The other day I was sitting in a meeting with my lead developers at IZEA. I asked each of them a question I often ask, “how are you feeling?” I went around the table and most of them said “good” – with one exception. That individual responded with “I’m nervous” to which I responded, “good, you should be”. That is no doubt a strange response from the leader of a company, but it is not the first time I have given it.
The truth is I want my team members to be a little nervous. Not nervous for the sake of being nervous, but nervous because they care about what they are working on. This particular developer is leading a team that is rolling out IZEA’s next big service. We are less than a month away from the launch date and there are plenty of little issues (and some big ones) that have to be addressed. There is a ton of excitement… but there are also a lot of unknowns. All of us want this to be a huge success and we have invested time and money into making it work. Should this person be nervous? HELL YEAH! I am.
I’m nervous like a heavy weight boxer stepping in to the ring.
I look at every new initiative as a new fight for the belt. I have won some and I have lost some, but every time I step in to the ring I am full of an unexplainable energy that keeps me from being complacent or over confident in my abilities. I can’t sleep. I can’t stop thinking over the win/loss scenarios. I think about every detail. My legs bounce… my eyes twitch. I am consumed by the task at hand. My heart and mind are committed to success.
So…. when a fellow leader in my organization tells me they are nervous about a launch I am happy. I want them to be nervous. I want them to be attached. I want them to be thinking about where things can wrong. I want them to feel like they are in my corner of the ring. I want them to be ready to come out strong and go the distance.
You are nervous because you care. You are nervous because you want to win. I love that. Let’s kick some ass.
Love it! I know this is a weird thing to admit: being nervous, however, I agree… It’s a great thing!
Not the best man to quote but this fits:
I always feel pressure. If you don’t feel nervous, that means you don’t care about how you play. I care about how I perform. I’ve always said the day I’m not nervous playing is the day I quit.
– Tiger Woods
That is an excellent point. I don’t think I’ve been nervous about anything I’ve been doing in my job lately, or ever really, because I am not engaged in it. I’m here for a paycheck because the family needs to be supported.
Outside of day job my projects are what makes me nervous and that feels good.
Twitter Comment
Iām Happy You Are Nervous [link to post] (via @tedmurphy)
– Posted using Chat Catcher
Twitter Comment
Iām Happy You Are Nervous [link to post] (via @tedmurphy) I love this! Totally needed to read this today!
– Posted using Chat Catcher
I’m nervous and excited at the same time about my new venture. It’s definitely not the “safe” route but it’s the right one for me!
– New York
Being a little nervous keeps us all on our toes. I’m looking forward to your new project Ted – I hope that little porker flies š
Reminds me of a similar incident. A few years ago, way before I ever did affiliate marketing, I led a team of software developers. One of my developers was really quite poor. The odd thing is that during the year she worked with us, she *kept getting worse*.
It’s not because she became dumber, or her skills became obsolete. She became complacent, very secure in her position. I hinted to her that no one is safe, a colleague did, and my boss did. But still she was visibly turning into a useless employee. Eventually my boss let her go – which came as a complete surprise to her.
So your answer is justified. In fact, every employee should feel so. Not to the point where it’s debilitating, but never take a workplace for granted. The same is true for employers, by the way – never treat employees as if they can’t find another job.
Sorry for the long response. This could be a post by itself š