GERIK

I was reading a book last night that summarized a point made by photography critic Susan Sontag. It stuck with me and I had to write it down.

Photography is closely connected to a ‘discontinuous’ way of seeing. Showing us a part as a way of showing or saying something about the whole.

This is one of those statements that I’ve known to be true, I guess I just needed to read it in a way that made more sense to me for it to stick. I sometimes get trapped in to thinking that photo needs to tell the whole story.

What’s the difference between a photojournalist and a puppy? The puppy eventually grows up and stops whining.

That’s an old joke I’ve heard which makes me laugh because there’s some truth to it. It seems that some, not all, newspaper photographers are notorious whiners and complainers. I’m as guilty of this as most anyone else.

Sometimes, though, it gets so bad that the complaining becomes a negative drain and begins to hinder doing good work. Not to mention the toll it takes on others staff members.

So why am I bringing this up? Well I just found an article (at lifecoachesblog.com) about how to turn complaining in to something productive.

In it I found some helpful things I can do, as a leader of my staff, to help turn complaining in to something positive and helpful. I do hope.

Here’s a summary in my own words…
1. Keep the complaining short and don’t let it draw out.
2. Find out what led to the complaint.
2. Use the complaints as a spring board to discuss what can be done or how things could be done better.
3. Commit to changing something.
4. Take action.