Familiarity Breeds Contempt

 

When the Fox first saw the Lion he was terribly frightened, and ran away and hid himself in the wood. Next time however he came near the King of Beasts he stopped a safe distance and watched him pass by. The third time they came near one another the Fox went straight up to the Lion and passed the time of day with him, asking him how his family were, and when he should have the pleasure of seeing him again; then turning his tail, he parted from the Lion without much ceremony.

"Familiarity breeds contempt," suggests the Aesop's fable.

Sometimes I wonder if the same is true for project teams. In many project environments, team members and project leaders are able to work together on different projects for months (if not years). I'm sure we've all experienced the "honeymoon" phase when a new member joins the team. The contributions of the new team member are welcomed and appreciated. However, over time, that person's contribution becomes a "known commodity" and may not be unappreciated, but definitely becomes expected.

Sometimes we pre-judge whether or not a particular team member is able to contribute to something out of the realm of their normal responsibilities, because we have known them for long enough that we aren't willing to give them an opportunity to contribute something more. Familiarity breeds contempt, right?

As project leaders (at least in my opinion), we need to be willing to give people opportunities to grow and develop. For the most part, I've experienced that most people appreciate those opportunities, and I've noticed that there are often times when people surprise me.

Several years ago, I needed to add a couple of people to the team. The advice I received from someone a little older and more experienced was, "Pick one person you think you can really rely on and someone else you think could use the training and experience."

I followed his advice, and to my surprise, the person I thought could use the training turned out to be the strongest member of the team. We wouldn't have been able to accomplish much of what we did without him. Since that time I have found that to be true more than once.

Familiarity may breed contempt, but only if you allow it to do so. I know it's easier said than done, but try to throw pre-conceived notions about people out the window and give everyone on the team opportunities to learn something new and become more valuable to the team.