Rookiehood 101, Tuesday, Period 4

[raspberryturk]

When Reno stepped into the classroom today, he was... dressed somewhat unusually. It wasn't that he wasn't wearing his usual suit, mind. It was more that his white button-down was now in a remarkable state of tie-dye, and there were multicolored ferret-footprints up and down his jacket. Not to mention the random blue streaks in his hair, and the technicolor ferret that was ravaging the contents of the wastepaper basket over in the corner.

Perhaps surprisingly, he was grinning.

"Yo, Rookies!" Mako, the ferret in the basket, honked counterpoint to Reno's greeting. "This week, I'm gonna talk a little about that chip you might have sittin' on your shoulder when you step into a new situation, yo. You know the one, I'm thinkin'. It's that little voice in the back of your head that makes you damn sure that you're gonna get in there, and you're gonna be better than anyone else who ever did the job, and how dare whoever is sittin' three ranks above you not take the job as seriously as you do when you only been around for like a week, and they've been there for freakin' ever, yo."

He gave Elena a pointed look at that, his grin not wavering in the least.

"Some Rookies learn to lose that chip a bit slower'n others, but when they figure it out, they do a damn good job of it, yo. See, thing is, there ain't nothin' the matter with wantin' to do a good job. But when you get past the point of doin' the job, and you get into a place where you're sacrificing yourself for it, you've just stopped being whatever it is you're trying to prove you are... And you've started bein' a damn fool."

He shifted his weight a bit, almost uncomfortably, and then he leaned back against his desk, arms crossing over his chest.

"When you do what you're doin', make sure it's for the right damn reasons. Ain't gonna impress nobody by shuttin' yourself off just to prove you're better, yo. So this week, we're going to do a nice, simple assignment. No syrup, no Jell-o, no feathers even though they were funny as hell. Just talk about what you think the difference is between doin' the job for the sake of doin' what needs to be done, and doin' it because you got somethin' to prove."

A pause, and then he pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and flipped it. "Makita, you won the coin toss, yo. Go stand by Elena, there, Rookie. Maybe see if she knows anything about how to get ducks outta a kitchen while you're at it, yoto."

[Open!]

Comments

Discuss!

[raspberryturk]

When you step up to a new role, how much effort is enough? How much is too much, and how do you know when you've gone beyond getting the job done right along into being detrimental to your own health and your cause? Do you rely on your superiors to tell you when enough is enough? Do you listen to them when they do?

Re: Discuss!

[intraspective]

"Maybe you've got somethin' to prove by getting the job done," she snarked mildly. "Generally speakin' it's a fairly normal rule of thumb to give it your all and then try and give it a little more. Maybe that 'little more' isn't a whole lot--but what if it is? There's no harm in working harder than you got to. Ain't going to be no use to anyone if you don't know where your limits are and pressin' them is the only way to find out."

Re: Discuss!

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"If you can give a little more, you weren't giving your all to begin with," Squall pointed out.

Re: Discuss!

[intraspective]

"You don't think there's room for going above and beyond the call of duty, then?" Ino asked, tilting her head and wishing LJ would give notifs. "'Cause ain't that giving more than your all?"

Re: Discuss!

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"No, it's just giving your all at things you weren't supposed to be doing," Squall answered. "And that's fine, as long as you're still doing your job."

Re: Discuss!

[intraspective]

"So you think the bare minimum is okay for the job as long as it gets done?" she enquired. "What if doing it that way means things get left undone 'cause they weren't expressly ordered and those loose ends come back to bite you in the ass?"

Also: Ino was prone to pushing herself too far. Could he guess from her response?

Re: Discuss!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

"If you find out by breaking them, you won't be much use to anyone," Elena countered.

Re: Discuss!

[intraspective]

"My terminology stands corrected," she said dryly. "Would you prefer bending, pushing, or exploring your limits instead?"

Re: Discuss!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

Elena raised an eyebrow at that. "Wasn't correcting your terminology," she said coolly. "I was pointing out that pressing can lead to breaking. It happens, especially for overeager rookies."

Re: Discuss!

[awakestheghosts]

Chloe chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about how to respond to all of this.

"You always put in as much effort as you c-can," she stammered, blushing a lot as she kept her eyes firmly on her feet while she spoke. "S-sometimes you have to make that decision yourself b-because the s-superiors or the ones with that p-power are the ones trying to hurt you." She shook her head. "S-sometimes you have to make the decision that the job is not as important as your health and s-safety."

