Its been a good 24 hours for remembering why I enjoy dealing with people.
Had my daughters first soccer practice last night. 9 girls and 6 of them I was meeting for the first time. They were all excited to be there. Even the ones who were obviously shy. It is really energizing to be around people (in this case kids) who want nothing more out of you than to be shown how to have fun. They all worked hard and were tired at then end. Seeing the enthusiasm of a 7 year old who is trying something for the very first time is an awesome thing. Helps remind us that trying new things doesn’t need to be scary. Just accept the fact that your not going to be perfect and then give it your best shot.
Then today I had a meeting with a Senior Manger at work. He is from a group that we work with indirectly and was coming to talk about his team and what kind of jobs there are within it. (My current group is being dissolved in June). His management philospohy is really exceptional. He sees it as his job to take care of his people and let them do what they were hired for. So many people manage from fear. They are worried that if they don’t keep track of every little detail then they will be punished. It is refreshing to find someone who always thinks in terms of how to win rather than how not to lose. His group has been reduced and reorganized several times in the last few years and he was deservedly proud of the fact that despite all of that, noone had to be fired and everyone was still in a job they enjoyed.
He said one thing which I have believed in for a long time "There is nothing more nobel than working yourself out of a job." As an employee it should be your job to find better, faster ways to do your work. If that means that you do so well that you are no longer needed to do the job then you have succeeded. Time to move on to the next challenge. I haven’t managed to eliminate my job yet but I cut the time required by more than half. Now I get to take on bigger and better projects. Projects that I get a crack at specifically because I showed some initiative and creativity in making my work run smoother.
It is always good to rememeber that life is not about avoiding failure. We are all going to fail sometime. Life is about embracing challenges.
