Showing up. Now, when I say showing up, I’m not just talking about clocking in on time or about making it to the interview. I’m not just talking about being at the startup meeting, standing on the production floor, sitting behind a desk, or walking into the warehouse every morning. I’m talking about really showing up. Showing up for your career, for your family, for your responsibilities, and your own growth. Showing up when things are going great. And maybe more importantly, showing up when things aren’t going so great. 

There is a big difference between being somewhere and showing up. You can be standing right there on the floor and mentally be a hundred miles away on a beach somewhere. You can attend every meeting and never contribute to it or participate in it. We’ve mentioned before how some people have ten years of experience and stop learning after year two. And how you can hold the title of lead, supervisor, manager, director, or vice president and still fail to show up as a leader. Or how about going to work every single day while never really showing up for your career. 

So today, here on Warehouse and Operations as a Career, I want us to think about those two words a little differently. 

I think showing up starts with being present. We’ll start with the obvious one. Work. We accepted the job. We agreed to the schedule. The operation is counting on us. Our coworkers are counting on us. Production expectations, shipping schedules, receiving appointments, staffing plans, and customer commitments may all depend on people being where they said they would be when they said they would be there. 

Of course, attendance matters. But showing up is more than attendance. You can have perfect attendance and still bring very little to the operation. Showing up means arriving ready. Ready mentally. Ready physically. Ready to participate, to contribute, to learn. Ready to solve problems instead of just pointing them out. 

When I was coming up through operations, there were always people you knew you could count on. Not necessarily because they were the fastest, or because they had the most experience. You could count on them because they showed up. If something needed to get done, they were there. If another department needed help, they were willing to learn. When there was a challenge, they didn’t disappear. Those are the people managers remember. And those are often the people who eventually get another opportunity. 

Here’s another Marty opinion. One of the biggest career mistakes we can make is believing that somebody else is responsible for our development. Yes, companies should train us. And I want good, strong, supervisors to coach me and communicate expectations clearly for me. Organizations should absolutely provide opportunities to us whenever possible. 

But somewhere along the way, we have to show up for our own growth. Nobody can learn for us. Nobody can ask questions for us. And nobody can make us be curious. And with all that being said, nobody can force us to care about where our career goes next. 

Maybe you operate a pallet jack today. Great. Have you asked how the forklift works? Maybe you’re selecting orders. Have you asked about learning receiving? Maybe you work in sanitation. You’re around production all shift, do you understand it? And if you’re a lead. Are you learning how labor is scheduled? How productivity is measured? How safety investigations work? How your WMS works? Or how inventory moves through the building? The person who keeps showing up to learn knows more than the person who only shows up to work. That difference can become huge over five, ten, or twenty years. We’ve talked about it many times over the last 8 years here on WAOC.  Learn the operation. Not just your job. Our job may be where we are today. The operation can teach us where we might go tomorrow. But we have to show up for the lesson. 

Ok, here’s another part of showing up that we don’t talk about enough. Who are you showing up with? Look at the people around you. What are they talking about? What are they encouraging, and where are they headed? 

Now, I’m not saying we abandon friends because somebody hasn’t reached a certain level professionally. That’s not the point. I’m talking about influence. If everybody around you complains about work, eventually complaining starts sounding normal. If everybody around you says management is against them, every coaching conversation can begin to feel like an attack. If the group spends every break talking about how little they can do without getting in trouble, eventually the goal becomes doing the minimum. However, spend time around people who talk about learning something new. Getting certified, moving into leadership, saving money, improving their health, becoming better parents, being better spouses, reading, learning, growing. And something happens. Our conversations begin to change and then our thoughts start changing. And eventually our actions can change. There’s an old idea that we tend to become like the people we spend the most time around. Whether we want to take that literally or not, I think we can all agree on this. Energy is contagious. And negativity can spread across a warehouse floor quicker than almost anything. But so can enthusiasm, pride, professionalism, and a desire to improve. Ask yourself occasionally, are the people around me helping me show up as the person I’m trying to become? And just as importantly, am I helping them show up too? 

