The Awesome Power of Owning that Crappy Project
What do you do when you get handed something you really don’t want to do but you still have to do it? - image credit Photo by Stef Vanbroekhoven from Pexels dot com
This article was originally published on LinkedIn in January of 2018. I’m reposting it here as part of moving my writing to my own platform…
You ever been sitting there, at your desk, minding your own business, trying to make it to the holiday break in one piece when your boss walks in and says “Hey, you’re pretty good at that whole video thing, would you be interested in creating a holiday video for the Director of Content?” You say “Sure, that sounds great, it will be a really fun project!” Then your boss leaves, and you turn back to your screen, grab your temples, expand your vocabulary, and contemplate how the Universe could be so contemptuous of your end of year holiday relaxation needs.
OK, that’s really specific, but you know what I’m talking about. Technically you could opt out of the request, but you’d look like a non-team playing mofo if you did. So you don’t.
SPOILER ALERT: The video project turned out pretty well, and I really did have a lot of fun doing it!
Throughout my rambling career, I’ve noticed that I have the most mental or physical growth in 2 situations… When I jump into something over my head, and when someone hands me a big pile of crap and says “deal with it”. Guess which situation this was?
How Rob???
How did you take that mound of steamy goodness, and transform it into something coherent that ended up providing you with a unique moment of personal growth? Simple…
I made it my own.
In hindsight this seems reallllllllllllly obvious, but, I’m here to tell you that is DEFINITELY not something that I’ve EVER been good at. Oh, I’d finish that crappy project, I’d deliver on time and under budget, but I’d grumble, and swear, and make a stinky face, and really just be no fun to hang out with the whole time. That version of Rob is always lurking beneath the surface in a David Banner = Hulk Smash kinda way. That version of Rob sucks, and so I’ve been trying to figure out what brings him on.
When someone gives me something I wasn't planning on, it sends me into a mental place where all I can think about is all of the things I could be doing instead of this crappy project. OMG, I’ve got this and that and that other thing over there! I really don’t want to deal with this right now!! I’ve got better things to do!! ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH HULK SMASH!!! It is sooooooooo easy to fall down that dark hole.
So what changed this time?
Good question. This happens to all of us, and it’s happened to me often enough that you’d think I would have learned a lesson sooner, but I didn’t. I short, I’m not totally sure, but I think it was a couple of factors that sort of revealed themselves to me as I got into this most recent stinky situation.
First, I love video editing, and I don’t get to do it very often anymore.
As I started to wade through the video for this project, I noticed a pattern with each of the clips, and that pattern formed an idea for how the video could flow together, and as that flow began to take shape, I suddenly realized I was having fun. I had emails, spreadsheets, and meetings to deal with, but I actually couldn’t wait to get back to this crappy project that I didn’t ask for.
Second, I have quite a few friends in my peer network who have been thru recent, dramatic changes in their professional and personal lives.
Talking with them on a regular basis and listening to how they cope with problems has made me much much more aware of how I deal with the unexpected. I’m not nearly as adaptable as I pictured in my head. In fact, looking back on the many, many, many… many crappy crappy projects I’ve found myself stuck with, my responses have been kinda random, and I need to step up and own it much more of the time.
Finding that silver lining
Any time you get handed something you didn’t want, there’s almost always some teeny tiny silver lining in there. Sometimes you really have to dig to find it, but that’s what you have to do, if for no other reason than keeping your s**t together and making it to the end of the day. But, the more you dig, the better you’ll get at seeing that silver. Maybe it’s a chance to work with someone you haven’t worked with before? Or maybe there’s a new technique that you’ve been wanting to try and you can use it on this project? Or maybe, it takes you away from your normal routine and gives you time to think? Those opportunities can change your thinking and turn that crappy project into a much much less crappy project.
I’ve still got a lot to learn about myself. There wasn’t really an instruction manual, and I suck at reading those anyway. But, the next time my boss walks in and says “Hey, would you like to do blah blah blah?” I can say with just a bit more conviction… “Sure, that sounds great, it will be a really fun project!” And maybe, just maybe I won’t have to grab my temples quite so hard.
How did you deal with YOUR last crappy project?
