Amazing But True

So a couple of days ago, my boss -- the one who I report to day to day, not the ones who are my "boss" but who I seldom see (being a contractor can suck sometimes) -- thanked me for my hard work lately, and he asked me who I reported to within the contracting company. I figured he'd send a quick kudos note to them or something, no big deal.

He did indeed send an email. To say I was shocked at the contents was an understatement. Pleasantly shocked...but shocked nonetheless. His email was effusive in its praise my knowledge of my field, my dedication, and attention to detail. Further, he cited my assuredness of my abilities as an excellent quality, being unafraid to tackle any problem whether its a simple question, or a complex series of changes on the single most critical server environment in the company.

My advice on subject matters was praised because my opinion was seldom unconsidered and was subsequently often taken into consideration. He was thankful I was on the team, since he could delegate a task and never worry about it getting done and done "right" in the most effective, enterprise sense of the word, and that I would ask for help wherever I was in need of assistance or information.

What shocked me was not the qualities he cited. I've worked hard to be one of the best in my field, and I've always driven myself to learn more, do more, and be better. I strive to deploy complex computer systems that function efficiently and properly, with as little interaction as possible, for as long a period of time as possible. What amazed me was that his reaction was positive.

You see, these same qualities are the ones that caused a prior employer to hate me. Hate may be a strong word. Let us instead say disliked-with-a-vengeance. All of the reasons I was considered undesirable before are now causes for praise. Every conflict that arose before came from the same aspects of my character that were now being lauded. I was elated.

Not only did this tell me I was appreciated (which is always a nice thing to hear), but that I was not unjustified in feeling slighted in the prior circumstances. In both I've busted my behind, given my all, and done the best I could. In one, I was reviled. In the other, I was respected and appreciated. Seems to me I wasn't as much of a jerk as some tried to make me believe.

Sure, everybody has their niche somewhere, and maybe I've found it or something close to it. Sure, you can't get along with everybody. However, a little validation goes a long way to making the hard work worthwhile, and it's nice to know that my hard work, dedication, and approach to business works, even if not with every vindictive yahoo on the planet.