I am sure you have heard of the common adage 'You are who you spend time with'. People tend to pick up habits, knowledge and also perspective from the people around them. I believe it extends to people you work with as well. Not many people can hide 100% of themselves at work, otherwise all their effort would be spent being a different person rather than delivery of value. If your team is full of responsible and committed people, most likely they influence each other and also keep each other in check. Then the habits will bleed through daily life, positively or negatively influencing the people around them. However, that doesn't always work, and conflicts may arise within the team as there is a clash of ego and personality. Challenging their way of working or thinking is like challenging their very own existence and most people take it offensively. There are no exceptions, a positive group may clash with a negative individual and a negative group may clash with a positive individual. For example, a punctual person may find it hard to bear with a team that behaves otherwise, and vice versa. Both sides will not budge as they have their own reasons and principles. That is a universal truth as everyone has a reason, or for the lack of a better word, an excuse for behaving the way they do. Isolating such concerns or working around them is seen as high EQ but it is not solving the problem for the betterment of everyone. Elevating the team would be the ideal outcome, but it is as idealistic as it gets. Personally, my lack of interest in learning how to maneuver around such challenges is both a pro and con, depending on the context and situation. Mostly a con though. Nevertheless, I definitely would like to work with and learn from those who represent the zenith in their respective fields. Falling back to the adage, I too wish that what makes them so incredible in the first place, will rub off on me, or at the very least allow me to achieve more. Shoot for the moon, so even if you fail, at least you land among the stars. Don't stop shooting though, as the distance is now shorter. And, if all else fails, at the very least, you did your very best, no regrets.