Ok, Now, nobody walks into work fired up every single morning. I certainly try.  Some mornings the coffee has to show up before I do. But energy doesn’t always mean bouncing off the walls shouting motivational quotes. Energy can simply mean engagement. Things like eye contact, participating in the startup meeting, greeting my coworkers. And a big one, listening when someone is speaking. Taking an interest in the work. Helping somebody without being asked. And Walking into a problem thinking, how can we fix this? Instead of immediately saying, that’s not my job. 

I’ve always felt that your energy announces you. People, leaders, our coworkers, and customers notice it. And, unfortunately, the opposite is true too. The person who constantly walks in angry, complaining, rolling their eyes, arguing about every assignment, finding something wrong with every change. That person is showing up too. Just maybe not in the way they realize or want to be. 

I like to think, every day you show people who you are becoming. You know growth isn’t only learning another piece of equipment or earning another certification. Some of the most important growth is maturity. Things like how we respond when corrected, and how we react when someone disagrees with us? Can you say, “I was wrong” or apologize, and can you listen? Can you watch somebody else get the promotion you wanted and still congratulate them? When we get to that point, well, in my humble opinion, that’s growth. 

Early in our careers, we often think advancement is mainly about learning to do more. And yes, skills absolutely matter. But as responsibilities increase, how we handle ourselves becomes increasingly important. A supervisor cannot spend the entire shift reacting emotionally. A manager cannot make every disagreement personal. A leader has to be able to hear things they don’t want to hear. Maturity is learning that correction isn’t always criticism, and a different opinion isn’t always disrespect. Sometimes showing up means showing up as the adult in the room.  

Alright, now on to showing up when no one is watching. This one matters. What kind of employee are you when the manager leaves the floor? What happens to your production when nobody is standing nearby? Do you follow the safety rule because it’s a rule, or because you understand why the rule exists? Do you wear your PPE because management is walking through, or because protecting yourself matters? I guess I’m saying that character shows up when supervision walks away. Showing up means maintaining your standards when nobody is there.  

And I want to throw in that this idea, or concept, isn’t just meant for our professional side. We have to show up in life. Put the phone down occasionally. Listen. Attend the event. Make the call. Keep the promise. Check on somebody. Say thank you. And say congratulations. Tell somebody you appreciate them. Our careers matter. But someday every one of us will clock out for the last time. And when that happens, our title won’t matter nearly as much as the relationships we built while we were earning it. 

I’ve talked a lot over the years about careers. Growth. Leadership. Operations. Productivity and Safety. Careers are part of life. They aren’t supposed to replace it though. But success at work doesn’t mean much if we continually fail to show up everywhere else. 

Let’s see, what else did I note here. Showing up after failure.  This here may be the hardest one. Show up again. You didn’t get the promotion? The interview didn’t go well? You made a mistake? Own it, learn from it, and show up. You were coached on something? Somebody underestimated you? Show up. Life didn’t follow the plan you had written in your head? Show up anyway! 

One bad day doesn’t define our career. One mistake doesn’t erase years of good work. One rejection doesn’t determine your value. Just show up and come back tomorrow. 

One last thought. Stop waiting until you feel completely ready. You probably won’t. Sometimes an opportunity appears before confidence does. Take the class. Apply for the position. Ask the question. Volunteer for the assignment. Or learn the equipment. You don’t have to know everything before you start. You just have to be willing to show up and learn. 

So this week, I want you to think about two simple words. Showing up. Show up physically, mentally, and professionally. Show up curious, willing to learn, with good energy. Show up with people who challenge you to grow. And show up mature enough to accept feedback. Show up when nobody is watching. And when you stumble, show up again. 

Ok, enough of all that, I’m Marty and I appreciate your time spent here with us today! Until next time, keep growing and do everything the safe way. And remember. Opportunity can’t do much with us if we don’t show up to meet it.