By: Jennifer Vander Sanden, VP
Caryn, our bookkeeper, just swung by my desk and wished me a happy anniversary. My response was, “for what?” (Awkward responses to things like this are kind of my thing.
You should hear what I said to my husband the first time he told me he loved me, oh…and when he asked me to move in, and also when he proposed!). Turns out, June 15th marked one year for me at Heron Agency, and wow, I cannot believe how fast the year flew by.
It’s been a crazy year, due to some personal situations, but one thing has remained steady – my entire workplace, boss included, have had my back through it all. And, not just during the major events, but every single day. It’s pretty incredible what that does for a person. That kind of support at work is truly empowering, and, allows you to empower others.
Like most things, it starts from the top. To know your boss trusts you to make decisions, I believe, leads you to make better ones. To know she or he will have your back, even if it’s not the exact call they would have made, makes your confidence soar. You start to stop second guessing yourself, and when you are, to know you can go to your superior without judgement about your abilities, just reinforces the trust.
All of that, in turn, makes you a better leader, or at least, made me one. My management style is very different today than one year ago. I was previously the queen of just doing everything myself. You know the saying “do it once, do it right?” That was kind of my life motto. It’s great when it comes to painting your house; not so great when it comes to managing a team. I now understand the importance of allowing people to learn through their mistakes, and giving them responsibilities to be accountable for. As they say, “teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” …right? Once you’ve created all these fishermen (or women), you know, if you cannot be there, they’ll keep the ship afloat. That feeling alone is worth its weight in gold.
To some people this probably seems so obvious, but I’ve worked in a lot of places where this isn’t standard practice. As I was scrolling through Pinterest the other day, I saw a quote that pretty much sums it up. I’m making it my new motto:
