Our Fearless Leader
My Boss at work
That is exactly what we called her, Our Fearless Leader.
And so, she was.
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Sometime before Our Fearless Leader came into my life, this had happened to me.
There was a very large poster in the window of a popular retail chain which read, ‘HELP WANTED’. I walked in and found it difficult for someone, anyone, to speak with me. Everyone was suddenly very busy and scarce, in this mostly empty place.
I went to the cashiers’ counter, where the workers were standing, all free of customers, and I asked for the manager. And standing right there among them this entire time, was the store manager.
I said to her as I looked directly at her while smiling,
“Hello, I would like to apply for a job please.”
She says,
“We do not have any more applications.”
Mind you I just saw her put a large stack of papers into a cupboard behind the cashiers’ counter, where she had been standing with her back originally turned to me, as I was speaking with the cashiers.
Then she says to me,
“Go online to the company website and print the application there.”
Then a male cashier voices to me,
“Then bring in the form here (finger pointing to the floor) after you have printed and completed it.”
Yes, these were grown adults in the working world, in a known retail establishment, showing how they actually helped their fellow human being.
Wow.
I got that sort of behavior a lot. Where people were instantly too busy to speak with me but had the time to look disgustingly at me from the moment I walked into a place.
This type of behavior was the direct result of fueling my desire to shop online, so I could take my over-long time, and did not have to deal with unkind people.
Now I get to wonder if they had any online training, and were able to flow with their job changes to the online world?
I always said, good customer service had huge responsibilities, longevity, and determined if you stuck around to ride any waves.
So, when I met Our Fearless Leader, I was immediately able to appreciate her, her kindness, and her greatness.
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I first met Our Fearless Leader when she did my final interview. I really wanted to work, and I hoped for the best.
I do not know what made her choose me, but I was very grateful that she did.
Our Fearless Leader was just that – a real fearless leader. She was decisive and gave clear direction. She took care of her staff, listened to all our issues, and made immediate decisions accordingly.
She was always calm and to the point, with a gentle and kind presence coupled with a polite way of saying things. I never felt overwhelmed around her, and proud to have her as my boss.
I never saw her angry. She was always very calm and poised. Very poised. She knew how to handle things, communicate things, and address urgent matters.
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I worked with a wonderful team of people, both on my own team and on other teams. I could not have been happier; it was a really great place to work.
I did not work many hours. I could not. I did not have the energy. I tired very easily. I worked part-time, and initially for 7 hours a week, which was gradually increased to about 14.5 hours a week. My energy level was obviously slowed way down than it had been before the brain injury. But I was so happy to have a job, a great boss, and a good place to work.
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Our Fearless Leader took a chance on me when she hired me.
I got a blank card and wrote inside to thank her for taking the chance on me. It meant the world and more, to me. I was overly grateful for being given the chance. It connected so much to my happy mental health and to my desperate need to help myself return to independence and self-sufficiency.
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One of Our Fearless Leader’s hobbies, which was really so much more than a hobby, was with plants. She would create all sorts of planters and then add the plant. She had a talent in making a place feel warm, green and smell good.
When circumstances took me away from the area, Our Fearless Leader gave me one of her creations to take with me (picture).
It always helps me remember her and the existence of good people.
