But I'm Just a .... (Insert Job or Role)

This week I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the Teaching, Learning, and Coaching Conference.  The conference was held at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Denver.  At the end of the conference a golden key was given to a Marriott employee who went above and beyond in helping host the conference.  This recognition was given to a man named Anthony.  Anthony, was all over the place helping people find their rooms, setting up conference materials, emptying garbage cans, moving tables, and picking up trash from the floor.  He was doing whatever he could to help the conference go smoothly.  Three things can be observed from how Anthony approached his job. He simply did what he does, he wasn’t looking for to be recognized, and he made a tremendous impact.

Too often we feel we need a big role or title to be important to our organization, school, or team.  Anthony’s recognition shows us that this is very far from the truth.  In fact most of us will not be big name celebrities, athletes, or famous people.  By no means does this limit the importance of our roles.  While attending a conference a few years ago I heard former Secretary of State Colin Powell tell a story.  He shared how he often told the cleaning lady of his office that foreign ministers and leaders where always relaxed and comfortable in his office.  He attributed this to her hard work and went on to tell her that she had a vital impact on foreign policy.  Anthony made a difference because he took pride in his work and went above and beyond in doing it.  It is not our titles that determine our impact but instead the level of vigor that we bring to our roles in life.

When Anthony’s name was called to receive this recognition you could tell he was a bit hesitant to go up on stage and receive the key along with a roar of cheers and clapping from the audience.  It was very evident that he didn’t go out and perform all these tasks to earn a key.  So, why did he go above and beyond in his job?  To answer this I feel I must do a bit of inferring.  My brother always had this saying, “If a task is once begun, be the task great or small, do it well or not at all.”  If we are going to perform a task people deserve our best.  Whatever our roles are, be it a teacher, fast food worker, postman, politician, lawyer, doctor, retail worker, daycare provider, the list goes on and on yet the simple fact remains that people deserve our best.  If we are doing a job we must do it to the best of our abilities.

Finally, by simply doing what he does and doing it the best he can Anthony made an impact on well over six hundred conference attendees.  It is foolish of us to believe that we do not have the ability to have a positive impact on those around us.  We see the example of Anthony but there are also countless stories of people who make a difference by taking on a role and simply doing it well.  True impact really occures when everyday people do ordinary things in extraordinary ways.