Not everyone can say that they kept the leader of the free world alive. I don’t take the fact that I protected the President of the United States and defended freedom and democracy very lightly. Sometimes, it’s even hard to talk about. But now is not one of those times.
The city I work in is a hotspot for every presidential election cycle. The candidates converge from all over the country to stump and grind for themselves and their political besties. There’s conventions and town halls and lots and lots of gaslighting and professional back-scratching. The fact that they come is as equally historic as it is annoying. We hear the same speeches, the same playlists, and deal with the same groupies, the same hipster interns in skinny suits glued to their iPhones who think they are big deals, and the same general public who can’t seem to figure out that no, you can’t go this way.
G-14 Classified
It was my first election cycle on the SWAT team and it was our job to work hand-in-glove with the Secret Service at an event the President of the United States would be speaking at. Which on its face sounds pretty impressive — like we get to wear suits, earbuds, and mirrored sunglasses as we look condescendingly upon the crowd, or get dressed up all tac-sexy and smolder with our rifles in front of the news cameras — but no. In reality all it meant was that we get to do the jobs that the Secret Service just doesn’t want to do.
And as the new guy on the SWAT team you can rest assured that I was given the absolute best, most important, most high-speed-low-drag assignment available. It was the most critical, life or death responsibility there was, and they chose me. At least, that’s what they told me. To steal a line from the movie Rush Hour, my assignment was G-14 classified.
The President’s Air
It was a cold and sunless day with gusting wind and rain that wasn’t quite rain. It was more of an aggressive mist that somehow found its way around your rain gear and into every orifice of your body, bringing a frigid, dank chill with it. A one-hour event for the public translated into a 15-minute event for the President who was only there long enough to give a brief speech, shake some hands, slap some backs, and kiss some babies. For the rest of us imbued with the responsibility of national security, it was an eight to ten hour day of misery. That’s how they all work. The big-whigs are in and out like a Chick-fil-A drive through while us peons test the endurance limits of our lower backs and our foot arches.
Since the weather was about as welcoming as a tax audit, being outside was the last thing on anybody’s wish list, so naturally the Secret Service delegated that to us. But for me, like I said, I was given the G-14 classified responsibility. I was the tip of the spear, the first line of defense against an attempt on the President’s life. I was in charge of guarding the President’s air. Yes, that’s right. If he can’t breathe, he can’t lead. It’s that simple and also kind of a great catchphrase.
Still Lame
My job — my Grade-A, Level 1, Top Priority assignment — was guarding the President’s air, which in layman’s terms, meant that I had to stand on the roof of the school hosting the event and watch an air vent for eight hours in the cold, windy, wet outdoors. It was the kind of weather that canceled baseball games.
My job was literally to stare at ductwork. It was not the stuff of legend or of Hollywood blockbusters, it was the stuff of boredom and misery. I mean, who would go to the movies to see Dignity Has Fallen featuring Gerard Butler standing on a roof in the rain looking at an air vent until the credits rolled? Sure, it would gross more than Bros, but it would still be lame.
Overcoats And Earpieces
Honestly, it seemed like the Secret Service ran out of actual jobs to do, so they just made this one up and then placed bets to see if we would actually do it. Oh, we did it all right, and by we I mean me.
Let me tell you, I watched that vent like a hawk, no poisonous gas was getting past me. Nope, not a chance. I was ready to aggressively fan away any bad air with my hands, or if it was really bad, to use my hat, or I’d blow as hard as I could to keep it from entering the intake vent. I was hyper-focused and only occasionally peeked over the edge of the roof to catch a glimpse of the motorcade with all its tinted-out awesomeness and the cool guys in their overcoats and earpieces talking into their wrists.
What Is Necessary
As for me, I was the silent but deadly guardian of the President’s air, the unsung hero, and I was okay with that. (Unless, of course, they gave me a better job, then I’d immediately abandon the roof and go do that instead). I endured the event and when it was over, descended from on high to join the rest of the team who was warm and dry. I had done my job and the President had breathed the best air the city could muster. You won’t see me in any photos or on the news; you wouldn’t even know that I was there.
We can’t all be doing the fun jobs all the time, sometimes we have to do what is necessary. Being a team player takes a hunger for excellence and a drive to win, relational intelligence, and humility — or in my case, ignorance and naïveté.
Let The Credit Fall
Some people get to dress all tactical or wear earbuds and talk into their wrists, while others get to stare at ductwork … alone … in the rain … But if they do their job to the best of their ability with a common objective and for the good of the team, then it doesn’t matter who is in the spotlight and who is on the roof. I know what you’re thinking right now. You’re thinking that this is just like someone telling an ugly person that beauty is on the inside, or that it’s just a platitude for losers to feel better about themselves. It’s sounds trite, but it’s true.
No one wants to work with the egomaniac who seeks the spotlight, so don’t be that guy. Be hungry. Be humble. Be aware of how you interact with your teammates. Be the person who does what needs to be done and then let the credit fall where it may. Don’t chase the spotlight. You and your team will be better for it.
__________________________
- Are you a team player or are you a spotlight seeker?
- Is humility hard for you to handle?
- Whose interests do you look out for first?
- What can you do to be a better teammate?
__________________________
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