Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast, Episode 732, Preferring Different Work Styles.
This is English as a Second Language Podcast, Episode 732.
I'm your host, Dr Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.
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This episode is a dialogue between Hugo and Melissa.
They're going to talk about the way that people work, the style, the manner that different people work, describing those different work styles that you might find at a job or in life generally.
Let's get started.
How do you like working with Leo?
Is it working out?
No, it's not.
Our work styles completely clash, and we butt heads at every turn.
Really?
I thought you were partnered up because you complemented each other's strengths.
Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can work well together.
I'm collaborative and like to talk things out.
Leo likes to go solo.
He goes off on his own and comes back with a finished product without consulting with me at all.
Yeah, I've worked with Leo before and he likes having autonomy, but he has to realize that the point of collaboration is that the sum is greater than the parts.
Two people pooling ideas will make the product better.
That's the idea, anyway.
Hey, I have a better idea.
What do you think of you and me teaming up?
We're both collaborative.
We'd make a great team.
Yeah, but we also have the same skills.
That's why you're working with Leo and I'm working with Lamar, remember?
Yeah, I remember.
I'm starting to think that collaboration is overrated.
Hugo begins by saying, How do you like working with Leo?
He's asking Melissa, Is it working out?
To work out is a two-word phrasal verb, meaning in this case to be successful, to be effective, to be the way that you hope or expect something to be.
I hope this relationship works out with my girlfriend.
I really like her. or I hope my new job works out.
I hope things go well.
To work out can also mean to exercise at a gym, for example.
Melissa says, no, it's not.
It is not working out.
Our work styles completely clash.
And we butt heads at every turn.
Oh dear, sadness here in our story.
Melissa says that her work style and Leo's work style completely clash.
Work style is the way that you work.
Some people like to work with other people.
Some people like to work alone.
Some people like to do everything early.
Some people like to do everything at the very end, and so forth.
When we say something clashes C-L-A-S-H, In this case it means the two things don't go well together.
They don't match.
They're very different, so it is a very bad combination of elements or of things.
Clash can have several other meanings, and you can find those in the learning guide.
Melissa says that she and Leo butt heads at every turn.
The phrase to butt, B-U-T-T, heads at every turn means that you are always fighting.
You're often disagreeing about things.
You're constantly having arguments.
Hugo says, really?
I thought you were partnered up because you complemented each other's strengths.
To partner up is a phrasal verb meaning to put people in groups of two for some purpose.
We might also say to pair up.
A teacher in a classroom might partner up the students to work on an activity.
Johnny, you work with Julie, and Bobby, you work with Billy, and so forth.
Melissa and Leo in our story were partnered up because they complemented each other's strengths.
To complement C-O-M-P-L-E-M-E-N-T means to be a good match or combination for someone or something.
If you like to draw and I like to write, and we have to make a children's book.
Our talents, our abilities complement each other.
They complete each other, you might think of it as.
Complement can also be spelled with an I in the middle, C-O-M-P-L-I-M-E-N-T.
That compliment is when you say something nice to someone.
You have beautiful red shoes on today, my dear, my beautiful wife.
I always compliment my wife on her shoes and her hair, and that's what a good husband does.
And if you want to be a good husband and you don't compliment your wife well, you just need to go back and study the book on how to become a good husband.
Unfortunately, they no longer make that book, I think.
Anyway, our story talks about Melissa and Leo complementing each other's strengths.
Your strengths are things that you do well.
Melissa says, yeah, but that doesn't mean we can work well together.
I'm collaborative and like to talk things out.
To be collaborative means to do things as part of a team, to work well with other people.
To talk things out means to talk about your ideas with another person directly, so that you can get better ideas or perhaps you can become clearer in your thinking.
Someone who likes to talk things out, likes to have long conversations about something because they think that will help them do a better job, and that's what Melissa likes to do.
Leo is completely different.
Leo likes to go solo.
To go solo means to work by yourself.
Solo is one or by yourself.
