Deep Thoughts: A typical case of the parable of the Sower

Last week, I read an article by Adam Braun that taught me the difference between the three types of people in the workforce; the interns, the employees, and the executives. Like who doesn’t know the difference. I bet you are thinking that. But stay with me on this and you will understand. Adam Braun’s simple explanation wasn’t the dictionary type or the common answer. It was really different and it got to me. Here it is;

At the start of an intern’s week, they’ll say, “What 10 things should I be doing?”

At the start of an employee’s week, they’ll say, “Give me 10 things to do so I can complete those tasks successfully and efficiently.”

At the start of an executive’s week, they’ll say, “I’ve taken a look at the company, and I have 10 suggestions for how we can improve in areas X, Y and Z and a step-by-step action plan to execute each solution.”

It’s a simple explanation yet the possibility of application is diverse and highly targeted towards the growth of a person. An intern hoping to become an employee should start working as one by asking for the 10 things. An employee hoping to become an executive should not be asking but suggesting those 10 things. This is really the fastest way to climb up the career ladder. This does not mean you should go and do oversabi (I too know) and get everyone to hate you at the office.

Another place I thought it could be applied was at home. As a child, I would expect my parents to tell me what to do but to be recognized as independent, I have to start doing those things without asking. And parents expect us to make that switch once we are above eighteen. I remember my father scolding me about not clearing the front of the compound which was filled with overgrown grasses. He expected me to do it without him telling me. But I hated clearing so I would always wait for him to do it. So much for my being independent. But one day, I realized we could use chemicals on the grass and I told him about it and got it done. No more clearing for me and one more climb in my independence. Yaay me!

We can go on and on with different scenarios of how to apply the lessons of the statement above but the truth is when it did matter, I did not apply what I had learned. A typical case of the parable of the sower where some seed fell on rocky places, where there was not much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. I got excited quickly about what I had read, receiving it with joy but didn’t apply it at the end of the day. I even forgot about it. Hey! I am human. Don’t criticize me. But there is a valuable lesson from all this. I will let you in on it in a bit.

My boss calls me suddenly. When he does a request for me, two things go through my mind, an opportunity to get scolded and an opportunity to learn. So I brace up myself, pick up a pen and a notepad and go to his office. Well, I wouldn’t bore you with the details. I know you want to hear some juicy gossips but no, let’s focus on the main matter.

As expected, I got scolded…and learned a lot. Now, my boss is not a harsh man but herein lies the problem, as an intern, I am expected to play the executive. Don’t get me wrong, it’s an awesome learning experience and an opportunity that is not easily found anywhere and I definitely am not taking it for granted. Initially, I was confused and unsure of my job role, of what I was meant to do daily as I was waiting to be told what to do. I for one do not like being unproductive at work so I became brave enough to ask about it. The answer, of course, was not straight forward. What I got was that I should not expect to be spoon fed. I changed my strategy then and asked about what the immediate goal of the organization was and viola, I was able to draft a role for myself.

But being consistent as an executive intern has😋 not been easy but knowing the difference in the roles changed the way I thought (thanks to the explanation up there). I decided to stop asking or requesting for the 10 things to do and to start coming up with them. And we all lived happily after from then right? Nope. Life ain’t a fairy tale, don’t forget my boss had called again and I was scolded. At the end, He asked me, “Am I discouraged?” Hell no. Disappointed in myself? yes, but I had learned a valuable lesson among other things I learned from him that day in increasing my “executiveness”. To practice what I learn.

It is easy to read, get excited about knowledge gained and lessons learned and then forget. We have to consciously put in extra effort to practice what we learn. If new knowledge is gained, we should talk about it, bring it up in conversations so it can get stored in our long-term memory where it can be retrieved when needed. If it’s a lesson learned, we have to share the lesson, write it down and act on it. That way we can hold ourselves accountable.

Hope you will remember this whenever you learn something from a book, movie or message. I definitely want to see you grow as fast as I want to grow. Keep aiming high. See you next week

Jaa Mata!