My fiancée recently asked me this. I was nervous about a variety of projects going past their deadlines given some reshuffling in our planning at work and me being out sick for a week.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized the projects veering off course was due to external factors. A request from a senior leader here, a life event there. Plus, given my junior rank in the firm, the best I could likely do was to form alternative solutions, present them, and let my boss decide. That’s exactly what I ended up doing, and, as usual, it all turned out fine.
When a ship gets hit by a cannonball from the enemy’s fleet, it is not the oarsmen’s job to bring the vessel back on track. Only the captain has enough visibility to call the next maneuver.
Hierarchy aside, however, I think the truth of the matter is this: You’re never paid enough to worry. What’s a CEO’s salary compared to the company’s market capitalization? 0.01%? Ultimately, even the person who all fingers point to in the end is but a small fish in a vast ocean.
At the end of the day, none of us are paid to sit there in anxiety. We are paid to show up, do our best, solve problems, and try again tomorrow. As long as you do that, you’ll be fine at any job—and if ever you’re not, a million more of them awaits.
