Jan 19, 2012
Status quo is like an evil little infection within a company. It’s a worm that gets into everyone’s brains and all of a sudden, just skating along is good enough for everyone. There’s no push; no real drive to make yourself better.
So that being said, it’s story time. My husband, Brad, is a Registered Vascular Technologist (RVT). Every month his group of doctors bring everyone in the three labs they run together for a journal club. Each month it is one person’s responsibility to present a case study and teach the attendees something new within the field.
Brad hasn’t been asked to present in several years, however last time he came home from Journal Club grumbling that it was his turn to present next time. And I say grumbling, because like most people, he isn’t a fan of public speaking.
I asked him what it entailed and he said he just had to find a case study, do some reading and verbally present a few bullet points in the meeting. That’s what everyone else does, he explained.
He was scheduled to present Wednesday morning this week and on Monday his boss “joked” with him that she wanted to see colored sketches and a Powerpoint presentation.
So instead of getting stuck with the status quo mentality, my awesome husband sat down with his notes last night and carefully laid them out into a beautiful Powerpoint presentation, complete with fading screens, moving bullet points and graphics.
It wasn’t just the fact that he did it, it was the fact that he worked hard on it, later into the night than he had intended. I don’t know what time he came to bed, but I know it was quite some time after I fell asleep. He wanted it to be perfect and something out of the norm.
The best was when he sent me a text message after Journal Club was over that said, “NAILED IT!”
It felt good to him. He was nervous to present in front of his peers like we all are, but he went into the meeting so well prepared that it boosted his confidence. I would dare to say he set a new standard for Journal Club presentations (good or bad, I’m not sure).
The point is, he went beyond what was “expected” of him. And when you do that, it’s that push that sets you aside as a valuable employee. It’s something that should be considered when comparing two employees side by side, whether for raises, bonuses or promotions.
So my point to this whole thing is, take the world by storm. Your work ethic and dedication to it is most definitely a reflection of you as a person. so take the bull by the horns and go conquer the world!
Brad did just that this morning and I’m so proud of him!
Wow! This is a great story of a culture that has a system for continuous improvement and team learning. That is Teambuilding.
The value of wanting to improve what has been done is something that can easily be sucked out of a person due to a system that discourages those behaviors. Your story is the opposite and that is why it is great!
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