I’m afraid that I don’t know the ‘blogger etiquette’ when it comes to responding to comments.  I mean, I love it that people read what I have to write—it is one of the joys of writing for me.  I appreciate that people care and I have been very pleased with the comments I have received.  I just don’t want to goof it up and make someone think that I didn’t value their comment.

If this is you, cease and desist.  Your comments are valued here at Creating Chaos!  Thanks for the response thus far.  I am sure I would keep writing even if no one read, but it is that much more meaningful and motivational to know that I am not just blabbing into cyberspace.

I don’t really have much to say this morning.  It is about 30 minutes before I run out the door to work and we didn’t have that great of a night—Asher woke up at 4:00 am (as usual).  When he fell back asleep, I was wide awake for some reason.  I didn’t fall asleep until after 6…don’t ask me why.

That’s how it goes sometimes, I suppose.  I feel like I want to muse a bit this morning about life, if you will indulge me.

The more I live life, the more I realize just how complex, yet simple, this mortal experience is.  Just when you think you have something figured out, something else comes along to really blow your perceptions apart.

My current position has been one such experience.  I won’t bore you with details about my job, since I know most of it is not that interesting to the average person.  I would be the geek in glasses at a party talking someone’s ear off about the intricacies of my job while the other person is scanning the room, searching for a reason, ANY reason, to get away.  What I will share about my current job should be interesting as it relates to people more than science.

I run laboratory testing.  I don’t want to brag, but I am pretty good at it.  My supervisors recognized this.  They also recognized that (believe it or not) I have some really great people skills.  When a position opened at nights for a lead position, I applied for it, was interviewed, and offered the position.  I readily accepted as, not only was it a step up from being a bench tech, but it provided a new challenge and a greater opportunity to grow personally.

Now, I don’t run the testing as much anymore—only to fill in or help out.  Mostly, I am involved in verifying (or releasing to our clients) the test results and handling the ‘special problems’ that arise.  ‘Special’ in this sense can mean anything from questionable test results, to handling technical questions from doctors and clients, to dealing with personnel issues.

I set this up in this way for one simple reason: when I was on the bench, I didn’t have any serious problems with the people I worked with, nor did I have any issues with getting my work done in a timely manner.  Like I said, I am pretty good at what I do.

Now, it’s a different ball game altogether.  Sure, I can step in and run someone’s test for them, but then I don’t fulfill one of my job requirements: assisting employees to develop their own skills.  Loosely translated, essentially I provide assistance (aka, helping them actually run a test) only when absolutely necessary.  I can provide insight, suggestions, ideas, etc., but I am not really doing anything for them individually if I jump in and do it.

This is not something I am used to.  I know I have good work habits, and I know I can get things done if I can roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty (figuratively speaking).  It is much more difficult to motivate someone else to do their work, especially if their perception of me is that all I do is sit at a computer all night and watch them work.  Honestly, I have not had a night in three months where I have just sat at a computer and watched anyone work.

Oh, by the way, that is one of my responsibilities, too—observe my employees and see where we can make improvements.

I realize that I am rambling a bit, but the point I am getting at is this: as someone who is used to diving into a task and getting it done, it leaves me very little room to understand or accept that someone else can’t do it just as well or just as quickly.  I have a few employees who, although I know they are working hard, aren’t working fast.

As my current obligations have forced it upon me, I have had to take a step back and reevaluate things.

First of all, I have to say that my expectation is the same—if I can get a test done if 4 hours, then everyone else can, too.  I do not have some special talent/ability that makes me efficient.  I have the benefit of having analyzed my routine enough to streamline it and do away with inefficiencies.  In English, this means that I have found a very good routine to get things done.  This is not some superhuman trait—it is just plain, old science: observation, trial and error.

Second, there are those among my department that share this belief with me, but are not in my position.  In other words, there are some techs that are very, very critical of others who don’t get their work done as quickly.  The pressure that these individuals put on me to ‘do something’ about it is intense, as if I can simply stamp my feet, huff and puff, and magically these employees will start moving at lightning speed.

Third, I have taken the time to think a lot about this.  More than anything else, I feel like this is my primary job: to train my employees and to help them improve.  As such, I have taken time to get to know them personally.  Not one of them is in the frame of mind of wasting time or dragging things out unnecessarily.  Quite the opposite.  Every one of them is aware that they are taking longer than others and they feel a certain sense of frustration because they all want to improve and do better.

Whatever it is that I am doing, I finally feel like it is paying off.  I have not jumped down anyone’s throat and I have not just simply blown the whole issue off.  If I had to sit down and think about it, I guess I could tell you exactly what it is that I did do, but at the moment I cannot.

Last night, when I was leaving, all of my employees were wrapping up their testing.  Now, bear in mind, these same employees were fairly constantly staying until 1 or 2 in the morning to wrap things up.  Pretty impressive for me and something that made me very happy.

I expressed that excitement to each of them before I left and saw and felt their excitement bubble over as well.

I do not claim credit for this—my job is to support them in their job.  But what I do claim is satisfaction in acquiring a very valuable experience for me.

Wisdom holds back a negative comment that may do more damage than good.

Patience dictates that maybe there is more to the situation than you see.

Sincerity speaks louder than any other words.

Understanding frees people of frustration, allowing them to set it aside and do their job.

Optimism, although sickening when you are drowning in work, provides a buoyant force that lifts people above the grime.

I don’t want to brag, and, believe me, I am not.  I am not bragging because, from my perspective, I have had very little to do with the situation.  But what I do want to express right now is my intense gratitude that my prayers have been answered and that I have been allowed to have this experience.

The Lord is pretty cool, if you think about it.