Go staff yourself

Once a staffer, always a staffer?

I was a political appointee in two branches of local government, during the height of The West Wing’s popularity. I found myself pacing the halls of historic buildings with other young, bright, idealistic folks in suits and shiny shoes. I got a charge out of the crisply-drafted testimony, the well-executed press conference, the robustly-attended public meeting that were the currency of the age.

I have a CEO client who’s known me since we were both staffers, and we still speak fondly of work life back in the day. If you’re the sort of person who’s drawn to being a staffer and gets a charge from a job well done, I think this is a feeling that never completely leaves you.

Where does that leave me today? I’m self-employed. I neither have, nor am, staff.

Instead, what I like to do from time to time is staff myself.

Staffing myself is the trail of breadcrumbs or set of preparations a thoughtful staffer might leave behind for someone who’s busier or more important than I am. It’s any gift I can give to my future self that will help the day go more smoothly.

I like to solve problems, remove obstacles and set myself up for success. Here’s how I did it a few months ago when I ran the DC Rock n Roll Half Marathon.

This is a race that happens early on a Saturday morning. It starts and ends in different places. I was by myself. On this particular Saturday, public transit was less reliable than usual. All of this meant Uber and Lyft rides would be hard to come by. And I had a work obligation at home – on camera – less than 90 minutes after I anticipated crossing the finish line.

If I’d been the mayor of DC at the time, I’d just have a staffer drop me off at the start and pick me up at the finish. Instead, I resolved to give myself the next best thing. I parked early at the finish (with a prepaid pass I’d printed out ahead of time) and had a leisurely transit ride to the start. Then I ran my race, got in the car and drove home with plenty of time to shower and get on my Zoom call.

Making these plans ahead of time freed up my mind to focus on my single objective during the race: putting one foot in front of the other a few thousand times. The advance work made this easy. It was how the work of a good staffer is supposed to go.

Staffing myself feels like a luxury or a gift. It feels like I’m well looked after, because I am. Just so happens I’m also the one doing the looking.

How are you staffing yourself this week?