What has been taught

Excuses are easy. The question, however, is do you enjoy lying to yourself?

Everyone has made excuses for things in life. “I couldn’t pay the bill because I didn’t have the money.” But did you go out and push for a new client? Drive Uber? Really work to get that paid? Did you go back and pay it when you did have the money or did you treat yourself because you felt it was too old to go pay?

“I did the best I could to get it done on time…” Really? Or did you watch YouTube and text your friends instead? Did you stay later at work or tuck your kids in THEN get the work done? Nope. Bet you started catching up on your favorite tv show because you were off the clock.

I’ve made excuses. I am just as guilty as you. Admit that there’s a problem and you can change it. You have to acknowledge it before you can push through it.

When I worked for myself for 12 years I made just enough to always scrape by and it was all because of my excuses. I wanted the business but I wasn’t willing to not sleep for it. It was my downfall. Once that realization was made I decided that it would be in my best interest to work for another company to A) have a steady paycheck so that my stress would be bare minimum and B) learn what I did wrong by watching closely what was being done right by someone else.

Here we are. I have now worked for a company for a year that has taught me so much. Running a business again on my own is still a really long way off but I remain committed to that which is why I am so committed to the work I do now. Let me tell you a little about my current standing and what I’ve learned so you can grasp how it’s going to help me in the future.

Correction. Let’s talk about what I’ve been taught. Leadership comes from teaching and leadership is all around me right now.

My boss, my team lead, leads by staying out of the way. We built our department from the ground up and when we started in November of 2018 he gave us the facts, the ins and outs, then stayed out of our way while we trail-and-errored all of it. We built processes, built databases, created connections, and forced it all into shape. Sure, he has to reel us in some times and dial it back (I am certainly guilty of being the cause of a few new company policies) but really what he gives us is his trust.

One of my favorite quotes is from Battlestar Galactica and I don’t expect all of you to get it but I hope the sentiment comes through.

Kat had lied about who she was to get onboard the ship but had turned her life around and became a true leader. On her death bed Admiral Adama knew something was up but didn’t care about her past. He was promoting her to Commander of the Air Group. She wanted to tell him everything but he said “I don’t need to know more than I already know. When you were CAG you protected your people. Made them feel safe enough to be brave.” Leadership is not always about tough words and forceful actions. It’s also about getting out of your own way and letting your team do what they do best with just enough guidance.

The owner of the company and his direct team, I feel, work the same way. Sure, the team leads get their asses handed to them some times which doesn’t make for a good day for any of us so maybe I’m a little sadistic for saying this but I rather enjoy those days. It means that we did something really wrong and that gives me opportunities to correct it.

One such incident included another team lead dragging us into a conference room to yell at us because he’d just been yelled at. While new devices were being installed, installations were getting missed by the overnight team (his team) and he wanted to know why we weren’t doing them. So what do you do? You listen. I sat calmly and patiently when he told us that this was our fault that his team dropped the ball and waited for him to finish and leave. I got up, closed the door behind him, and told my team “First, he’s not our lead. Second, he’s not wrong. These are being installed by all the teams and things are getting done wrong but the devices belong to us. So we’re going to own them all.”

A very freeing moment that was. I didn’t tell them he’s not our lead to undermine or discredit him but to push the chain of command. If he’d had a problem with us he should have gone to our team lead and let him know. But then I saw it as a massive opportunity for our team to shine. So we all started work on automation scripts and schedules of who will do what. Does everyone have the access they need? For the more complicated systems We setup an on-call schedule between us and whenever a new setup comes in we now get automated texts and can accept it right there and work it.

Another team’s complaint turned our team into a well oiled, cohesive powerhouse that will not let the company down. In this instance I was taught that every complaint is an opportunity to generate new processes and build the efficiency. We now do not miss installs and we are faster at them.

Okay… So if there’s any part of this that I really want you to take away that I was taught it’s this. Do the fucking work. No matter how hard, no matter how long it takes, no matter the outcome… Do the fucking work. Every day I see the bare minimum being done. Not usually on my team but it happens.

When I ran my own business most of my excuses were centered around laziness. Always thought there would be more time. I can do that tomorrow. It’ll just explain to them why it wasn’t done last week. It absolutely was my biggest downfall.

In the company I work for now I feel motivated by my teammates and leadership. If there are any excuses from me now for anything, even something small, it’s for a damn good reason.

When the time is right several years from now I may choose to go back and work for myself again with a new outlook. But until then I will work my ass off for my teammates and the company. I will learn everything I can from anyone willing to teach. I will push myself to be better and to think about how this will help me. I will challenge policies, create processes, build whatever I have to go make things better. I am not perfect nor do I want to be. I just want to be better than I was the day before. And by God we’re doing it.

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