Working relationships

I had a moment as I was walking back after picking up dinner last night where emotions ran through me as I reflected on my job and specifically the colleague I have worked most closely with over the last seven and a half years.

You don't generally get to choose who you work with.  You are just thrown together and hope you can find a way to understand each other well enough to get the job done.  It's a bonus when you actually like them as a person.  It's often the biggest unknown when you walk into a new job.

I've worked with non-performers who become an irritation once management decides I make a good dumping ground for the work they can't or won't get done well or on time.

I've worked with arrogant people who wouldn't listen to anyone and as a result just created more work for me.  

I've also worked with people who once I got to know their patterns and quirks, I found a way to fit within their system.  And although these relationships lacked balance and reciprocity, I usually could find my way to enjoy my work within them.

And I had some of all of that in the office I'm soon leaving.  But I also have the best working relationship I have ever had with a colleague, a fully reciprocal relationship built on deep respect for one another.  I feel heard and seen on a consistent basis in that working relationship in a way that rarely has happened in my other relationships.  That relationship may be the hardest part of leaving Birmingham.