With Mark Haines' recent passing, CNBC reporters spent yesterday remembering their colleague. It was a visceral reminder of the importance of the binds that tie us. My last group of colleagues used to make fun of me a bit in the reverential way in which I regarded colleagueship. Yesterday's tribute to Mark Haines by his colleagues was a reminder that I'm not in a minority.
Good colleagues anchor us when we need to be grounded and push us to step in the tenuous ground of the unknown. They laud our talents and tactfully help us reflect on our lesser traits. They have our back and are not looking for a tactical place to insert a dagger. The very best thing that we can have in our work lives are true colleagues. They are often our true friends, too.
Yesterday's remembrances of Mark Haines' rich legacy at CNBC was a reminder of the importance of colleagueship. Colleagueship is both the personal and the collective. It does not exist without individuals who embrace that grand ideal of "all for one and one for all." Yesterday's remembrances demonstrated how much purchase in practical life a grand ideal such as colleagueship can gain on the slippery slope of workplace dynamics.
Colleagueship should not be relegated just to our off-line lives. Though one not oft-practiced; it is a useful ideal in on-line life as well. On-line life gives us a chance to express our opinions no matter how sublime or noxious. We can instantly vote up or down on just about anything. Being able to say something is not the same thing as having something (of merit) to say--I suppose that is the difference between blather and discourse, and I'm quite sure that there could be several indictments against me on the former.
As part of our on-going professional growth, cultivating the quality of our colleagueship in our on-line and off-line venues is a worthy endeavor.
