Working things out at work.

Working things out at work.

We spend a great deal of our lives at work and, while there is a fair amount of routine, it can also present us with our most challenging situations. Apart from time spent with our families work is the setting for our most intense relationships with other people. We get to test ourselves, to discover ourselves, to act out different versions of ourselves. We do this along with dozens, or even hundreds, doing the same thing. It’s no wonder work gets stressful.

As line manager of a large group of people I got to watch them doing this day in, day out. Sometimes they soared and became the best that they could be; sometimes they crashed and burned causing distress and chaos for those around them. Sometimes I was able to be of help, sometimes I made things worse. Either way I had the honour of accompanying a group of fellow human beings as they faced the challenge of working things out at work.

But I too was working things out and in a position to have disproportionate impact on those around me as I did so. This was a privilege I had to earn through gaining their trust, it was not a job title conferred right. The higher your position in your organisation the more this is true. Remembering this is an obligation.