Melissa says that Leo goes off on his own, meaning he goes somewhere else and works by himself and comes back with a finished product, a completed project, without consulting with me at all.
To consult someone means to ask someone's opinion before you do something or before you make a decision.
Leo doesn't consult with Melissa.
He just does his project without asking her opinion.
Hugo says, yeah, I've worked with Leo before, and he likes having autonomy.
Autonomy, A-U-T-O-N-O-M-Y. means independence, the ability to do things without having to ask other people for their opinion or for their permission.
This word is often used in politics.
In certain countries there are groups that want autonomy or different parts of the country that want autonomy.
They don't want to be controlled by the national government.
Here in the United States, each of our 50 states has a certain autonomy, things it can do by itself.
Hugo says that Leo has to realize that that the point or the purpose of collaboration, of working with each other, is that the sum is greater than the parts.
This phrase, the sum S-U-M is greater than the parts, while in some ways a logical impossibility is used to mean that people who work together are often able to accomplish more than those people working by themselves.
It can also be used this phrase to mean that a situation is very complicated and can't be described by individual elements or factors, or that when you put all those things together, you get something greater than what you would expect by just looking at the individual elements or parts.
So Hugo says that the point of collaboration is that the sum is greater than the parts.
To people, pooling ideas will make the product better.
To pool P-O-O-L used here as a verb means to share or combine, to use two or more things together at the same time.
There are other meanings of the word pool.
You can find out what they are by looking at the learning guide for this episode.
Melissa says, that's the idea anyway.
Hey, I have a better idea.
What do you think of you and me teaming up?
To team up is a phrasal verb meaning the same as to pair up, to partner up, to work with someone else as a team.
Melissa says, We'd make a great team.
Now, I'm not sure if Melissa actually wants to work with Hugo because he's a good worker.
Perhaps Melissa is interested in Hugo and doesn't like Leo.
You never know.
In an office, there are always these romantic attractions or connections that Melissa wants to work with Hugo.
Hugo says, yeah, but we also have the same skills.
We know how to do the same things.
They don't complement each other.
That's why you're working with Leo and I'm working with Lamar.
Remember, Lamar is, I guess, another worker, a male worker.
Melissa says yeah I remember.
I'm starting to think that collaboration is overrated.
When we say something is overrated one word.
We mean that we think of it more highly than it deserves to be, or we value it more highly than it deserves to be than the actual or real value of something.
When people say someone or something is overrated, they're saying that people say it's good.
They say it's great, but it's not as good as people say.
So, for example, that movie I saw last week was overrated.
Everyone said it was great.
Eh, it wasn't that great.
Or, this restaurant is overrated.
The food is good, but it's not great.
Now let's listen to the dialogue at a normal speed.
How do you like working with Leo?
Is it working out?
No, it's not.
Our work styles completely clash and we butt heads at every turn.
Really?
I thought you were partnered up because you complemented each other's strengths.
Yeah, but that doesn't mean we can work well together.
I'm collaborative and I like to talk things out.
Leo likes to go solo.
He goes off on his own and comes back with a finished product without consulting with me at all.
Yeah, I've worked with Leo before and he likes to have autonomy, but he has to realize that the point of collaboration is that the sum is greater than the parts.
Two people pooling ideas will make the product better.
That's the idea, anyway.
Hey, I have a better idea.
What do you think of you and me teaming up?
We're both collaborative.
We'd make a great team.
Yeah, but we also have the same skills.
That's why you're working with Leo and I'm working with Lamar, remember?
Yeah, I remember.
I'm starting to think that collaboration is overrated.
There's nothing overrated about our script writer.
She's the best in the world of podcasting, Dr. Lucy Say.
From Los Angeles, California, I'm Jeff McQuillan.
Thank you for listening.
Come back and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.
English as a Second Language podcast is written and produced by Dr Lucy Say, hosted by Dr Jeff McQuillan.
Copyright 2011 by the Center for Educational Development.
