Stick it to you

‘People don’t do what is expected, but what is inspected’ and ‘if I let others set boundaries for me, I undermine myself’ are phrases on sticky notes that I have on my monitor currently. 

These hit a nerve , either because they put a concept I believe to be true or empathise with into a simple and catchy soundbite (the first one), or because it’s an important personal reflection that I want to make sure sticks (the second one).

The very first post-it reminder I made a point of sticking to my first proper job monitor simply said: “Why”. 

Not because I was contemplating the meaning of life, but because I learned the hard way that executing without context meant I got the job done, but it didn’t allow me to do my best and most fulfilling work.  It took a little courage and some trial and error for me to put this into practice, but pretty quickly it helped me understand the business better, gave me an early glimpse of the autonomy it brought and a sense of empowerment about my output. I never asked, but I imagine, it also projected interest and motivation about the work. 

That early professional realisation has deeply shaped how I work and manage teams to this day. I’ll take that over a tidy desk any day.

There have been many over the years, and the process always seems to be the same: Something strikes me enough to want to make sure I imprint it into my brain by putting it into my daily field of vision – I then remember to apply it, and over time it becomes part of my behaviours, beliefs or it gets challenged by a new thought. More often than not, the sticky stays up there beyond its need and either gets replaced by a new one or drops off unnoticed when the glue dries up. 

What’s stuck on your monitor?