One of the participants on a just-finished conference call hit a nerve.
The culprit, another agency, hasn’t learned how to play nice in the sandbox. In this case, the rest of us on the client’s team didn’t just get sand kicked in our faces. We got buried by this guy.
I’ve experienced a lot of this lately. Is the economic downturn at fault? Overloaded communications? Overworked staffs? Whatever the reason, I see the emergence of two types of behavior among my peers.
Some act like strict parents. These people are good at telling their clients, and fellow team members, what to do.
Others act more like children, waiting for the client to give them instructions.
What happened to the collaborative approach? The approach where we share our research, experience and expertise to help the client make informed decisions. The approach where the client’s input and insights are used to direct our creative thinking and problem solving. The approach where more can be achieved collectively than can ever be achieved individually.
I still believe there’s room in the sandbox for all of us to play together.