The Phoenix Infection – Seeking the Right Level, Part 6

I’m sure you have heard the phrase that “water seeks its own level.” While this may be true for water, this expression is most often used to describe people and how we end up with those that are at our same level, be that income, lot in life, intelligence, common interests, class, etc…, And this would seem to be true when we describe friendships orpersonal relationships. However, this is not always the case when describing business relationships and how we end up in a profession or career that challenges us and inspires growth or change.

Each position I have held has typically been more difficult than the one prior. And maybe this is just me, but in order for me to have a full and balanced life, it actually has to be slightly askew. Sounds funny and not quite right, eh? Well, neither am I. I have always gravitated toward leaders and managers (employers) that were excellent at what they did. I never saw their leadership as a way to keep me down or stifled as many might feel. I thrive on the challenge presented by wisdom and intelligence – whether it be core or learned.

This is the reason I believe that finding your own level when it comes to “following a leader” might be just a bit detrimental and a setback when it comes to your own personal progression. The challenge presented by working for someone or with someone that drives excellence, either out of necessity or by their very nature, is infectious but, unfortunately, not for everyone.

When I made the switch from healthcare search to tech, it was a big jump, a huge challenge. There were days when I wondered what the heck was I thinking. Then there were days when I leapt forward in my understanding and development. Those were the days that made it worth my while, when the Phoenix I was following flew just low enough that I could actually touch him and gain strength from that contact.

As humans, when we stop craving growth or stop learning, we fail at the simplest function that sets us apart from all other animals. Our ability to think and alter course because we can strategize, not just blindly follow the pack or the smell of blood, allows for a beneficial erudition, one that causes us to seek a greater level, avoiding stagnation. A Phoenix cannot reside in pond scum, swatting at mosquitoes, so don’t look for one there.

“Find Your One Thing” – The Phoenix Infection, Part 5

We spend our days working toward something, trying to be successful, trying to make a difference, achieving something bigger, greater than ourselves. Maybe that is too great of an assumption. Of course, not everyone is working toward greatness. Many give up, many assume they cannot achieve it, and many are stunted by lack of leadership. Those who need a nudge are not always in the right place at the right time to receive it from the right person. I suppose I am one of the lucky ones.

For most of my work life, I have been led by leaders that were good at what they did and enjoyed their work. And when they no longer enjoyed it, they changed it up and tried something new, something different. I was a young high school graduate – only seventeen years old. And when I was just eighteen, I finished a certificated dental assisting program at Indiana University. It was grueling. Seriously; not kidding. Forty hours a week for three semesters that included such hits as Oral Anatomy, Oral Pathology, Radiography, Behavioral Science, Dental Therapeutics and Emergency Medicine, the list goes on. It was tough and I worked hard. But by the time I was nineteen, I had jumped in, feet first, and joined the adult world of working forty hours a week and paying bills.

I bought a car from my parents and had my own land phone (way pre-cell phone.) I purchased independent health and life insurance; those benefits are rarely provided by dentists to their employees. I think the only thing I didn’t pay for myself was car insurance; luckily, my parents kept me on the policy because it was the most affordable option and I was very thankful. The first dentist I worked for was very good at what he did, but he didn’t like it much. He only became a dentist to pay the bills but he was extremely smart and he managed his practice well; selling it and leaving the field completely after twenty-five years. When he retired? He became a substitute teacher at the local junior high and coached after school sports – basketball. He went from making an extremely good living to barely making minimum wage and he loved it. He had found his one thing.

I have written before about finding your one thing – the thing that gets you up in the morning, that gets your motor running, that motivates you, that floats your boat. My one thing is just doing it better – everything. It’s not that I want to be perfect for that is impossible, I just think I can always do better, find the better way, be smarter about it, figure out a different plan, be strategic about it all. That is my one thing. What is yours? Have the leaders in your life, in your career been clear about their one thing? Have you followed the right leaders for you? It is easy to get caught up in following someone that is very charismatic or who has power and authority or money. But do those attributes make a good leader? Yes, for some, no, for others. 

 
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I look back at the first dentist I worked for and think of the impressionable eighteen year old I was when he hired me. I learned a lot about running a small business, about ethics, and choices. The work was just a job for me too, but the path I was on became the road to my career and the first of many lessons. Perseverance and patience, study and continually learn while you mark your time, if you don’t love your work then add something to your life that you can love (my dentist loved bass fishing) and keep goals- not just have them but keep them. And, of course, find your one thing.

© by rayannethorn

The Leader Within – The Phoenix Infection, Part Three

When I was 12 years old, I ended up at a swim meet. Swimming wasn’t ever really a sport I aspired to, but I liked it and I figured with my long arms and legs, I might be pretty good at it. As it turns out, I was. My dad entered me in several races: 50 free, 100 free, 50 breast, 50 fly (I didn’t even know how to do fly), 50 back, 100 back and a medley. I ended up winning almost every race. I came home with several ribbons and a deeper love for the water than I had before. I swam in a few more meets and by the time I got to high school, I realized that freestyle and back stroke sprints were my races.

I made friends with other swimmers. One, in particular, named Susan Royer had been swimming and playing water polo with a club team since she was six or seven years old. She was amazing in the water, I was a newbie, having only swam in those few meets. I learned more from watching her and listening to her stories than from any coach or book I could have read. She was my age, she was a peer and her drive and fortitude were incredible to me. She talked me into joining the water polo team and then taught me the basics of the sport and how to do a lightening-fast pop shot.

Water polo can be a brutal sport, especially with girls…, what they got away with under water was just unbelievable. Susan was a leader on our team and within my circle of friends. Why? Because she had the experience that gave her credibility and her skill was matched by no other. She carried herself like a champion, because she was one. And she lured us each along with her to fulfill her vision and, as a result, our sophomore year brought us an undefeated team with two sophomores on the starting team (she and I). As fifteen year olds, we stood before the student body when our undefeated status was announced and we beamed. Her student leadership and constant support drove our team to greatness.

The mantle of leadership sometimes lands on the most unsuspecting of recipients. And those around, sometimes, don’t even recognize the rank that has been bestowed; it can very naturally fall upon a peer or colleague from within, before even an official title or position has been granted. Leading from within is the most organic and easily accepted paths to leadership. The parties involved rarely question this very logical choice, most don’t even recognize it has happened. In the case of my water polo team, we grew in greatness because greatness was amongst us and we followed the magnetic force that was in our midst.

The 360° Leader by John C. Maxwell marks the plight of the middle manager with no real decision-making power or the ability to implement necessary change through traditional routes within an organization. But in the telling, we learn that the middle manager, that is a natural leader or who has mastered that art, wields more power than initially thought. Growing in greatness, the strengthening of a team, and the Phoenix Infection: all endowments to a department or organization led with openness and a natural order. 

Doesn’t sound like much of a plight to me.

© by rayannethorn

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