Leave Like No One Else
My boss Ben Glass has a saying he likes: “Show up like no one else!” He talks about it in his book, Play Left Fullback, where he retells a story from his youth about trying out for a travel soccer team. It’s about showing up in a different way than all of your peers so you stand out from the competition and get noticed. (You’ll have to ask for a copy of the book to get the full story.) He likes to give this advice to anyone—young or old—looking to excel in their schooling and careers.
Today I’d like to add to that. Not only should you show up like no one else, but you should also leave like no one else. By that, I mean giving your all not only when you’re beginning something but also when you’re finishing. How many of us are guilty of losing motivation and slowing down when we transition from one big thing to the next? You might recognize this problem as “senioritis” when high schoolers have their college acceptance letters in hand and their grades suddenly drop. In the military, we called it “dropping your pack” because you already had your assignment to the next duty station. So, why work hard where you are when there’s no incentive anymore, and you’re already moving on to the next thing?
Law firms, small businesses, and humans, in general, may all suffer from this problem. Have you ever had a coworker who’s accepted a new position somewhere else and now can’t be relied on to meet their final deadlines or train their replacement? Have you ever had a relationship end, and the person you once thought you knew has totally changed and won’t take care of the kids like they once used to? Have you ever had to clean out a drawer full of half-eaten candy canes when your Sergeant deployed? (Sorry guys, that was me.)
The problem is that when you get senioritis, or drop your pack, or whatever you call it—other people have to pick up that slack. The rest of the team in your group project must finish your portion. Your coworkers must take on extra work that was supposed to be your responsibility. The people you once liked are now burdened with what you think is no longer worth your time. I’ve been fortunate that at Ben Glass Law, we’ve had great team members who, when they eventually move on to other things in their lives, they work hard until their last day. They dot their I’s and cross their T’s. They make sure the rest of the team has all the information they need to keep their work going and their clients happy. Because they know that we all work together towards a common goal, and just because you’re entering a new stage in your life doesn’t mean you have to leave a path of destruction in your wake. The way someone leaves garners a lot of respect from me.
So this month, do some introspection on how you leave. We all quit things, or finish things, or move on from things. But you don’t finish a marathon by slowing down. When you see that finish line, you put every last ounce of energy into your legs and give it everything you’ve got left inside until it burns. Then you grab a bagel and high-five a bunch of strangers. I encourage you to do that with everything you finish.