I was in my late 20s, several years into my first professional job, and feeling pretty good about my early career. I had made two decisions going into the opportunity that served me well. First, I was going to learn everything I could as fast as possible. I chose not to wait for permission or an invitation to grow my skills and opportunities. Second, I was going to be the hardest-working person in the room. I chose to show up early, stay late, work my tail off in between, and not be ignored.
These two decisions served me well, and I found myself sitting at the adult table fairly young and felt really good about myself. Then I got a truth bomb dropped on my head.
The people whose offices were on floors higher than mine decided to put all leaders through a 360-degree review to get confidential feedback from subordinates, peers, and higher-ups in order to more thoroughly evaluate performance and give feedback. When it was my turn to receive the results, I was stoked.
Heading into the big reveal, I was wondering what color crown they had waiting and what size cape they might bestow me with. Floating into the room, I sat down and got punched in the face. "Matt gets great results, but he's a jerk and we don't like working with him". "He doesn't care about the team, just the outcome". "He'd rather just do the work himself than teach me anything". Ouch…that took the air out of my tires!
I guess I had some growing to do...(and still do)!
"If your boss is angry at you, don't quit! A quiet spirit can overcome even great mistakes." (Ecclesiastes 10:4)
Hungry, Humble, and Smart make an ideal team player. I had the hungry part down and was smart enough to know I didn't know everything and to seek knowledge and pursue more information. But my humble tank was running pretty low. Thankfully, I had a leader who cared about me enough to walk alongside me while I filled it up.
We all have deficiencies. We all make mistakes. If pride or shame is your first response, you're in for a rough, lonely ride. A quiet, humble spirit can overcome a lot of our humanness.
I tell young people (and some older people who act young) who are starting out in their careers to be so awesome that they can't be ignored. Don't wait for someone to develop you; that's your responsibility. But remember, you don't know everything, so learn from others, accept feedback, honor your teammates, and check your pride at the door. When you make a mistake (and if you are working hard enough, you’ll make plenty), accept it, learn from it, and do what's right...next.
Be hungry, humble, and smart.
Invite people in your life who care about you enough to check the levels in each tank so you don't find yourself riding down a rocky road without the right fuel or a flat tire.