Grace Jones

There is something to be said for “grace.”

Being a lady is one thing, but being able to apply grace to a professional setting is not only challenging, but essential.

I’m beginning to realize just how valuable that tool is in my many, diverse working situations.

For example, a co-worker of mine came in yesterday morning and shut the door. Not that that would have made a difference because her voice was so loud, I kept cringing through the entire escapade. As she went on ranting, panting, I kept thinking about how thin the walls really are, especially when I barely raise my voice to call my assistant into my office and she comes running from the office next to mine. Ugh.

But this person needed to get something off her chest, essentially. She wasn’t really looking for advice on how to handle it, because when you tell someone that you would be ok if today was their last day, then you’ve essentially sealed that deal and handled it yourself. Because I’m not sure, but I would think if your employer said that to you, it would take an enormous amount of humility to walk back through those doors the next day.

But what I realized in this interaction was that this person lost all sense of grace in her tirade. And I had a hard time putting a finger on the exact word there, but it’s true. It’s just the best match I can muster in my vocabulary - grace.

At one point, she actually demonstrated her hand going up for a punch and said these exact words: I really just wanted to punch him in the NOSE!

Clearly, she had a bad experience. Clearly, she needed to vent. Clearly, this person she was complaining about is super annoying and not right for the job in any capacity and should have been fired… but CLEARLY, she also needs to be medicated.

You just do not in any circumstance say that OUT LOUD. You say it to yourself. Hell, you blog about it. You do whatever it takes… wait, go home, bang some pots and pans in the kitchen. I don’t know. But you don’t say those words. EVER.

And what I felt was that if she had just had this one thought: Handle it with grace… she would have made a bad situation experiencable. Obv that’s not a word since my spell check is catching it, but you know what I mean. You could experience it and move on.

So in that vein of thought, I urge you all to take a moment when you are in the midst of a professional crisis from HELL and say one thing to yourself: Is there any way I can muster a few moments of clarity to handle this situation with GRACE?

Then, and only then, you will notice that you can. And you should.

Or, you should probably just go look for a job as a personal trainer or drill sergeant.