I might not watch wrestling with the same fervor I had as a kid, but I won’t lie, when I channel surf, I often find myself stopping on Raw, Smackdown or any other squared-circle event.
There’s no need to recap the grisly details surrounding wrestler Chris Benoit and his family, at least not here on a career-related blog. However, deep down in the monstrous mess, there are several tiny career lessons that I feel are worth pointing out.
By no means am I down playing the tragic events, but the fact that Chris Benoit was a virtually model employee is undeniable.
"He commanded respect"
"Forced others to a higher level"
"Quiet leader"
"Perfectionist"
"Loyal"
"Polite and passionate"
They all sound like traits every human resources professional prays the next candidate through the door possesses. That brings us to the first of several reminders:
You don’t know squat about your co-workers. We all wrestle with demons and there are more people in your office grappling with drug problems, marital problems and psychological problems than you care to imagine. Your best bet is to keep your yapper shut and not jump to any conclusions about anyone. You’re wise to avoid conversations about politics, religion and sex – but don’t end there. There are plenty of other topics that are worth avoiding like the plague. Speaking of which…
Keep all jokes to yourself. A joke is defined as something said or done to provoke laughter or cause amusement. Unfortunately, it is often necessary to utilize taboo subjects to achieve the desired end result. It’s hard to "make funny" without shock value. From heritage to mental retardation – you have no clue what issues your co-workers are wrestling with when they pull into their own driveways. And whether you are at work or at how you should always…
Carry yourself like a champ. Both pre and post-tragedy, Chris Benoit’s co-workers, colleagues and fans have nothing but good things to say about the man they once knew. Be positive, work hard and sign every autograph with a smile (regardless of what you do!). It’s also important to…
Live for yourself. Did Benoit use steroids to bring himself to a size that he felt was necessary to excel at his profession? Maybe. Vince McMahon certainly has his fair share of critics. But at the end of the day, no one signs a lucrative WWE contract against their will. No matter what it is you do when you’re "on the clock," you should never lose yourself in your work. There doesn’t have to be two yous, but your work should be left at the office. It’s also important that…
You do something you are proud of. It’s clear Chris Benoit loved being a wrestler. However, as new details emerge, it’s becoming clear that the public pressures of being a larger-then-life figure caught up with him. Perhaps it was his ill-conceived view of his own son being "weak." Whatever we do in life, we must make sure we are comfortable in our own skin and have the psychological makeup to handle it.
I want to reiterate that this is a horrendous tragedy and I am by no means looking at it lightly. It’s something that was been weighing on my mind – and I wanted to write about it in some capacity. If you can think of any other career-related lessons buried in this tragedy, please leave them in the comments section below.
On a lighter note, Independence Day is almost here! It’s not often that a holiday falls smack dab in the middle of a week. While it would have been nice to get some bonus days surrounding the holiday, I guess I ‘ll just have to be content with breaking up the work week.
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