In radio, there appears to be two types of ‘islands’. Those that decide to pack their bags and take a long vacation on one of these islands have, in essence, ‘checked out’ completely.

The first island is one that I would call – ‘The Island Of Insignificance’ . People travel to this island because they feel that they have no room to grow. They feel that their contributions are insignificant with little to no support from those around them. When they create something great – no one cares. When they are seeking direction, their requests fall on deaf ears. As a result, they are no longer inspired to create an amazing product and lack the motivation to do anything to help the team or themselves. They give up.

How you perceive a situation may not be accurate. You are as insignificant as you allow yourself to be. Before hopping on the boat to sulk about your problems, why not seek out solutions first. Find out why things are the way they are. Without proper dialogue and honest communication, you will never know where you stand or why you feel you’re being treated a certain way. Once you decide to travel to The Island Of Insignificance’, you have embraced the ‘woe is me’ attitude. Even though you may have options to improve your situation or change the circumstance, you choose to wallow in self pity rather than pursue them.

The second island is one that can be best described as ‘The Island Of Narcissism’. This a place people travel to when they feel that they are better than everyone else or have already figured out this whole ‘radio thing’. Brainstorming ideas with others on how to generate stronger blog content? Why bother when your blogs are so incredibly captivating. Ask how to recruit better callers for your show? Nah – you don’t need listeners on the air…your content is far superior to anything a listener could contribute. Find out how to network and get involved in the community? No need. People already listen to you – even if the ratings say otherwise.

These are the people that shrug off feedback and advice. No matter how much direction or guidance they receive, they will always just do what they want. Even the most experienced colleague can do little to change their ways. When asked if they are a team player, enjoy getting out on the street to further market themselves and the brand, etc – they’ll tell you ‘absolutely!’…but will rarely, if ever, pursue greatness – particularly if the direction is coming from someone else.

Negativity in the workplace often revolves around the people that live on ‘The Island Of Narcissism’. They are comfortable with just doing the bare minimum and being left alone. They gossip and speak negatively of others and rarely contribute or share ideas that will make the team stronger. If they don’t believe it will actually be of some benefit to them – and them alone – they’re not interested. When others see that people have set sail for this island, it can cause a trickle down effect. After all,  ‘If they don’t have to do (insert responsibility, behavior, etc here) – well then neither do I”. The result becomes a much bigger problem.

Traveling to ‘The Island Of Narcissism’ is a personal choice. Once you have made the decision to leave, it’s hard to come back. Those that ‘get it’ will see that you have left and will continue to move forward without you. If you’re in radio, you have a good idea of what is expected and required to achieve success. It’s not easy. The moment you think you’ve got it all figured out is the moment that your competitors blow by you. You need the talents of your team. You need the advice and guidance of your superiors and peers. Where there is room to grow, there is room for even greater success. There is no room of narcissism.

Radio is an amazing profession – but there are plenty of pitfalls along the way. If you’re not careful, you will either be sucked in by one of the individuals living on one of these two islands 0r – (gasp) – travel to one of them on your own. Know the dangers of those that may be looking to travel to one of these islands and how to avoid them.

There will be negativity and obstacles no matter what you decide to do – but it’s how you handle those situations that determine the type of broadcaster and person you will become. Unless it is one of actual salt water, sunshine and sand – avoid the island. We need you here with us – not out there by yourself.

Rudy Parachoniak (a.k.a. Rudy Chase) is the Operations Manager / PD and Morning Show Host for Corus Radio Kingston (96.3 BIG FM / 104.3 FRESH RADIO). Feel free to share and comment on these articles to continue to conversation.