Take It On Tuesdays: "Little Debbie, anyone?"

Take It On Tuesdays is a weekly encouragement for you to either Take It or Take It On. You'll use both depending on the work situation. You may need to turn the other cheek or confront, surrender or stand your ground, step back or step up. Here's to knowing which and when, and having the courage to follow through.

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When I was eleven, I remember spending one long summer day riding bikes with Eric and his brother. We rode for miles up and down the western Pennsylvania hills on BMX bikes (read: no granny gears). At that young age, we had plenty of energy but little common sense, so while we covered a great distance, we hadn't considered the return trip. In fact, by the time we stopped traveling, we had almost zero energy to return.

Coincidentally (perhaps), we crashed in the parking lot of a small convenient store. We were starving and weak. And we had no money. In a very memorable and (I thought) desperate act, I went inside and painstakingly took a Little Debbie snack from the shelf without the owner's notice. 

I had never committed such a crime, but we were hungry and I was excited to provide a remedy. I felt brave, like a mini hero. The brothers, however, were shocked. 

"You have to take it back! It doesn't matter if we're hungry - you can't do that!" 

Here I was the church-goer of the three and yet they were serving as our communal conscience. So I took it back. The store owner may have given the .25 cent cake to us had we told him our story but that hadn't crossed my mind. We were genuinely in need of food and I justified a way to get it.

Similar deeds take place every day in the workplace: a Little Debbie in accounting, a Little Debbie of plagiarism.... When you're tempted, you can either take it, or Take It. Go the hard route. You might let a boss or client down, but go hungry anyway.

My friends made me do the right thing and I hope yours do, too.

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Take It On Tuesdays: Convince someone else to say No

Take It On Tuesdays is a weekly encouragement for you to either Take It or Take It On. You'll use both depending on the work situation. You may need to turn the other cheek or confront, surrender or stand your ground, step back or step up. Here's to knowing which and when, and having the courage to follow through.

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I had a boss who felt responsible for meeting the spiritual needs of all 3500 students on campus. Her job description affirmed this task, yet even with the combined help of our entire department, success was clearly unattainable. Ideal but unattainable.

So I chose to Take It On. In retrospect, I pushed back too hard (Thirty five does sound kinda radical as a substitute for 3500!), but I knew our approach wasn't realistic. We were heading for burn-out.

I had to say no to my boss. Even if she chose not to say no to her boss in turn, I couldn't continue at this unmanageable pace. Strategic goals have their place and it would have been great to list "3500 Served" on an annual report, but not when it costs everyone in the long run. 

Here's the rub. If the ladder rungs above expect 3500 and I decide 35, they can make me pack my bags. If they demand that I churn out deadline work and one day I decide to slow down, they may just find a starry-eyed replacement.     

Name a burnout area in your job this week. How would you build a case against it? What argument could you develop? How might you explain the proposed results? Think these through, and then with equal bits of grace, courage and shrewdness, convince someone else on the ladder to Take It On with you.        

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Take It On Tuesdays: I wanted to break his neck

Take It On Tuesdays is a weekly encouragement for you to either Take It or Take It On. You'll use both depending on the work situation. You may need to turn the other cheek or confront, surrender or stand your ground, step back or step up. Here's to knowing which and when, and having the courage to follow through.

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Todd was, by far, the most annoying co-worker I ever had. From my very first day as a laborer on the roofing crew he pushed me. Snide remarks about me going to college, harsh insults when I didn't know the names of materials or made mistakes, endless and unforgettable profanities about women.... He was that guy who could push until he sensed you might actually break his neck and then he'd quickly back down to avert the threat. 

The things is - and this is what kept me from actually breaking his neck - he needed help. Once I realized that his behavior came from a lifetime of dysfunction and abandonment, I began to soften. My hatred subsided. Was it easy to Take It? Never. But it got better. In fact, I don't think he knew what to do with being loved.

Todd needed something he'd never find through the only way he knew how to behave. That was the reality and I couldn't wait around for him to be respectable before being granted my care.

Take It when you run into Todd this week.

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