A User's Guide to Working With Morgan Lucas

UPDATED: 1/3/2020

Happy Friday! Eurovision 2019 finals are tomorrow!

I came across a handy template from this Muse article - How do your employees view gratitude and appreciation at work?

Let's fill it out! For me, I mean. You can fill out yours.

Why are you writing this user guide? What do you hope will be the result of writing and sharing it?

To better understand what I like, and what environment I can fit best into. Preferably an enviroment like thus:

The greatest job ad I ever read basically said "this is our workplace, we have lives outside of it, everyone here is nice but we're not into forced parties & office softball teams, if you want to just go home at the end of the day, cool, so do we."

— dr. kittens not kids (@kittensnotkids) January 2, 2020

Basically: I'm here to do a job and be reasonably polite. Not best friends, not spend time after work with you. That's why I favor remote work. I am not concerned about missing idle watercooler gossip. My life does not revolve around climbing a corporate ladder or pretending to be something I'm not for more than 7 hours a day.

What does being good at your job mean to you? What are some of the values that underpin your understanding of success?

Being good at my job means a balance of knowledge and not-knowing; Being introduced to a new skill or tool on the job to complement and enhance the knowledge I already have. Knowing enough to get the job done and thinking of ways to improve upon it.

What are the causes of misunderstandings that you’ve had in the past? What are some things about your leadership or working style that other people criticize or misunderstand? What quirks or mannerisms might unintentionally annoy a different personality type? 

It takes a while for me to open up to people on a personal level if I'm talking to people similar to me; Introspective, thoughtful, slightly distrusting. Sometimes, I explain things in a way that makes sense to me, but not to others. I'm working on correcting that to minimize unnecessary conflict.

I believe very strongly in equality and fighting injustice, which doesn't appeal to most employers who have a surface, 'Zootopia' level of prejudice, discrimination, and racism.

I won't apologize for that, but I am working on explaining things to people who have good intentions but make small missteps. Most people are good and want to do good.

What are the qualities you value that inspire your trust? What triggers you? What makes you trust someone else? 

Honesty; "I don't know this", even honest mistakes (Search 'microaggressions'). Going "I didn't know that, I didn't realize that was offensive," and stepping back and apologizing go a long way with me. And I am not above doing that myself, I am not the pinnacle of equality. I have to learn too!

And I'm not a person you really need to walk on eggshells on. This work is frustrating; You don't have to apologize if you let loose a swear word or 2 within reason.

Acting that the world is perfect and that inequalities of race, gender, and sexual orientation don't exist really annoy me, and those dismissals usually always come from people at the top of the totem pole.

Prove that you are honest and capable, and I'll trust you. Prove that I can be alone with you and not fear for my safety, and I'll trust you. Be flexible with schedules and understanding, and I'll trust you.

Basically; Treat me like a human being who has a life outside of the office. Because I do.

What do you love to do, and what are you good at? What can you help others with?

Hands-on assistance that lets me talk to the people in an organization; Something I can solve quickly from years of knowledge (and just growing up around computers, video game consoles, and peripherals).

Layer 1-3 Networking. The physical and LAN stuff is strangely fun to me.

Front end programming; I dabbled in it as a child (Hi, Neopets!), and recently got into it again with CSS and HTML(5) and front-end Javascript with some JSON and SQL work. It's surprisingly fun.

I also enjoy informal, informational writing; See this blog. I also have other blogs about side passions. 

What are your blind spots? What are you working on? What can others help you with?

Human interaction; For a country (America) that's stereotyped as brash and honest, the world of job seeking is anything but. It's employers reading "Hey, I'd like to get 6 hours worth of sleep a night" and going "Well, clearly they aren't willing to die at work for us, so we'll pass".  Higher-ups forget that people lower on the pole want the same things they do; Respect, a fitting environment, and work-life balance.

I can't curb being less honest, but I can learn to rephrase things in corporate doublespeak. Unless I find a company that values honesty and forthcomingness.

Also; Knowledge gaps. If I come across something and I don't know about it, they can certainly give me resources to learn more.

How do you like to stay in sync with your reports or colleagues? What preferences do you have for one-on-one meetings? Would you prefer people to contact you via email, chat, or in-person? What’s your availability outside of working hours?

Send me an email or chat. Let me write things out and get things straightened. 

IT, yes, there's a certain amount of out of working hours availability (Hence why I do not want to work in an industry that's extremely dependent on IT at all hours, such as a hospital or major banking institution), but for the most part, I don't mind answering some questions while I'm playing Super Mario Maker.

What is your philosophy around feedback? What can people expect in receiving feedback from you? How would you prefer to receive feedback from your peers?

Just say it. Ask me why I did something the way I did to better understand it. It still may be able to be improved! Be courteous. Sandwich it. 

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Well, those are my answers (Some omitted); What about you?

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EMPLOYERS: This is me being self aware