Stop Calling Me Green

When Renelly and I were working together in San Francisco at the start of our careers, we had a manager who would comment that we were “so green”. This wasn’t commentary on our environmentalism, it was a statement meant to reflect that we were so new to the work world. We were untested, untried, not jaded. We were new. We would talk about this in frustration - what makes us green? Why weren’t we being taken seriously? When would we stop being seen as green?

Submitted for the consideration of the Midday Society

The Extraordinary Power of Embracing Your Newness

Flash forward 15 years, Renelly and I were hanging out in New York reminiscing on our early career days. We looked at each other and nodded in recognition at our young selves - “we were so green”. 

Looking back, there was so much we didn’t know about working in a corporate environment. In some ways, this served us both very well. We weren’t intimidated by the executive teams, we made space for fun in the office, and spoke earnestly with colleagues about our ideas. In other ways, it held us back. We didn’t understand how to defend our ideas and were perceived as young and easy going which, sometimes, equated to being easily dismissed. 

This is one of the very reasons we decided to create Midday Society - to share what we’ve learned, sometimes the hard way, with others. Being called green made us feel undervalued. But now we understand that it was an opportunity to embrace our newness and learn from others. 

Whether you’re new in your career, a job role, or something else in your life, here are some pointers to help you embrace and lean into your newness:

• Embrace Your Newness
  • If you’re confused or unsure about something, be confidently confused.
    • Ie. “Honestly, I’m confused. Can you help me understand…”
  • If you don’t know something - acknowledge it. This will help you retain that information, and show that you’re willing to take in new information.
• Do Your Homework. Demonstrate with Data and Listen with Interest
  • If you have an idea you want to present, consider what data is available to demonstrate that idea.
    • Data doesn’t always mean numbers. Data is factual information.
  • If you see competitors doing something and you want to suggest your company try it too, gather information (gather examples, news articles, and yes, numbers that are reliable and available)
  • If you aren’t sure what would make a difference in providing your recommendation, ask someone.
    • Ie. “What would make you interested in this idea?”
  • Even if your idea doesn’t get adopted, you have gathered your own data - listen to the feedback, take it into consideration so you can build a stronger case next time.
• Be Curious. Ask your Questions. 
  • Understand what progress and success look like.
  • If something is unclear, ask more questions.
    • Something I wish I would have asked early on is “Why do you keep calling me green? What can I do to change that perception?”
  • In short, don’t be afraid to ask questions - it will help you get a better grip of what you need to succeed.
    • Fun fact: Renelly has a blog about digging into the why coming up - so be sure to check that out next week!