

I know, you may be saying, “I do know him or her and it doesn’t matter…it’s too late for that”. Well here’s the lesson for today. Extend an olive branch. Meet during your break for coffee or a walk outside. Call and schedule a time for an online “coffee” meeting if the person is out of town.

Say that you’d like to start from scratch and get to know him or her a little better. Ask questions and listen. Learn about what makes this person “tick”. I’m confidant that you will either find something in common or something so different it’s interesting.

When you know someone a little better, it’s easier to be forgiving or to have a productive conversation to solve the issues that divide you. Try loving that work “neighbor” and let me know how the Block Party turns out!