Motivation for Managers: That’s the Job!

One of the motivational phrases I tell myself at work when some aspect of leadership is hard or unpleasant is “That’s the job!” Can a simple line from a Tom Cruise action movie be a useful tool for navigating difficult times at work? Let’s find out.

When and how to use it

I often use this phrase on myself when I’m stressing over some aspects of my job. As an engineering leader, most parts of the job are within the range of “normal” for me, especially for software projects and all the challenges you might normally face. I think one of my strengths is staying calm and level-headed even when things aren’t going well or the chaos level has ramped up. I appreciate that people have noticed and given me credit for being “calm under pressure” :)

One area that still gets me is any of the tough decisions or actions specifically around people. Managing people is such an important part of the job that I really focus on. Some examples from my time at different companies are stressful situations most people would recognize:

• All the decisions around annual ratings and comp
• Moving people from off a project they enjoy, to fit a higher priority need elsewhere
• Changing a team’s priority or direction
• Managing low performers with annual ratings or PIP
• Letting people go (layoffs, firing)

My mental trick is to just remind myself this is all part of the job. Putting a label on it helps me keep it at arms length and detach myself a bit. Labeling it helps you manage it. It’s not going to make those decisions easier, but for me it’s been a great was to reset my focus.

When I worked at DataStax, we had Stanford lecturer and communication expert Matt Abrahams lead a communication training session - he gave the example of being nervous before public speaking, and acknowledging it by reminding yourself “this is me feeling nervous.” It was a great training in general, but that’s probably the main point that stuck with me. (You can see this in Matt’s TEDx Palo Alto talk from a few years ago; jump to 6:30 to see the part I’m talking about.)

Origin story

When I tell myself “That’s the job”, what am I picturing? The movie Mission: Impossible - Fallout! I’m slightly obsessed with all the MI movies, but Fallout is my favorite. There’s an amazing but quick conversation between Erika Sloane from the CIA (Angela Bassett) and Alan Hunley from IMF (Alec Baldwin) at an airport:

Sloane: If he had held on to the plutonium in Berlin, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
Hunley: His team would be dead.
Sloane: Yes, they would. That’s the job.

It’s such a good scene, it’s even in the trailer!

The next time you’re feeling stressed about something at work, picture Erika Sloane sternly reminding you “that’s the job!”, and see if that helps!