January 4, 2026
Your attitude, not your aptitude, determines your altitude.
Zig Ziglar
A former colleague had a work mantra he lived by: “Happy to be here, easy to work with”. I loved the simplicity and the effectiveness of that. The first part is how you show up. Your attitude, your disposition, your default demeanor. When you’re genuinely happy to be somewhere, you have a smile on your face. You’re approachable. People like you and want to follow you.
The second part is how you collaborate. Work is all about how you work with others, because no meaningful work is done in isolation. Everything you can imagine of import was done with others involved, who were recruited, trained, trusted, and empowered. When you’re easy to work with, you go with the flow. You don’t let your ego get in the way. You roll with the punches. No task is below you, and your needs are prioritized below the team’s and company’s needs. This is every manager’s dream. To have a true team player.
I aspire to have that mentality too, not just at work, but also in everyday life. I’ve had my days where it’s hard, and I fall short — snapping in a meeting, losing my temper at home, feeling unappreciated. I ask myself how I can show up with more positivity, a smile on my face, and an assumption of good intent. I ask myself how I can serve the team, to take feedback with grace and gratitude, to make the whole greater than the sum of the parts. This is all easier said than done, of course. As my high school track coach used to say while we were gassing 400m sprints at practice: “if it were easy, anyone could do it”.