Professional Disappointment

From the mission to the results of my labor, I enjoyed my job. My co-worker made it easy to learn to perform my duties and feel comfortable at work. As he opened up, I saw he was a lyricist, social justice worker, and pan-ethnic food truck entrepreneur, founding another non-profit while raising a child and expecting another. It explained why he drew in less than our performance target as I surpassed the goal, but I started losing respect for the very man who trained me. No one seemed to notice and take actions to increase his productivity, which further felt disillusioning. It was so frustrating that when another co-worker implied his low output was a given, I chimed in.
Disappointment is a tiring frame of mind that did nothing to improve matters, so I took a step back to look at the situation. It occurred to me on a visit to a new client that I stimulate environmental action in people all the time. By the same token, I could restrike his dedication to our job. As with clients, I looked to his objectives and values to thread the common fibers of passion for social justice and a personal legacy into encouraging his work contributions. I revisited my poor reaction speaking against my peer and realigned my values to respond better, making the environment as easy as he once did to want to perform by sharing field stories and offering help with his clients. I also started a new internship to grow my potential and become more experienced in health policy. Taking on another big job showed me he, like I, was also pursuing his interests and goals as best he could to try to be the best person he could be as an organizer, entrepreneur, and young father.
Whether it is designing a service, a product, or policy, forming a dedicated team around encouragement and results is key. Disappointment and frustration are inevitable in any scenario, but I learned it is important to refocus on the goal and to accomplish it by offering solutions and establishing strong work relationships with every member of the team. That’s the kind of leadership that we can each take into our lives to make it the best life you’ll ever live.