Impalpable

My children grow up watching Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs”, a reality-based program bespoke for scrappy boys; it features a host rolling up his sleeves and learning how some of the world’s most unusual, gross, weird and downright filthy kinesthetic jobs are actually done. Episodes like “Sheep Castrator”, “Maggot Farmer”, “Lightening Rod Installer” or “Deadly Snake Wrangler” fascinate my kids. Highly entertaining and educational, each show opens with a commendation, expressing respect and admiration for these humble workers who “aren’t afraid to get dirty.”

We likely all have experience with our own version of a dirty job, albeit nothing as literal as this television program.  But who hasn’t done something no one else wanted to touch?  Some of the best advice I’ve ever received from my dad is to volunteer for those assignments, the thankless projects that no one really expects to garner any results, often the ones you can quietly work in the dark recesses of the stage, outside the spotlight. Delivering superior results in these situations brings nothing but positive press. But it’s not easy, and it takes forbearance and grit to endure.

Sometimes we put our hands up for these assignments, knowing full well what we’ve signed up for, walking into them with eyes wide open.  Other times we feel like we’ve somehow been knocked out and kidnapped, only to awaken disoriented in a strange and awful place without any hope of finding our way home again. Quitting is an option, but something tells me that those of us who end up in these places are here because we’ve got exactly what it takes to get the job done.  It’s all in how you look at it.

When you find yourself in a dirty job, you often question why you are chosen.  If you’re feeling like the victim, it’s easy to think that maybe the job is so unappealing or thankless that no one else could be coerced to take it.  You can wonder if leadership views you as expendable, a sacrificial lamb for an effort no one truly believes will be successful. You worry your reputation is being marred, and that few will remember the extraordinary hurdles you jump, that the indelible mark will be an exhausted limp across the finish line.  In no time you’ve sapped your own strength, vaporized your power to push forward and be successful.

The more ambiguous and uncharted the path is the more mistakes you make to get on the right course.  It’s all trial and error.  When the stakes are high, those involved are quick to panic. And so every misstep is magnified, normally calm and collected individuals start throwing stones, and the bruises are painful enough to make you want to retreat to lick your wounds.

So how is this dynamic changed?  It starts with viewing yourself as the expert, the most talented consultant brought in to assess a really difficult problem, chart a course of action, recommend the resources to attack the project and get the work done.  With this mindset you restore your own power, opening the door to demonstrate tremendous leadership and instead envision yourself breaking the tape at the finish line to the cheering crowd. Remember this job isn’t for the weak, that’s why you're in it.

Truth is, when you take on a dirty job, you will fail more.  It’s an absolute given.  And you learn more, too.  You learn the most by living through failures, and the learning isn’t limited to what it takes to do the job at hand.  You discover your mettle, a jewel of a trait that belongs only to those who have endured hardship.

There are most definitely days when “Pinsetter Mechanic”, “Tofu Maker” and even “Fish Squeezer” sound more appealing than the project at hand.  But these are the days I pull my suit of armor out of the closet, step into some dangerously high platform heels, look in the mirror and remind myself I was built for this.