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BLINDSIDED

The definition of “blindside” is to hit unexpectedly from or as if from the (blind) side; to surprise unpleasantly. In middle management, one of the most frustrating and anger evoking actions a colleague can take is to blindside another colleague. When this unpleasant surprise is directed toward one of your employees, the instinctive reaction is emotional and protective. I have found that the most challenging part of dealing with a blindside is knowing that the very first action I want to take is the very last thing that I should do, which is to react emotionally, protectively, personally.

WORDS, ACTIONS, RESULTS

I started my career in 1998 at Hormel Foods Corporation. At that time, I listened to a lot of people. I took instructions from managers and colleagues, listened to advice and tried to understand industry terminology along the way. There were a lot of words and acronyms to absorb.

SAY YES…. MAYBE

Brene Brown said “Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” I understand where she was coming from with this quote, I can easily relate to it within my career and life. There are many opportunities I would have never been able to take advantage of if I had not “shown up”. That could be just showing up to a meeting where I met someone that taught me something, or signing up for a program that would allow me to find some of my greatest passions I never knew I had.

BACK TO THE BASICS

I have recently noticed a trend. It is a trend that is consuming my calendar and filling my email in box. I also have to admit that the trend has become so consuming in my work life that I have been sucked into it at times. It is the trend of copying everyone in the organization on an email and including everyone (and their brother) on conference calls just for the purpose of CC’ing and covering tracks. I will be the first to call out the trend so that I can also be the one that tries to do my part to stop it.

FAILURE IS A BUMP IN THE ROAD, NEVER THE END OF THE ROAD

At the completion of my senior year of college, my father was asked by my sorority to describe his daughter in a “tribute” letter for my graduation, my dad wrote the following:

“No does not mean no to Melanie, it is an opportunity for negotiation.”

I AM TIRED

I am tired. I have had three cups of coffee on this Saturday morning and I am still tired. The amazing team of sales managers and sales directors that I have the pleasure of working with are all tired too. To be honest, I think the whole working world is exhausted. After 2 years of living through a pandemic, fighting for our health and our emotional wellbeing. We now find ourselves struggling to survive in a world of non-stop supply challenges, employee shortages, cost cutting and inflation pressures. I have been on many emotional phone calls recently. Colleagues and employees exhausted by their inability to control an outcome, frustrated by what they see as a lack of effort on others behalf to get things done.

STUCK IN THE MIDDLE

A reader recently submitted a question that I promised to address in an upcoming post:

“What are strategies to move up the middle management ladder within an organization?”

This question is a BIG one. So much to unpack here and the strategies that would be effective in one organization could honestly be ineffective in another. I will not claim to be an expert in this area; however, I can pull from my own experiences and those that I have witnessed with colleagues and friends. The strategies I can share are broad, perhaps general but can be effective both in corporate organizations and in life.

SHE BELIEVED IN ME

The most amazing teacher I ever had retired this week after 40 years in education. Her name is Deb Waddell, she reads this blog, so this may catch her a little by surprise. Deb was my 5th grade science teacher at Saint Paul Academy in St. Paul, MN. In my second attempt at 5th grade, I was truly a defeated soul. I had little confidence and even fewer friends. I had not found my love for anything yet and I would often cry in my room at night trying to figure out how I would get through the next day.

I WISH I COULD SHUT DOWN MY BRAIN LIKE I SHUT DOWN MY COMPUTER

I have worked for years with a colleague that has a superpower. I know it is a superpower because I would give nearly anything to also find a way to have this superpower AND there is no one I have ever met that also has this same innate ability. It is the power to shut down everything that happened during the workday in his brain and just move on with enjoying his evening and most importantly his sleep!

BE SCARED AND DO IT ANYWAY

I’ve always been a silent warrior, because otherwise I felt exposed. I’d rather show a courageous and admirable front rather than openly express my inner truth. Perhaps a mechanism for protection, but maybe more a shell for safety. The countless therapeutic walks with my girlfriends speaking openly about my struggles in my new leadership role encouraged me to tune in more to understanding what, how and why.