Or, if you were Chloe, you decided that the thing that needed to be done was worth whatever harm came to you as long as it kept other kids from going through what you and your friends were going through.

She was too smart to say that out loud where Ino could hear her, though.

Re: Discuss!

[glacial_queen]

"It depends on the role, I guess," Karla said. "And the stakes. If everything's on the line, you give your everything back. I'll admit that I'm one who'll keep going even beyond the point of detriment, but sometimes...sometimes you just have to."

Not looking at Reno or Elena, no. "And even if it turns out you are just doing it to prove something, well, stretching your limits isn't exactly a bad thing. And if you get yourself hurt, you'll have learned something. The job of your superiors is to make it so you don't hurt yourself so badly that you can't recover in time for the next job."

Re: Discuss!

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"That's a lot of faith to put in your superiors," Squall snorted. "It's better to rely on yourself."

Re: Discuss!

[glacial_queen]

"I didn't say that it was always justified faith, but it is their job," Karla pointed out. "And if you're trying to prove yourself so much that you're putting yourself in danger, then they'd better be the kind of superiors who'll do that job. Otherwise you're a fool twice over."

Re: Discuss!

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"No, your superiors' job is to tell you what to do and trust that it'll get done," Squall replied. "If you make them baby-sit you, too, you're wasting time they could be spending on more important things."

Sometimes, Squall was a major dick.

Re: Discuss!

[intraspective]

"I agree with this," Ino said, nodding Karla's way. "Part of a leader's job is to be aware of what those under their command are likely to do. It's the underling's job to get the job done and to try not to, well, die. Especially for the newest recruits, attention should be paid to how far they're likely to over-reach themselves because they don't know when to stop yet."

Re: Discuss!

[awakestheghosts]

Chloe nodded. "If t-they d-don't watch out for their newest people, then they lose them and have to s-start over again. Having to s-start over again means nothing will get done because t-they're having to train more people."

Re: Discuss!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

Elena was going to cough, pointedly, at that, and give Reno a Look.

Hey, if he could tease her for the chip on her shoulder, this was fair game.

Re: Discuss!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

"So long as you've learned something," Elena said, thinking more of her own experiences than Karla's. "Some people push, and push again, and seem to think this time they can go just an inch further. Never stepping back to wonder what the cost is."

She hadn't done that. For years. Much.

Re: Discuss!

[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

"You give as much effort as the job requires," Squall answered bluntly. "Do it as well as you possibly can. But if you burn yourself out because you've got something to prove, that's just stupid."

Re: Discuss!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

"You've never been desperate to prove yourself?" Elena asked.

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[whateverknight.livejournal.com]

Only to himself. If the things he did just for himself happened to impress other people, that wasn't any of his business.

"Nope."

Re: Discuss!

[momslilassassin]

"It depends on the role," Ben said after a moment, "but the bottom line is that you have to trust your gut. Sometimes your boss might be looking out for you, but sometimes he's only looking out for himself." And sometimes he's turning evil and plotting to rule the galaxy. Ben was omitting that third option. "Back home Jedi aren't exactly used on routine missions, so asking about lunch and overtime pay are going to get you looks and a reputation."

Re: Discuss!

[gorka-wolf.livejournal.com]

"Whatever it takes," Makita said simply. "If the ends justify the means, not from a moral standpoint but a practical one, looking at your resources and your time frame, then you do what needs to be done to accomplish your task. But if your superiors decide to pull you back, they've got their reasons, and arguing is a waste of time that could be spent doing something else."

Re: Discuss!

[findingelena.livejournal.com]

Elena cleared her throat. Oh, like Reno thought she wouldn't chime in on this.

"What's hard, when you're new," she said, "is that everyone there has earned the respect and trust of everyone else. So you're busting ass to try to get some approval, and all you see is everyone else slacking off -- not working half as hard to get twice the credit. But that's because they already know and trust each other. Resenting them for it isn't going to help matters. But I'm not sure there's an easy way not to, either."

Re: Discuss!

[heromaniac]

"You should always do what you can as best as you can," Momoko nodded. "But if you get hurt or in some sort of trouble, you might not be able to do something you really need to."

She frowned. "But sometimes, and it's not all the time or even hardly ever, but sometimes? Doing what you need to do means really giving everything you've got - even yourself. But you know when it's something like that. You just do. Someone else can't really tell you that."