Thursday, August 02, 2007
The supreme accomplishment is to blur the line between work and play.
- Arnold Toynbee
For the past five months I have been spending one week a month in a leadership program for work. It is one of those things your boss has to recommend and then you apply and then you get in and then you sit in class and learn how to be an effective leader. Well, this was our last week, commencing today with graduation. When the class began in February, the administrator said one of the most important things we will get out of the class is the relationships we form with the other classmates who work in different areas and different regions of the department. I wondered how much I would really get to know them, but when we sat at dinner Tuesday night for the final hooray, I realized just how much it was true. Here were 21 other people (all older than me, mind you), who had so many interesting stories to tell, so many unique personalities, and so much to admire about them. I found myself not wanting the night to end. I wanted to hear more, take more in. I had so much to learn from them. I left on this career high. Sometimes... rather most times, I just really like what I do. Yeah, I'd rather be sitting on the beach instead of working, but at the end of the day it is nice to feel like I can genuinely take pride in what we all do in this field. And to meet these people, how could you not. I think jobs are all about the people you work with and what they can teach you. And not just about the job, but about life, and who you want to be.