Building Your Leadership Toolbox

There was a defining moment, before I attended the MBR seminar, that also shaped my career path. For the sake of sharing career planning, I would like to tell you about the moment I decided to get into leadership.

Let me set the stage.

In 1985, we had a Chicago winter where outside temperatures were hovering below zero for almost two weeks straight. Of course, winters are cold in this part of the country, but the winter of 1985 was one of the worst.

Since this was early in my career, I was working as a diesel truck mechanic. In addition, I had just accepted a new mechanic’s position for a truck-leasing company. The first challenge with this job was that I had to work outdoors—something my new employer omitted mentioning during the hiring process. They didn’t have time to build a maintenance garage for this new account, and the maintenance building wouldn’t be ready until next year. So, we had to work out of a storage trailer in the parking lot. As it turned out, that wasn’t the biggest challenge.

The real challenge was being called a third-party mechanic. On my very first day, the warehouse management made it very clear to me that we, the third-party mechanics, were not welcomed in the building. Nonemployee access was restricted to the restroom and the Coffee Hut off of the loading dock.

Here’s a hint for you: the way people treat nonemployee staff indicates the institution’s overall values.

So, late one frigid winter night (I worked the second shift), as I was sitting in the Coffee Hut, I overheard a conversation between warehouse managers. There was going to be an open house coming up soon. I asked the senior warehouse manager if I could attend the open house with my family to show them where I work. It was an impressive warehouse complex, and I wanted them to see it.

He responded, “We don’t allow your kind in the building for a reason. We don’t want to give the impression that our warehouse staff includes any of you filthy truck mechanics. Absolutely not!”

I had never felt that kind of embarrassment on the job before. I was mad, of course, but I knew that anything I said to this ignorant manager would be a waste of time.

The fact was that I was sitting there as a mechanic, wearing a huge winter parka that was dirty and wet, and I was shivering from the cold. My clothes smelled of diesel fuel, my hair stood on end, my face was red and battered by the sub-zero wind that blew across the yard. Simply put, I looked like hell.

This warehouse manager was proudly sitting in the Coffee Hut, wearing his suit and tie, with a huge smirk on his face.

Don’t get me wrong, I know what it feels like to deal with different forms of prejudice. I’ve been mocked, belittled, and held back in my career. But this was different. The warehouse manager’s hatred toward all truck mechanics was blatant. It was clear that my value in society was being judged.

I vividly remember walking out of the Coffee Hut, into the sub-zero temperatures, thinking that the manager knew the insult would hurt, that it was intentional. At that moment, I felt the clear inspiration to get into management and highlight the value of people who work in maintenance. Yes, I knew it wouldn’t happen in this warehouse situation, but I also knew I wouldn’t be a truck mechanic for the rest of my career.

I wanted to represent the men and women who worked in the facility services, maintenance, and engineering fields. I also wanted to represent maintenance staff that were working in housekeeping and janitorial positions.

I wanted to represent the people who address the problems in the organizations, who are invisible to company executives.

I wanted to challenge this ignorance of being considered lower-class citizens because our work was not considered “clean” or “profitable.” I’m not sure whether confronting ignorance was the best approach to a career decision, but that was my motivation at that time in my career. I wanted to represent the maintenance professions from that point on!

My career question to you is simple. What motivates you in your career? Why do you want to be in leadership?