Rah-rah Crew
EVERYONE needs a rah-rah crew. It is not just a person or two in your life that will always take your side in every personal or professional moment of challenge or crisis. I mean people that listen, challenge and provide bumpers for life’s greatest failures and successes.
What are the requirements?
There was a time in my life where I had an unhealthy awareness of others’ reflections and perceptions of me. Thanks to my rah-rah crew, I have learned to restrict my care and consider opinions to those I truly know and who truly know me. Over time you build a profile of your friends, co-workers, and partners. You see the consistencies, inconsistencies, guiding principles, self-awareness, and discernment people use. These habits guide your trust, and a scale for the sphere of influence someone can have in your life.
PATTERNS
I have noticed a few patterns with my rah-rah crew.
They often SEE my strengths before I can. Over the years, I have noticed that people validate capabilities in me that I did not see. Now I know to perk up and entertain those encouragements. Even if it is not something on my radar, I would not be working on building my own business without the interjections of many of my rah-rah crew and the assertiveness of one in particular.
They CHALLENGE me to my benefit. I have had wonderful bosses over the years. Once after quitting a job in discussing my next steps, my boss kindly but frankly told me I was making a mistake and the position was below me. She was absolutely right. I did not take her advice at the time, but looking back, I appreciate her directness and investment in our relationship that allowed her to be so honest.
They BALANCE wisdom, openness, and compassion. Everyone in my rah-rah crew makes a regular practice of learning, honing skills, exposing themselves to new places, people, or ways of thinking, and places a high priority on helping others.
Any decent rah-rah crew comes with responsibilities. To be a recipient of so much, I need to bring openness, reciprocation, and partnering. I need to see just as much as I am seen. I need to listen just as much as I speak. I need to learn just as much as I teach.
CREATE
No matter where you are in your life, a seasoned leader in your company, young professional just starting, wandering spirit unsure of your next steps, build your rah-rah crew. Pinpoint your greatest offering to others, list what you think you could most learn, and invest in building honest relationships that can support and guide you through life. It is a long journey. Wouldn’t it be nice to choose some of the passengers that will see you through?
SPECIAL NOTE
Thank you to my rah-rah crew over the years. Those are the strengths to my weakness, the vision to my blindness, and the honesty to my deception. Your wisdom, encouragement, and truth are a beacon when my soul is lost, my capacity hindered, and my direction unclear.