On Pasta Sauce


No need to check your address bar. You aren't on Instagram.

I know I typically write about professional things but, honestly, what could be more professional than wrapping up a great day at work than pouring your heart and soul into the pasta sauce recipe you're perfecting so that your kids will one day brag about it to their friends?

Doesn't sound professional?

Consider that any good hiring manager will tell you: Great teams are made up of versatile team members. People who challenge themselves and push themselves to get better. Regardless the subject matter. The spirit is infectious.

You want team members willing to be vulnerable - willing to share their second attempt at a pasta sauce. Maybe that perfect pasta sauce isn't actually perfect yet. And they're ok with showing their progress. (Maybe they are also sharing it with their network secretly hoping they'll get tips.)

You want resourceful team members - the types who have researched and watched countless videos, some not even in their native language. The kind who will message their friends begging them to ask their Nona: What's her secret? Do you add the Basil stalks in the sauce or discard them?

You want team members who get excited about things. Excited when they have improved. About the fact that they've learned something. About the fact that, despite the challenges they persevered.

Lastly, you want team members who want to share their lives. Not out of ego or arrogance. Not out of a desire to talk about themselves - but purely because they want to connect with others. They are looking for common ground. They are your culture drivers - and whether you are fully remote, or in the office, they are the ones who walk your virtual hallways and create the very gel that your success depends on.

Or ... I dunno, maybe I'm just proud of this sauce I made and I had to share it.

P.S. The kids liked it. A lot.

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