Just got out of a meeting with my boss. Usually it's a rundown of what I'm doing to change some random fault that I've picked or she's picked. And then we pick apart for the umpteenth time some mistake I made months ago.
I'd been bucking her self-help suggestions. I thought she could at least consider me a valuable worker if she could see I was doing my job well. Well, she can see that I'm doing my job well, but that doesn't matter when I lack other skills. Skills that I then had to discover what they were. So, I stopped bucking and got lassoed into self-help land.
Me: So I've picked my three skills to work: calmness, communication, and time management.
Her: Those are three good skills to improve upon. (She writes them down on a little white pad of paper and then looks up at me to continue.)
Me: So I thought I'd start with at the beginning. I'm reading The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. (She writes and nods.) Taking lots of notes. (Nod.) And I've decided to join Toastmasters.
Her: Wow! That's fabulous. (She goes on about what a great step I'm taking and so on. She underlines my name on her little white pad of paper. She smiles at me.)
We continue chatting. She has no negative comments. She brings up none of my embarrassing past. We talk about a co-workers coming baby and what we'll crochet or knit for the baby.
So, I guess I have a date this weekend with Stephen Covey. And next week I can discuss with my boss a paradigm shift or something involving other big, repurposed words.
Recipe to my boss' good side: Always be positive. Never bring up any difficulty you may be having. Always look like your trying to become something with the help of a book or audio set. (Achieving the goal isn't important; how you look trying to achieve the goal is all that matters. So when you no longer look good trying to achieve a particular goal, switch goals.)
- theCallowQueen
- In the down-hill tumble of life, I'm okay with the scratches and bruises; it's the broken bones that I'm trying to avoid.
6 comments:
Toastmasters had an advertisement in the elevators at work this week. (We have six elevators for each half of the building and everyday there is an ad in the bulletin which hangs beside the doors, so you always haveing something to read as you ride up. Usually quite informative or pertinent info.) You'll have to tell me what joining up with them means. Classes? Practice rounds? Lots of cute, up-and-coming business boys? ;-)
-l42
>>Lots of cute, up-and-coming business boys?
I hadn't even considered it. Oh, I'm really excited now!
Yah!! You've figured her out! I'm so happy for you though it's going to be rough bs-ing about Steven Covey crap all the time. But at least you won't be constantly degraded and insulted. Good for you.
You didn't even think about the boys?! Doh! Woman, that's the most important bit, even after fine-tuning the skill of public speaking. Boys!
-l42
I know! But alas, there were no boys. The youngest was about 34 and possibly gay, which does me no good. The G-man and I might go club hopping. If there's a Toastmasters' club with boys, I'll find it. ;)
Aw, too bad. Kinda like when I went to the drawing "class" to meet some people with my interests and found mostly elderly people. Not bad people, but definetely not easy to talk to.
-l42
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