You would think that there was not much in common between writing fiction and a management career. And you would be right! The thought patterns and writing styles are completely different. In fact they are virtually opposites. However, in this article I want to explore the similarities rather than the differences.
When I reflected on my experience in writing Court of the Grandchildren, I recognized many career lessons for any field of endeavour. Here are three of them.
Lesson No 1: The power of collaboration
In business we hear about ‘synergy’. You know, the oft-quoted 1+1=3. But how often is that actually achieved?
I wrote Court of the Grandchildren with my co-author and colleague Greg Finlayson. In writing this novel together it felt more like 1+1 equalled 5. With Greg and I collaborating, the novel storyline became richer and characters fuller. Whenever one of us was stuck, and prepared to admit it, the other seemed to have a miraculous solution to our stuckness. But we didn’t have to be stuck to benefit from collaboration. Just reviewing each other’s work and ideas made a big difference.
Then why aren’t there more co-authors in fiction? The answer brings in the confounding factors of personalities and egos. Greg and I have worked together professionally for more than twenty years. We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. We drew on our respective strengths and we were both sufficiently flexible in our approaches to still be friends at the end. It was actually a tougher environment than working on projects together as there was a lot more potential for conflict and emotional attachment.
Collaborate. Easy to say. Harder to do in a genuine way, but it pays off handsomely.
Lesson No 2: Embrace feedback
They say ‘feedback is a gift’. It is if you are prepared to embrace it. Most people say they do. What they really mean is that they embrace positive feedback. Negative feedback? Not so much. There’s usually an excuse or qualifier.
How did I go with negative feedback? In the world of creative writing I found that I went through a three-phase process which, most of the time, took about two weeks to run its course. The first phase was usually one of disbelief. “The writing in this scene is too passive. Really?” This phase involved some self-analysis to try and consider the reviewer’s perspective. Once I got into the reviewer’s head, I could move to the second phase – how to address the problem/suggestion. This took the longest time. But as long as I embraced the feedback I had a chance of solving it. When I had a concept that I thought satisfied the reviewer and me, I moved onto part three: implementing the solution and feeling good about it – by now it was obvious that this was an improvement.
It might sound trite but this is what happened pretty much every time. A two-week journey to embrace the feedback.
In my professional career, things moved more quickly and there were always other matters pressing, so it was easy to make a quick decision—dismiss the feedback if you didn’t agree immediately—and move on. I can now see how a lot of feedback might be ignored. Avoid falling for this trap if you can. Give yourself time to digest the feedback and, if appropriate (most times), act on it.
By the way, this lesson is really a corollary to the real lesson – Seek Feedback. You can’t embrace something you don’t have.
Lesson No 3: Sleep on it
This lesson is a take on an oldie but goodie: You know the one where you wished you had slept on that email or report before you pressed the send button?
In writing Court of the Grandchildren, one phenomenon that never ceased to amaze me was the power of the subconscious. After a couple hours of solid writing I would commonly reach a point where I struggled to resolve an issue – be it continuity, a conflict, or just something not right. In professional life, you are inclined to power through such moments.
What I learned in writing was that when these moments arose – stop. Relax, be happy. Do something else. Because tomorrow morning the problem will be solved. Your subconscious will work behind the scenes on your behalf. I came to recognise and welcome these moments.
So next time you have an important email to send, a report to issue, a decision to make, or a difficult discussion to have – sleep on it. The outcome will be better.
Oh, and what happens on those rare occasions when your subconscious fails to come through? Easy – refer to Lesson 1 – Collaborate.
To conclude
I never thought that writing a novel would give an insight into career lessons. I hope these three lessons give you reason to pause and reflect, and that they help in some small way on your career journey.
Image Credit: Tom and Nicki Loschner via Pixabay
