Let go…of high expectations at work?

Let go. Sure enough, as soon as I settle on my One Word for 2018, God decides it’s a good time to test me on the art of letting go.

I subscribe to the Skinning Artist blog, and last weekend the title of Drew’s email was, “Sometimes it’s okay to let go…” Ugh. When did He start using email to get His point across?

Then, my boss tells me to use the new hire designers (read: young and inexperienced designers) to get some of the work done that needs to be done, instead of trying to do it all myself. And as I do that, I know it’s another lesson on letting go. Now, He is using my boss?

Weeks of complete frustration and stress has led me to ask, let go of what, exactly?

Do I let go of my high expectations at work?

Do I let go of my design standards and give others a pass to do less than?

Do I let go of trying to do it all because I get it done the way I want it done?

Do I let go of getting the job done how I would do it?

Do I let go of how things have changed, and the person I could count on is no longer there?

Do I let go of the expectation that if I ask for help I will get it?

As the song goes, do I need to just let it go, let it go?

Let go of high exceptions at work? This is a question.

When people say to me, “Just let it go,” honestly, I want to give them a little throat punch. Because if it were just that easy, everyone would do it. Right?

Then, I ask, “Should I really let go of those things?” I don’t expect anyone to do more than me at work. I expect the same level of commitment and sense of urgency; because we work in a fast-paced industry, everything is urgent (or so it seems). The dilemma is choosing which of these to let go and which to keep. Because saying, “It’s good enough,” is really, really hard for me. I do realize I can be a perfectionist to a fault. It’s a character flaw.

Should I let go of all these expectations? By letting it go, am I lowering my standards of work, therefore not doing my job well? Am I doing those around me any favors by letting them get by with less than work? And am I giving the newbies a pass simply because they are new? My ultimate goal to “raise them up” into productive, thoughtful designers, and not slacker designers.

What does anyone lose by letting go of one’s standards?

I am ranting a little bit about my job, but this can be applied to any set of standards at any job. What do we lose if we give those around us in the workplace a pass to do less than everyone else? If the workplace is a team (which it should be), then shouldn’t everyone on that team give the same effort, or at least try? What if the quarterback was doing his minimum “good enough” effort on game day? Is that acceptable? The rest of his team has to pick up the slack. That’s not cool.

How much should we let go at work?

Then there’s the letting go of the stress, anxiety, frustration, and anger that I feel about the whole situation that is the hardest. When I ask for help and don’t get it, even when I step up to help them when they need it. I expect the same consideration in return because we are a team. Oops, my anger is showing; I’ll move on…

So, the question is again. To let go or not to let go?