real skills contd...
- knowing when to silently disagree
- leaving out important info just to get buy in
- not revealing the entire plan up front because it'll get derailed
- knowing whom to exclude/include based on expected outcome
- working on things knowing very well that they might be throwaway (and being ok with it later)
- understanding that "critical feedback" often means "your work is not contributing to the business" and not "your work is not valuable" and definitely not "you're not valuable"
- drawing boundaries and actually keeping them up
- understanding that nothing is personal, both the good and the bad
- accepting that doing the "right" things may not lead to expected outcomes and expected outcomes may not be "right"
- knowing that thinking is as important as doing the work
Corporate life will teach you that knowing the work is only half the battle. The real skill is staying calm in meetings, reading the situation, handling egos, receiving vague feedback, and not responding to emails with your true thoughts.