A Course in Production: Tough Questions Introduction & Worst Day in Production

2020 has been one of the most rewarding years of my career. To thank you all for your support, I'm doing a new series of videos answering some tough work questions to close out the year!

I recently had the honour of participating again in a mentorship session for youth in greater Vancouver focusing on future career paths.

Their questions inspired me to do another small series of videos here for A Course in Production. Their questions are bolder and my answers more revealing, so I’m going to call this sub-series Tough Questions.

With this, I’m going to delve into some of my more challenging moments in Production in Vancouver’s animation industry.

In this new series of videos premiering in December I'll be talking crying at work, money, and the truth about whether being in Production is my dream job or not!

A Course in Production: Tough Questions Posting Schedule

Video 1: Intro + What was my Worst Day on the Job? - December 5

Video 2: What was my First Day in Production like? - December 6

Video 3: Are the Hours Worth the Pay? - December 12

Video 4: Is Production my Dream Job? - December 13

Video 5: How Do I Ask for a Reference? - December 19

More from A Course in Production

My second video series focused on Thought Exercises connected to A Course in Production

Video 1: Trends in Animation Production

Video 2: Thought Exercise 1 - Done is Another Person’s Perfect

Video 3: Thought Exercise 2 - The Miracle Question

Video 4: Thought Exercise 3 - Resulting

My first series is an introduction to being in Production in Vancouver’s Animation Industry. A Course in Production has ten videos, and each has a transcript and resources connected to the lesson!

Video 1: Introduction to A Course in Production

Video 2: The Role and Purpose of Production

Video 3: The Pros of Working in the Animation Industry

Video 4: Working with your Direct Reports

Video 5: My Experience in Production

Video 6: Working with Other Production Teams

Video 7: The Cons of Working in the Animation Industry

Video 8: Best Practices for a Good Employee

Video 9: Working with Superiors

Video 10: My Best Practices in Production

Today’s video is going to be about my worst day on the job. I’m not merely whining or venting, this was actually a fantastic learning moment for me.

So here’s what happened. At one of my studios, I had the opportunity to work with a very talented woman who had a very high-ranking creative role in the project I was working on at the time. She was superior to me and I really admired her - she was smart, tough, and good at her job. 

One day we got into it on the floor and I ended up in tears. It was the first time I had ever cried at work in front of other people. I was super embarrassed. 

Not only was I on the floor, other members of my team —people I was supposed to be managing - witnessed this mess, and I was devastated that a person who I deeply admired was angry with me.

My team saw me with my make up running down my face, and I basically ran out of the room in tears.

So, how did we resolve this?

Thankfully, we resolved it quickly. After a few minutes to cool off, she apologized sincerely AND bought me a bottle of whiskey, which is my preferred drink. 

We talked it out - what got us to this point that we were yelling at each other on the floor, what we could have done better, and what we would commit to to avoid a communication breakdown again in the future.

I’m happy to say that after this, we went on to work together very well and happily for many months until my contract at the studio finished. I would work with her again in a heartbeat, and we have both gone on to have very successful and rewarding careers.

So that was my worst day in Production. What did I learn from this experience?

First, fights happen at work. While it’s not always the most professional option, it’s not a death sentence on your working relationship as long as you take the space you need, and talk it out like the grownass adults that we all are.

Second, you can have a different management style, work priorities, and communication style from your peers and still work alongside each other well and be a good example to your team.

Lastly, I want to take a moment to address the fact that in my example, me and the person I fought with are women. It wasn’t a so-called cat fight, and I do feel still that women in leadership positions are often pitted against one another or are unfairly perceived as being in constant competition. 

The truth is we had a disagreement - I was at fault, and so was she. I bear no ill will towards her, and in fact, in a weird way, I consider her success my success. This is to say that when women like her achieve high-ranking positions in this industry outside Production, it’s really a win for all of us. There’s no need to cry and compete when we could be spending our time celebrating and supporting one another.

RESOURCES
There Is an Art to Showing up—and Rachel Wilkerson Miller Has Mastered It over at Bitch

Season Two!  Episode 34: Can We Really Cry if We Want To? PODCAST over at Don't Be a Jerk at Work

The Best Places to Cry at Work over at R29