In 1982, after finding no prospects for employment after graduating from a trade school, I met with a Navy recruiter.
My trade school instructors encouraged me to check out the Navy. They learned how to be dental laboratory technicians while on active duty. But I considered it even before speaking to them about it. The armed forces were airing commercials on TV that clearly spoke to me:
“Every job requires experience, but where can I find a job to get that experience?”
Then a chorus of manly voices sang, “Army. Navy. Air Force. Marines. What a great place. What a great place…TO START!”
Today, we see those same commercials although the message has changed. Now, young people are shown trying to justify enlisting to their parents by showing a fast-forward of them in their exciting careers protecting cyberspace, killing terrorists, and treating medical patients. It looks exciting and glamourous. The parents capitulate. The kids are allowed to join.
What you don’t see is the journey that leads to those exciting careers. It’s not a pretty one.
First you go through boot camp. That’s an 8 – 12 week suckfest. Then you have a technical school to attend. If you pass, you’ll go to your first duty station. If you’re in the Navy and have orders to a ship, the fun doesn’t begin just yet. Usually you have a 3-month tour “mess cranking.” That means you’re working down in the galley in food service. You don’t even get to practice your specialty until you do your time. Eventually you’ll work in your specialty, but you won’t do the glamourous stuff until you have a few years of experience. Nothing is easy or automatic.
For most of us, the journey to success isn’t straight up. It’s full of twists, turns, highs, lows, success, and disappointment. As time passes, this results in experience and wisdom. That leads to expertise and excellence. By the time you get through this process and achieve that position, you’ll have learned things they don’t teach in college, trade school, or even military schools.
You know this and I know this. Have we communicated that to people that look up to us? If our job involves helping people develop in their careers, we owe them this information. It’s a realistic expectation yet many of us don’t want to disappoint or disillusion our direct reports. We do them no service by glossing over the hard work.
This week, why not look back at your own development. Think about the struggles you had on your journey to success. Identify your lessons learned. Then, make it a point to teach those lessons. They happen for two reasons: For your success and reward, and to help others along that journey. Don’t let those lessons go to waste.