Gratitude

10/29/2023

I don’t particularly love my job. It pays well, has good benefits and can be very interesting on most days. When I boil it down, I believe the lack of love is tied up in the nature of a manufacturing facility. A tremendous amount of money (now money and future money) is bound to schedule. This inevitably leads to decisions and behaviors that make work life unpleasant at best.

One aspect of the job that I do love is the team that I have built. I have 3 young Quality Engineers on staff that can bring out the very best in me. They are all close in age to my children, they are bright, dedicated and, most important of all funny. And it is the best kind of funny. They get the subtle jokes, they know how to shrug off leadership challenges we face with humor and grace, and they seem to know just when I need a good laugh to get through the day.

Today I took a little break from slogging through requisitions and resumes trying to balance my need for team fit with leadership need for filling gaps quickly. I happened upon my little team of engineering professionals. As we talked I mentioned that I was attempting to hire an engineer with the last name of Palm. I made an off-hand reference to the Pan/Pam scene from Step Brothers. Despite the challenges we have faced with production this entire weekend and the workload they are carrying, they launched into their own rendition of that scene if I had only been willing to “tag one of us” into the interview. I left the little meeting happier, with a smile on my face.

I am grateful for this little group. I try to recognize their work and give them solid feedback on their performance. I’m not sure they know the extent to which I really do rely on them and how much better they make my day.