There’s been this one thing that’s been stuck on my mind for a few weeks. More specifically this one type of person, known as a close-minded person. I really feel bad for someone who has ended up with such bad luck personality-wise. Picture working on a team project, working with new colleagues, or even hanging out with friends and not being able to accept other opinions or only be aware of what’s in front of you.
Recently I’ve noticed that it is nearly impossible to work with people who are close-minded. It’s like working with a someone who is trapped in a box and just can’t get out. Not only is it a struggle to develop ideas with them, but even the simple concept of communication is decreased to the most basic level. The saying, “think outside of the box” is taken literally, and becomes the biggest challenge for them. Being unable to think of any original ideas or grasp the idea of creativity is truly heart-breaking in a team environment. When working with a team it is crucial to have all members engaged, and understand the combined perspectives to eventually generate ideas, which is why having that one lemon in the group makes it exceptionally hard to progress or agree on anything with the team. It’s as though every time the team takes two steps forward, it then takes one step back, slowing down the progress dramatically. And every team wants to have the goal of being able to openly communicate with each other by listening and giving feedback at the same time, however it’s difficult when that one member just doesn’t understand or make any effort to look beyond their shoes.
Being a member of a team means that everyone has their own role, and they each must carry their own weight. So, when one or two members is weighing the team down and limiting progress and the flow of ideas, it creates a major setback. It could even get to the point where frustration and annoyance gets the best of people, and they can no longer focus on the flow, instead they are so bothered by the setback. That is a team’s worst nightmare. This is when the open communication and feedback plays a major role, because to improve the way a team works, everyone must be able to accept and give feedback. However, those close-minded people have a hard time receiving constructive criticism so it could damage the team even more. And the last thing a team wants is that big of a setback.
Everyone should be enthusiastic when creating new, brilliant, and exciting ideas, otherwise the team must be quite dull. The whole point of coming up with those ideas is to use every team member’s strengths as an advantage, and have new thoughts bounce off one another. Everyone deserves the right to be heard because there are no bad ideas, but some people unfortunately just choose not to listen and engage in conversation unless it’s their own idea, and that’s something every team has to work with at some point or another.
-Ella Muja
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