The Mirage of Early Momentum

Still far from being the most talented in the workforce, or even in my home department for that matter, I built some solid career momentum through 1998 and into 1999. My role as bouncer for my former coworker’s sister had turned into far more than that initial evening of her driving and me being a hovering presence that kept the (other) rednecks away. My relationship with Cindy deepened, and that made an immediate impact on every other aspect of my life. I was working just as hard as I always did, but now I had something significant driving me - a clear purpose, if you will!

I planned to propose on Christmas of ‘98 but things rarely go according to plan. My dad has told me for decades that I’d become more patient as I got older. That definitely wasn’t the case when I was 22 years old - and it’s still not today. (I’ll refer once again to my highly DRIVEN behavioral style…) I bought her engagement ring in October of ‘98 and was able to wait just as long as it took me to drive from the store to her apartment. If we had cell phones then, I’m not sure I would have been able to make it that long. It was incredibly romantic; I cornered her in the bathroom while she was attempting to finish her makeup. And by Spring of the following year, we were planning a wedding and looking at options for buying or building a home.

Talent be damned, the discipline and consistency in my work was building momentum as well. Around the same time Cindy and I were making all those plans, I was invited to serve on an all hourly steering team overseeing a new behavior-based safety initiative I had been volun-told to participate in. While I won’t pretend I was overly interested in the actual safety aspects of the process, I was indeed interested in any opportunity I could find to learn anything that could provide me with the slightest leg up as I looked for the next step in my career. And truth be told, I really didn’t care what direction it led as long as there was a potential increase in pay. I had interacted with Terry Ward through his portion of the initial behavior-based safety observer training and on occasion as he walked by the press I operated, often calling me out for doing things that put me at risk of injury, but serving on that steering team is where he truly became a mentor.

Before moving on, I’ll share that I still found opportunities to engage in occasional nonsense. Moving in with Cindy and doing all we could to plan our future together made those scenarios few and far between.

In November or ‘99, we moved into what we thought would be a decent starter home. (We’ve lived there ever since…) Cindy and I were both in straight first shift roles at that point, and we had decent salaries - considering neither of us had finished college. That said, we were both beginning to look for whatever resources we could get our hands on to open new doors. And believe it or not, I was considering enrolling in college courses again.

To the casual observer, our personal and professional lives were gaining ground. That, though, was the mirage of early momentum. At face value, we were in a “steady” phase, but (at least speaking for me) some lingering habits were creating invisible drag. Early career “stability” often hides unresolved issues; recognizing the mirage is the first step to pulling leadership lessons from impending adversity. Before I share how my high hopes hit reality, I want you to reflect on one area of your current career or life where things feel “on track” but might be masking a deeper issue, then note one potential warning sign and one small check-in action for the week that follows.