Rather than Whine, We Can Learn from the Boring Aspects of a Job
During a recent work trip, I was reminded that even exciting and glamorous jobs can have a boring and tedious side them to them. How we all react to this reality could be an important element of successful professional careers.
Ahead of a television interview early last Wednesday morning, I was asked to tape a segment for someone’s upcoming book launch. The studio was way back in the building. Indeed, it seemed miles from the venue where outsiders are normally interviewed for live TV – and that’s a buzzing place full of well-known anchors, lots of movement, multiple cameras, and fun interactions.
On our way we walked through several working rooms, including a tiny space in which a TV reporter stood almost motionless in front of a solitary camera – and was still doing so long after I had finished my own taping.
I apologized as we walked between the reporter and the camera. We were told not to worry as “the next shot is not for a few minutes.”
It turns out that the reporter’s job that morning consisted of reading from a teleprompter very short market updates that would be broadcasted on affiliates around the country.
This repetitive and monotonous routine was quite far from the image of exciting and interactive TV. Yet it was part and parcel of this reporter’s job and career evolution.
Virtually every job has dull and uninspiring moments. Indeed, these are often integral parts of professional careers. Yet, the temptation can be to reject them, try to avoid them, or perform them with great resentment. And it sure is tempting to whine about them.
If you are inclined to do any of these, as most of us are, also try to think of these moments as potentially performing important functions for you as an individual, for the institution you work at, and for your colleagues.
This certainly has been my experience over the years; and I say so recognizing that I have been lucky and privileged to have a very interesting and varied career.
Dull tasks are part of virtually all career ladders. And when they are designed and implemented well, they can build valuable experience, provide good training, and enhance team building.
I have also found that, the more senior you get in an organization, the greater the nuances. No wonder some of the smartest leaders go out of their way to pursue them! (There has even been reality shows on this.)
For senior executives, seemingly-dull tasks can serve as important reminders of the broader institutional realities. They can provide information that would be otherwise hard to gather, thus countering the quasi-inevitable information bubbles that often form around them. And they can enhance broader forms of communication and understanding throughout the institution.
This is not to say that we should all run out and try to fill our days with uninspiring tasks. Certainly not, especially as there are meaningful opportunity costs. Rather, it is to encourage a more balanced perspective of what is both feasible and realistic in one’s career; and to help better understand and embrace less exciting yet valuable learning opportunities.
Photo: Jetta Productions via Getty Images
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