Welcome to another #ThoughtFULLThursday. My name is Casey Hasten. I am an Executive Recruiter, Director of Recruiting with VIP and all around #hiringguru. My goal with this blog is to help you build better teams and sometimes that means starting with yourself.
Stand Down!
You hear this often in movies related to military, police actions, or other high-tension activities. You do not often hear this in life. Sometimes we need to.
I received a text the other day from one of my mentors with a very needed message. “Stand DOWN to Stand OUT.” – Gina Trimarco. I immediately messaged her back to let her know how well timed her message was for me. She posted this on Facebook as well, but purposefully sent the message directly to me via text. I will add I added the emphasis on “down” and “out” as this is what I heard in my head when I read the message.
The purpose of this blog is two-fold: 1) to talk about when is the right time to stand down and 2) to follow your gut when it tells you to reach out to someone.
1) Stand DOWN
When running a sales team, it is so important arguments not take place on the floor, or in the bullpen as we call it. As a leader, I know better, whether I am right or wrong. In this case, I let my tongue get in front of my brain and engaged on the floor. Although my intent was to clarify, I knew this was not the right moment and the conversation quickly escalated. Realizing my mistake, I tried to shut the conversation down before it became a distraction for the entire office, but it was too late. The other person was riled up and past the point of listening. As a leader in the organization, I would have STOOD OUT had I STOOD DOWN and addressed the issue outside of the bullpen at a later time when emotions were not so raw.
I believe it is important to recognize our mistakes and grow from them. I also believe the universe speaks to us (a little woo-woo for you) and when it does, you must listen. Receiving the message from Gina at the exact moment I did made me reevaluate my justifications for the conversations and accept responsibility. I was not wrong in what I said; I was wrong in my timing and place in which I chose to say it.
Gina’s take on this comment was a little different than how I received, but that is okay. “Until you take a firm stand in (and down) in who you are, you won’t stand out.” – Gina Trimarco. I needed to hear it the way I heard it. Her intent was to double-down on who you are in order to stand out. I believe I am doing that by FAILING FORWARD and learning from it.
2) Trust your gut
This will be quick. When you feel the nudge to reach out to someone for whatever reason…DO IT! You do not need to know the reason why and may never know you had an impact. The universe speaks to each of us in different ways and sometimes the only way it can help you is through the words of a friend.
I hope this was helpful for you today. Do not be afraid to learn from your mistakes. Be bold in moving forward after you make them. Most of all, do not let them break your spirit. Do you know how many times Edison failed before he created the lightbulb?? Did you know he filed a patent on the lightbulb before it actually worked? He never gave up despite failing at least a thousand times. He just kept moving forward.
My name is Casey Hasten. Thanks for joining me for #ThoughtFULLThursday and I will see you again next week.
