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O P I N I O N
Parental advice you ignored
Reconsider some of this advice, and you may find some insight to guide you through our current world of disruption and stress.
T hink back to your childhood, when things were simple, and stress was left to the grown-ups. The wisdom imparted on us was from stressed-out parents sharing their life lessons – typically nothing we needed in the moment or in the foreseeable future, but rather something that our parents were hoping would “sink in” for later retrieval.
Tammi Nagucki
Well, that time is now, especially if you’re in a leadership position. A few gems were shared with me growing up, and I’m pretty sure I had no idea what they meant at the time. My dad used to say, “life isn’t fair” – typically in response to my “that’s not fair” proclamation. Surely you can relate and even visualize a petulant teenager perfecting her eye roll. Fast forward a few (30) years, and I can apply this wisdom in my grown-up life. Leadership is filled with opportunities to prove that life isn’t fair – you put in countless hours because of your drive and passion, but the effort goes unnoticed. Or better yet, you put in countless hours behind the scenes and then give credit for the final product to a team member who pushed it across the finish line. Leadership provides this opportunity to share
the spotlight or give it to someone else entirely. Fair? Probably. Someone likely did the same for you along your career path. Be sure to look at the big picture when considering fairness. Let’s try another one. Ever heard, “don’t burn the candle at both ends?” Of course, you have. And when you were 12, it made little sense – since what your parents really meant was, “you need to get some sleep.” However, in their stressed-out world, it clearly meant a whole lot more. Today we’re beginning to understand the negative impact of trying to do too much at once – work and family life have merged for most of us, and as those lines blurred, separating all the related issues has become complicated. The lesson for us
See TAMMI NAGUCKI, page 12
THE ZWEIG LETTER JANUARY 18, 2021, ISSUE 1375
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