The Connection Of Change In The Purpose Of Work

Early Work:?

In a recent trip to Ireland I started thinking about work and my relationship with it. I started working in 5th grade. I was an only child, raised by a single mom who worked in a factory, making vacuums during the day while she went to school at night to earn an associates degree. Money was tight. When my neighbor asked me to watch her young daughter, immediately self doubt kicked in. I barely knew how to take care of myself. I didn’t think I was qualified, but I needed the money. I was motivated to buy my school clothes, that I knew my mom couldn’t afford. I took the job reluctantly? and learned quickly about responsibility. One day when I was watching the young girl she fell from the monkey bars. As I watched her fall to ground I didn’t think about if I would get in trouble for not watching her, I was terrified that she might not be okay. At 10, I didn’t know it but I got an early glimpse of what being a parent would feel like, that it would be someday the most rewarding job that brought out the very best and worst in me.?

I was fortunate to babysit for this girl, because her mom inspired me. She trusted me with her daughter for many years, listened to me and allowed me to be vulnerable. I could tell her I wasn’t sure how to use the stove, and she took the time to break down the actions, make instructions and encouraged me.? When my mom and I moved 3 miles away I wanted to keep the job and rode my bike everyday in the summer to continue to watch her daughter. Some of my friends spent their summers at the pool and I missed that but I received the gifts of responsibility, trust and agency. I gained freedom to make choices and purchases that made me proud.

Early work became infectious. It felt good. I found purpose and learned about things I didn’t have exposure to. I eventually met a woman one day walking on the street, who had a colonial home and after our conversation she asked if I wanted to clean her house on Saturdays. I was 13 and didn’t know about cleaning but decided to give it a go. She taught me how to clean windows without streaks, take proper care of wood, polish china and showed forgiveness when I ruined a few things. She was the first person who was Jewish I had met growing up in a predominantly Christian community. I learned the expression of other people’s beliefs has been a gift for me.

Teen Work

At 16 I started a paper route and learned how to prepare, be creative and tenacious in delivering the paper in snowstorms and in rain.?

My mom helped me create my first resume so I could apply for a job at a local fast food restaurant. She helped me plan for a formal interview. She was a model for me and explained that if I wanted it I had to show I was ready for it. When I got the job I was thrilled. I was working with employees who were married or divorced and had kids. I learned age didn’t matter and everyone deserves an opportunity if they want it.

College Work

When I went to college I took out loans to pay for school and worked. I waitressed at a restaurant started in 1892 passed through generations. I catered for fine dinning establishments that served the city politicians and? I was an assistant chef on a cruise boat trying not to get sea sick.I bartended and waitressed at multiple restaurants, I wore? biker shorts and a halter top and served drinks and I learned the strategy of picking up a side of ketchup on my way to the cooler to get some cheesecake so I could serve two tables at once. I learned the power of managing multiple things, prioritizing and planning.?

I cared for a black man who was paraplegic. I learned about race, diversity and? humility. I baby sat for a woman who was a lesbian and learned about acceptance. I cleaned for countless women who trusted me with their keys to their homes and they gave me items to furnish my apartment. I learned how to make tough choices and had to? shut down a restaurant because the owner suffered with severe alcoholism and couldn’t come back to work. I nannied for a wealthy family and learned privilege through their walls.? I handed out Gatorade on the beach in the summer and learned I could pretend of a brief moment, “life was a beach”.?

I worked at an information booth at my university and felt satisfaction in helping new students navigate in fear managing through a campus of 25,000 people. I worked at a telemarketing firm, and learned courage to discuss politics with opposing views, and I learned how to ask for money, negotiate and listen.?

I learned hope when I tutored inner city kids, and value in outdoors when I picked tomatoes one summer. The smell still brings me comfort today.

I learned I could assume positive intent as the only female loading trucks on the night shift, with a group of men who would respect me as an equal.

I sold everything from clothes, books, and weird trinkets where I learned it isn’t about selling, it’s about serving. I made ice cream combinations that would impress Ben and Jerry and learned that you can assume some combinations won’t work together, but if you try, you might be pleasantly surprised what you get.

Today

At my bachelorette party, my friends had a quiz asking everyone to name all the jobs I had. My best friend got close, the count was 30.?

My work experience started when I was 10. I’ve had a relationship with work longer than I have had a relationship with anything else. I learned how to listen, admit I was wrong, take a leap when I was unsure and stay committed when it is hard.?

The powerful purpose of work grew my fundamental skills of learning and change.?

Work?gave me a promise of something bigger. It gave me grit, honesty and ethics. It reminded me that when I messed up it mattered to someone, and that it also mattered when I did something right, whether I was recognized or not.?

What I learned is that I shouldn’t do things I don’t like for too long and that I shouldn’t do it with people too long who don’t model the culture I want to continue to thrive in.?

?Work taught me about change at a young age. I’ve continued to have a complicated relationship with it. I value the growth from the change, I struggle with the challenge and still I’m fascinated with it. I studied Organizational Communications and Women Studies in college and made the connections of the dynamics of how people interact when they intersect in work, how the connections of inclusion drive continuous improvement and value.?

Today I am in change. I am global change leader. I train others in change management as change practitioners, and I lead the change for a global transformation. I may not be serving a drink today, but I am serving others, giving a part of myself everyday in every interaction. The learnings and purpose from work have been a causeway that connects the value of change that makes me whole.

What's your story on work and change?