Finding flight

Back a while, I was responsible for a group of fellows, hard chaps and hard chargers all of them, but good men who worked hard when required, which was often. We were trained, and constantly worked to hone skills further understanding that sharp skills not used become dull. We did difficult things, uncomfortable things, and were called upon at times to move situations forward effectively, efficiently and within set timeframes.

Each member had a role to play and the collective unit couldn't operate without those elements combining; each man knew his role and [usually] someone else's besides, and each performed it with a level of confidence that comes through endless training, honest-evaluation and a lot of dogged persistence. No one wanted to let the team down so they worked, stayed on the path no matter the difficulties and we achieved the required results.

Sometimes new team members would come along and, whilst trained, were not up to the operational tempo of the rest of the team; it wasn't always their own fault, lack of experience had a lot to do with it, however very occasionally someone came in that was simply not working hard enough.

Flight without feathers is not easy

I said these words to one such fellow, a fresh-faced lad in his early twenties who had been inserted into the team [in my opinion] far too early. He struggled to keep pace with the rest of the team and despite being reasonably physically fit, his mental game left a lot to be desired. He was, in short, a lazy operator.

It had a lot to do with his natural ability, of which he had a lot; he thought he could float along, do the minimum, because he had some natural talent and it had always worked for him in the past. That might have worked in another team but in mine where the chaps were incredibly hard workers, it wasn't nearly enough. I demanded more from myself and, by default, everyone else as well.

I observed and evaluated and eventually determined his casual approach was of detriment and needed addressing.

I pulled him aside and had a chat asking what he was doing there, why he wanted to be there, what he thought he brought to the team and what he thought I wanted him to bring. To his credit, he said the right things, except for the part about what he thought he was bringing. Then I started talking and I left nothing on the table. He was clear, abundantly clear.

At the end of my attitude adjustment talk, I said, flight without feathers is difficult. He looked at me uncomprehendingly. I clarified. It means, that to find success you need certain elements, skills, understanding, personal qualities like mental-toughness, a never-quit ethos and an attitude that leans hard into the task no matter the difficulties or reservations one faces. I also told him if he didn't shape up I'd remove him.

At the time I never used the term, but if I said it now, I'd say, you need to lift heavy shit, which means the same thing...Work hard, tirelessly, complete the task and look for more and work hard again. It's about effort, persistence, self-respect, ownership and responsibility to oneself and team mates; shut up and get the job done.

Finding feathers and flying

Three months later, I could rely on that lad without question, as would the rest of the team. In that time he worked harder than everyone else and for longer, pushed the limits of his own physical and mental endurance and found that that limit was more distant than he had at first thought.

I remember the moment it dawned on him, a few days after that chat I had and it always makes me smile...it's like being reborn, born again hard, and it feels like one is free, limitless and weightless. It feels like flying. Of course, he didn't find feathers at all...he found a reason to work harder, to deny his own barriers or limits, refuse to accept them - he found that his reason to lift heavy shit was more compelling than his reason not to...and he found a place in the team.

I speak to that chap now and then these days. He and his wife run their very successful building company together which employs almost one hundred people. They have two lovely daughters and a pretty amazing, if hectic and sometimes stressful, life. He is doing ok...*I'd say he found his feathers and flew, figuratively speaking of course.

It's been over twenty five years since I quoted Plautus to that fresh-faced punk with way too much natural talent and a penchant for laxity; I was only three years older than he was at the time but had the responsibility to help him bring out his best; I couldn't do it for him. I recall the conversation like it was yesterday though and it makes me smile to know that he remembered it long after I said it.

I also recall the words he spoke to me only a few days after that chat. He'd retreated within himself, worked some things out, then came to me and said, I'm ready to fly.

Have you ever had to self-motivate from a position of laziness, poor attitude, performance or despondency? Have you motivated someone else to rise from those same situations? Feel free to tell me about it below, or just make a comment.