Be Decent

I got a compliment at work today. One of my favorite people in the company was on the phone with my manager when he said, “Do me a favor and say hello to Laura for me. She’s one of my favorite people in the company.”

Stuff like that is great to hear, isn’t it? I was particularly touched because it came from someone who is, in my opinion, one of the most decent people I know.

I know plenty of smart people. I also know some good managers. But this guy is simply decent, and that quality makes him stand out above everyone else.

You may wonder what I mean by decent. Well, in his professional capacity, he’s a project manager. I worked with him on one of the more rewarding and challenging projects of my career, so I got to watch him in action.

There are smarter men in the company, I’m sure. People with more technical knowledge. He's smart, don't get me wrong, but he doesn't know everything and knows he doesn't need to know. What makes him a brilliant project manager is how he treats people. I've watched him throughout the course of a day, and from the person picking up the trash at the end of the day to the Call Center worker bee on the other end of the phone, he knew everyone by first name. And he treated them all like they were people. Not cogs in a wheel or as obstacles to getting where he wanted to go. He didn’t even treat them as “human resources” at his disposal. He spoke to each and every person on the team as if they were fully engaged in solving the problem at hand. He wasn’t demanding of excellence, he was just so committed to the project himself, so interested in the outcome, and so engaged in seeing it work in the real world that he rolled up his sleeves and got in on the ground floor of each problem that needed to be tackled. He got involved until he understood the problem, understood the severity of the problem, and discussed potential solutions. He drew people into his world. Pretty soon everyone else on the team was fully engaged in solving the problem as well. No one wanted to disappoint him. He created one of the most pleasant working environments I’ve ever experienced.

You don’t forget being around a person who values you, and does it genuinely, and all the time. It’s inspiring.

Normally, I’m paid to be a cog in the wheel. I struggle each day to stay smart and engaged and focused at work. It’s disheartening to say that because work takes up a third of my day. And by the time I sleep, another third is gone. Half of the rest I have to spend time being my own personal cog, doing laundry, washing dishes, putting groceries away, any mundane chore you wish to name. So there’s a 1/6 of my day where I really get to shine. And I’m going to admit this – sometimes I don’t feel like it, sometimes I don’t have any leftovers to spare to for my own ambitions.

So listen, if you’re a manager of people, I’m going to reveal a big secret to you. In the dozen or so years I’ve spent with one company, I’ve run across two managers who inspired me to be good at what I do. I wish I still worked for them. So if you think you’re doing great because as a manager you’re smart or funny or fair, please spare me, okay?

Work on being decent. People won’t forget it.

--Laura