Tea & Adassi
I don't know how everyone else is doing, but over here there already seems to be confusion as to what day, week, month it is this year. Things are happening at a pace that's fast and furious - we're getting things done, working on new projects, entering new arenas, and trying to get all of our learning credits done for our various certifications. Does everyone forget until the "you've got X days to complete" email arrives? Or is that just us???
In all of the helter-skelter, there's been a recurring conversation theme that's come up, so let's talk about it. It's the worry in the back of our heads that we aren't enough. Not enough professionally because so & so has more certs or a higher degree or used to work at such & such place and "I" never worked anywhere that big. Not enough personally because we're wearing winter weight, our mom definitely liked a sibling better, we have no rhythm, we don't even know what constitutes "cool" music, how DO you pronounce quinoa? It's not a fish???
And this is where Tea comes in. My friends, we need to stop expecting so much of ourselves. Coffee is not tea, Chai is not Darjeeling, and Sweet Tea is not even hot. But, there is love out there for each and every variety. There is room for everyone. Please please please make room for yourselves. Highlight your bitter OR your sweet. You're not going to be great at being both, showcase your specialty.
I hear you - Ohhh Wolf, you say, that's such fluff. Sounds so sweet when you say it, but in practice? pssht I gotta be at the top, I gotta be front & center, I gotta be everything in one package, I gotta I gotta I gotta
You. Gotta. Stop. It's only February and you're already exhausted from the year.
From a leadership perspective -
Yeah, I was really disappointed in a previous life when one of our creatives left. I counted on him to handle a few key items and I wasn't sure how I was going to learn enough about them before he left in order to hire a replacement. But, contrary to popular belief, I wasn't looking for a replica. I needed someone with enough knowledge to do the work but also could be a little more involved in early-stage project conversations and not just skilled on the delivery. And he wasn't really skilled in sussing out requirements.
I don't want cookie cutter team-folk. I like Mr. Grumpy Gills because he's quick to point out every single thing that could go wrong. (Yes, he knows I call him that) I like my extroverts because I can send them into rooms full of people without exhausting them. I like my introverts because they will happily handle all of the minutia if it means never speaking to people directly. I like my juniors because they bring a fresh perspective and they can help those of us who built the block we're walking around to see things in new ways and they're still energized about learning all the new things. I like my senior staff because they're good about reminding everyone about that one time when we forgot to do the thing and gosh, we don't ever want to forget to do that again!
I don't like when people throw buzzword salad at me. I'd rather you sell me on your skills by telling me one thing you really love about what you do and why. Share a cool trick you've learned. Help me understand what makes you ... YOU. (Also, don't take a job for someone who just wants to hear buzzwords. But, that's a story for another day.)
From a person perspective - it's the same. We all have friends we go to for different things. Relationship advice is different than cooking advice is different than repair advice is different than pointers on a string of code I'm struggling with. Even within repair advice, there are different people: plumbing is different than catalytic converter is different from soldering is different from plaster repair (all real things I'm fiddling with right now).
You don't have to tell anyone you're reading this. But, ponder it all the same. Find your variety and bring it to the table. There is an empty cup out there with your name on it.
Find me on LinkedIn
support@wolfdiversified.com
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