It was
the summer before I started middle school.
A hot, humid Florida day, I was excited to report for my first day of
work. I got dressed, put my boots on and
ventured off to Mr. Ritchie’s house. I
left the long driveway of our home, crossed the road and walked up the
cobblestone path to the barn of our next door neighbor’s three-story home.
Mr.
Ritchie owned several horses and had a large barn full of tools and grooming
equipment, riding equipment and equestrian supplies. With chickens and roosters racing between our
legs and dogs barking louder than we could speak, Mr. Ritchie told me what his
expectations were for my work. He said
he wanted the barn neat and organized and the stalls were to be cleaned. He showed me how to do the job of a “pooper-scooper.” I can still feel the excitement of knowing
that I had a job!
He left
me with a shovel, a rag, a broom and a dust pan. I looked around at the stalls and the wooden
table tops of the barn. I knew I could
do what he expected and I wanted to get another chance to work again. He told me he would pay $5.00/hr. It was the mid 90’s and for $5.00/hr, I
thought I was going to be rich! I got
right to work. Scrubbing, brushing,
cleaning, sweeping, and pooper-scoopering, my face was filled with dirt and my
braid was far from tidy. Yet, the barn
was immaculate. It looked brand new and
I had finished in just under 2 hours.
Mr.
Ritchie came down to check on me at about the hour mark and said to “keep up
the good work.” I went up to tell him I
was done and he came through the barn and the stalls. He said he didn’t remember the last time his
barn looked so clean. I smiled from ear
to ear as he handed me $10.00. I was so
excited. Then he said that I was hired
as his full-time pooper-scooper. You
would have thought he had promoted me to the CEO position with the window
office overlooking the beachfront view.
This
experience taught me that if you work hard, and you meet the expectations that
are set before you, you can move up and get the position you desire.
Today, I
handle my work in much the same manner.
Or at least I did prior to doctors requiring me to go on medical
leave. I poured everything into my work
and I ensured that I would meet expectations.
This mindset and work ethic allowed me to receive three consecutive
promotions in a matter of six months just this past year. It was incredible to see how hard work really
paid off. I had coworkers that would
tell me that the expectations were unrealistic or that the work was too
hard. I would not let that dissuade me
from achieving the desired results.
Those coworkers remained at the same level of employment during the time
that I was with the company, and I feel it all goes back to enthusiasm and work
ethic.
-----
I cannot
remember how old I was at this point, but I know I had firmly established the
difference between being lazy and being hard working. My sisters and I were on summer break and my
grandfather, Paw Paw, had asked which one of us wanted to help him with the
firewood pile. Because it was summer in
Florida, there had been many humid days and lots of rain that had fallen since
the last time we needed firewood. I didn’t
even hesitate when he asked for help. I
was so excited to be able to help my Paw Paw outside and do a “man’s job!”
Spending
most of my weekends cleaning, dusting and folding clothes, I yearned for the
ability to learn how to mow the yard, how to tinker with tools or fix things
around the house. Whenever I tried to
help, my grandma, “Maw Maw” would tell me that those were men’s jobs and that
there was plenty to do in the house.
This was different though, Paw Paw had specifically asked for help
outside.
I put on
my jeans and boots, got my hair in a ponytail and went out to the firewood
pile. It had a torn blue tarp on it that
had been covered in leaves and rainwater.
When we started to remove the tarp, all sorts of critters came out and I
did my very best not to scream. I wanted
to keep doing the “man’s work” and I knew letting out a shriek would not be
looked upon highly by my Paw Paw. So
into the firewood pile I went with bare hands.
He had me
reorganize the wood, have the pieces that were saturated with rainwater placed
into the sun to dry, and then showed me what to do with the new wood, stacking
them atop a crate that kept the pieces nice and crisp. It was a full day’s work. I hardly took time to look up from the pieces
of wood. I looked at them like pieces to
a Tetris game. I wanted to make sure we
maximized every inch of the firewood pile and to stack them in a way that would
ensure no pieces would fall over.
When we
were done, my Paw Paw came over and was smiling. This was a man that very rarely smiled and
never provided words of affirmation. He
grew up in an era where that just wasn’t what was appropriate or acceptable for
men to do. That smile though- that was
the equivalent to him giving you the biggest compliment of your life. He turned over his left shoulder and looked
toward the screened in porch where my Maw Maw was watching us from her rocking
chair. I still remember him saying this,
“Well Gran, it looks like the girls are going to get Busch Garden’s passes
after all.”
I don’t
remember my sisters out there helping with the firewood pile. Maybe they were but I was so consumed with
what I was doing that I didn’t pay any attention to whether they had been given
a job or not. I remember thinking to
myself that even if they didn’t help, it really was an incredible feeling to
know that we were getting a big reward for working hard and that I would be
able to go to Busch Gardens with my sisters.
The next day, my Paw Paw took us straight to the theme park and we
enjoyed a fun day together.
It was
this experience that helped me realize that when you work hard and keep your
mind focused on your responsibilities, you don’t need to worry with what is
happening around you. You don’t need to
see if your coworkers are working as hard as you are, you don’t need to compare
yourself with their productivity and you don’t need to worry with whether they
are getting compensated equally or better than you. I knew that I received the smile and approval
of my Paw Paw. That smile still is worth
so much to me to this very day.
Sharing
these stories creates a sense of vulnerability as these are very dear to my
heart. Yet, allowing myself to move from
the “hidden self” to the “open self” provides for the ability to link these
experiences back to my worldview on leadership within an organization (McKay,
Davis & Fanning, 2009). When that
day comes where I will one day return to the work force and hopefully be in a
position to mentor others, I will explain to them how even from a very young
age, I valued a hard work ethic. According
to Denning (2011), this will help me build trust with my employees and will
enhance my credibility as a leader (Whalen, 2007).
References
Denning,
S. (2011). The Leaders Guide to Storytelling: Mastering the Art and Discipline
of Business Narrative. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
McKay,
M., Davis, M., &Fanning, P. (2009). Messages: The Communication Skill Book
(Third Edition). New Harbinger Publications, Inc.
Whalen, D. J. (2007). The Professional Communications
Tool Kit. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage Publications, Inc.
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