Success Takes Teamwork! One of the things I have learned so far in my career is that it takes good communication, patience and teamwork to have a successful creative project.
I learned this at internships at the Syracuse Tech Garden and the Blackstone Launchpad at Syracuse University, a university-wide business incubator for student start-ups. I also learned this over the years watching one of my favorite shows, Faceoff, on the SyFy Channel.
For those of you who have never seen it, Face Off is a show where people from all walks of life participate in a movie special effects make-up competition.
The show teaches you how to take constructive criticism (i.e. “client feedback”). It shows you the importance of effective time management, and listening closely to instructions. It’s the best kind of “reality show” – one that showcases people’s talents in a respectful setting, where people learn how to become professionals at their craft.
I have watched all 9 seasons of Face Off, and it has really influenced how I have grown in terms of working with my clients. It’s all about good communications.
The other aspect of teamwork on creative projects is to understand that different people in a team may each have different areas of expertise, and different talents. I am a person with Asperger’s Syndrome – high functioning autism – and so I see things a little differently than other people.
But we each have our strengths and weaknesses, and we are stronger when we can work together respectfully and learn from one another. That’s my definition of teamwork!
