Objectivity Sometimes Sucks.

[arontius]

.....I've posted a time or two about how, in a number of roles I've taken up lately, tried to remain a neutral party. As Seneschal, as one of the secretaries to the Regional Pelican Council, etc. This is probably the best course of action when you want to see the bigger picture and make the decision that is best for your group and the larger 'community'.

.....That all sounds well and good, but there are times when a small part of my mind wants to chuck that logic out the window and do what *I* think is best, no matter what the consequences end up being.

.....I woke up this morning to a couple of complicated e-mails. I took my time in answering them because I wanted to make sure and say the right thing. Then I got to an e-mail from someone poking me about an issue that has been hanging out there since June Faire. I read it, read it again, and REALLY thought about how good it would feel to take off my Seneschal's hat and just tell the bastard what I think should be done with the issue. In minute detail as well to ensure that they understood how I felt, COMPLETELY.

.....Normally, I wouldn't have had a problem in answering, but after the previous series of having to 'say the right thing', I really wanted to say MY thing instead.

.....Took me a couple of minutes to talk myself off of that ledge. I can only imagine what it must be like to be the Kingdom Seneschale, or Society Seneschal, where the words you say have such incredible weight.

.....I need to go and take a patience pill, I can see that I'm running short of that particular trait today. :-) Ack! I can feel the headache coming.

.....Aaron / Arontius.

Comments

[corbaegirl.livejournal.com]

That is the one thing I hated the most about being seneschal: not getting to express my own opinions. No matter what you say, and to anyone except your nearest and dearest, you are always "The Seneschal" and so any opinions you have are "official". I also made the decision not to drink at events the whole time I had the office, as I was afraid I'd have one too many and tell someone exactly what I thought of them and their silly-ass idea.

I wish they made patience pills.

[callistabee.livejournal.com]

Most words carry tremendous weight, not just in an official capacity.Most of us can retrieve a hurtful situation at the drop of a hat and at the same time can't remember where we parked. Are you sure what you want to say isn't the 'right' thing? In which case, the challenge is to deliver the information/opinion in the most objective way possible. As in, "I can see this matter is important to you, but it is not in the best interest of the group to pursue it further..." The short version of that is 'WTF, shut the hell up'...:)

:-).

[arontius]

Do you do 'Mind Melds For Hire'? Because I could sure use a few Callista-cisms right about now. :-)

The problem in this case is that I've said the right thing several different ways, and short of telling this person to 'Back Off, A******' I'm just not sure what to say.

Miss you! :-)

Aaron.

Re: :-).

[angharadalbanes.livejournal.com]

I got really good at this sort of thing when I was in your shoes, believe it or not. Please feel free to e-mail me privately if you still need help. I'm no Callista, but... ;-)

Re: :-).

[callistabee.livejournal.com]

My mind is a dark and scary place--you really really don't want to go there :) I sense you feel you need to keep responding to this issue. It is truly, truly okay not to anwer the upteenth email on a topic. It is also okay to say "We have discussed this and I am not discussing it any more." and then stick to your guns. I would take Angharad up on her offer. She's a spunky one :)