Subtle

I kind of had a flashback earlier today.

Out of the blue I began thinking about playing basketball on my junior high school team. I was not the best player on the team, but the combination of pretty average talent and slightly above average height put me in the mix.

Other than designing the team uniform (i.e. convincing our coach Dan that a 13 year old that spent a little too much time thinking about the "look" of professional team uniforms knew what to have as "iron-on" lettering for our yellow tank tops and shorts), my major contribution was as the team pep squad. Any time spent on the bench (more frequent than I would have liked) I devoted myself to shouting encouragement to my teammates on the court. Part of it was just my passion for the game in general, but also I felt that my verbal support of the other players translated into better performance from them and therefore, more points on the board.

Needless to say after having this flashback I made an immediate connection to my current job situation. A great deal of my frustration is that I am not in an environment where my skills as a cheerleader are valued. I make my attempts to create a positive environment, but there is so much negativity emanating from a certain business owner, that I feel my attempts are futile.

I need a job situation where my natural tendency to want the best for my co-workers is actively supported.