Be exceptional regardless of the work environment
Some people don’t like where they work…at all. They may even despise who they report to. And since his work environment is so “toxic”, choose to retain their best quality of work. “THIS PLACE does not deserve the best I have to offer. I will come to work, just do what is expected of me, collect my pay and go home.” Do you know someone like that?
The minimum
The problem with that line of thinking is that if you repeatedly choose to give the bare minimum, you will eventually become comfortable giving the bare minimum. Yes, you would have unknowingly formed not just a habit, but a bad habit. At some point, you may not even know what great work looks like…and start to think that you’re not capable of being great. Being excellent is what you are called to be, and being exceptional is what you are called to be.
Hot tea
During a recent hotel stay, I decided I wanted to have some hot tea one night. Since it was a limited service hotel, ordering room service was not an option. It was around 11pm and I called the front desk to see where I could get some tea from. The clerk told me, “Our restaurant has already closed, so tea will be available in the morning for breakfast.” Click.
Now, obviously I knew that tea and hot water had to be available somewhere on the property, but I decided to wait and speak to the manager in the morning. When I spoke to the manager the next morning, he was upset about what happened and he even showed me the employee mini break area that was just a few feet behind the front desk. The seating area had a fridge, and the fridge was stocked with…wait…tea! All kinds of tea.
So here are some reasons why the front desk agent may have responded the way they did:
a) He legitimately didn’t know tea was available (yeah right).
b) You are only comfortable working within the strict parameters of your job.
c) You do not like your job and/or where you work and you have chosen one don’t make an ounce more than you absolutely have to.
your zeal
you can not allow anyone (or any work environment) steal your zeal for being exceptional. Difficult as it is, you must overcome any disdain you may have and honor your role, honor who you are serving, and honor yourself. At some point, every person has to make a decision about how exceptional they want to be, regardless of the work environment. Eventually, it can be quite exhausting to constantly strive for excellence in a work environment you can’t bear to be in.
In that case, see if you can address your discontent with the right people or find another place to work. But don’t just find “anywhere” to work. Look for a company that has values that reflect yours. Ultimately, it’s important to work for a company you believe in.
Setting your service
Some people are in the habit of adjusting their service based on how important they think a particular customer is. One of the reasons it’s so dangerous is because you really never know. WHO you are serving or what your circumstances may be. Have no right treat someone as if they were “just a customer”. That is simply wrong, and even immoral. Every client has a story and it is our obligation to honor that client no matter what the story is.
Never again be fooled by the fallacy that it’s okay to give the bare minimum. Fight savagely against that fallacy with everything you’ve got. Be exceptional despite the work environment. Stephen Covey wisely wrote: “Be an island of excellence in a sea of mediocrity.” While that can certainly happen, try to find a team, a manager, and a company that will allow you to work among many islands of excellence in an ocean happy to have you there.
In the end, service has a purpose, and a noble purpose at that. We serve because serving is a good thing, and good things are worth exalting. There is meaning to his role. There is a purpose to your role. If you truly understand what that means, then you have the power to impact lives, one customer at a time.
