Great Leaders Do the Dirty Work

When it comes to holidays, I am not one for elaborate decorations. Thematic rituals and traditions hold little merit with me. However, holidays do provide a rhythmic pattern of pausing in my life. For me, these scheduled dates of celebration are a predictable season of self-reflection, and while 2020 has lacked in all forms of predictability, holidays have been a gift that allow me to process and unpack my ever-unfolding life.

On most major holidays one ritual that I do enjoy is a text exchange that occurs with my friend Ron. On national holidays, when most people check-out, Ron and I often check-in. This is a ritual that has meaning to me.

Let’s rewind about a decade.

I was new on the job as the recently appointed head coach of a college soccer team. I had spent several days buried in my office trying to get my bearings straight. I had so much to learn and so much to do. It seemed like my to-do list was growing longer by the minute and, since I was new on the job, I didn’t even know how to do half the things on my to-do list. Late one afternoon my office door slowly opened, and I heard a voice say, “Sorry coach, I didn’t know anyone was in here. I just came by to get your trash.” This was my first encounter with Ron, a man who would have a positive impact on my life and someone who would teach me firsthand the value of “doing the dirty work.” 

On that day Ron was 72 years old; he was dressed in a grey custodial work shirt and matching grey pants. He served as the janitor in my office building where he had worked for many years. I quickly discovered that Ron had a work ethic that was second to none. Don’t let his age deceive you—Ron was without a doubt the hardest worker in a building filled with college student-athletes. If it was Ron’s job to clean your office, or hallway, or locker-room, you could guarantee it would be spotless.

But it wasn’t his ability to clean or even his work ethic that impressed me the most; it was his spirit, the way he served others by doing what many perceived to simply be his job. Ron chose to serve others in a very real and tangible way. He used his influence to make a positive difference in the lives of the people he encountered.

There were many times when I would be up to my ears in a project and my office would quickly become a mess. Ron would typically stop by late in the day to take out my trash and he would often quietly say, “I’ll come back when you are done for the day and then I’ll vacuum.” I would reply, “Oh you can do it now, it’ll be fine” and he would say, “that’s okay coach, I don’t want to bother you.”

I can’t begin to imagine the number of times that Ron came in after hours or over the weekend to clean my office and the offices of my co-workers. Ron did the dirty work, the thankless work, the work that goes unnoticed and ignored by so many people. In doing the dirty work he allowed me to focus on other things. Ron took care of my needs, so I was able to focus on the needs of my student-athletes. Doing the dirty work is a choice, it requires intentionality, and it doesn’t happen by accident. 

This is what leaders do; they embrace the idea of doing the dirty work because they understand the amazing value of serving others. The best leaders I know don’t lead so they can avoid doing the thankless dirty work, but rather they do the dirty work without thanks as an expression of their leadership.

Many of our upcoming holidays are rooted in a celebration of love. Our leadership should be anchored in that same spirit. As we enter into the holiday season, I hope you will create space to pause, to connect and reconnect with those who have served as a positive example for you, and that you too will look for and seek out opportunities to do the thankless dirty work.

Take a look around you. What is something that needs to be done but no one wants to do it? That’s the dirty work; go do that.

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