I have a brilliant French colleague I closely work with; while I cover Asia, he covers Europe. On a certain important issue I did my best, but did not know what to do and was at a loss. I asked him and in a minute got a perfect solution.
He is certainly one of the most brilliant colleagues I’ve ever
worked with. He really stands out on all fronts. I wondered what makes him
different. I would say he is totally logical, proactive and creative all at the
same time. That is how he has achieved challenging goals.
That exemplifies what diplomacy is all about. Interestingly, I don’t
think he is too diplomatic, in a conventional sense that often means very
polite or tactful (careful not to say or do anything that will annoy or upset
other people, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.)
He is reasonably polite, but not too humble at all. If being diplomatic
means influential as a result of “having or showing skills in dealing with
people in difficult situations” as the dictionary says, he perfectly falls into
this category. In this process, he is astonishingly creative and proactive, but also totally
logical.
I am very lucky to be able to work with such a brilliant colleague.
