Lissy was a magician. There was no problem she couldn’t solve, especially one that involved Microsoft Word. ‘Tab’ not doing the trick? Some ‘default setting’ disrupting your formatting? No worries. Lissy – the ‘Word Ninja’ was always there. I am guilty of reaching out to her even when she had called in sick sometimes, and she could miraculously visualise what was wrong with the document and help me out. This was in the era when MS-Teams did not exist and smartphones were just taking over. I blame my desperation on an exacting Founder whom my Manager at my first job reported to.
By the time I completed my MBA, I was quite proficient at MS-Office and other necessary tools. Or so I thought. My first job taught me how much I did not know. My immediate Manager was one of the loveliest human beings I had ever worked with and what I would give to bump into her someday. Here I am reminiscing about my Godly Manager – and this essay is supposed to be about Lissy. My first manager deserves her own special blog post. So, back to Lissy.
Lissy taught me what dedication was. She was the Personal Assistant (PA) to the Founder and having worked with him for several years, now knew what would pass the muster and what would not. Whilst she took up a typewriting course in the 90s to work as an assistant to support her family, the advent of computers meant that the typewriters were on their way out. That did not deter her. She mastered the PC, more specifically, MS-Office. But this mastery came from continuous practice and a zeal to always find a solution. Google was still fledgling and there were none of the instant troubleshooting resources like Reddit and Quora to help connect with other Users with similar issues and find resolutions to them from experts. She was self-taught.
I quickly realised how much more I had to learn, even about the pieces of software I thought I had already mastered. My initial experiences at work mirrored the lessons Lissy embodied. It is easy to overestimate our competence in the classroom, but real growth occurs in the workplace, where challenges inspire us to stretch beyond our comfort zones.
In a world where young professionals often look for quick success, Lissy’s story shows the value of perseverance. She wasn’t a natural-born ‘Word Ninja’; she developed her expertise over time, through trial and error. There were likely times when she faced frustration, but her determination to excel never wavered. Instead of waiting for external help or the next big technology to make things easier, she invested time in learning and perfecting her craft.
As early-career professionals, it is easy to feel the pressure of immediate results. In a workplace that values productivity, the impulse to move fast and check off tasks can sometimes overshadow the importance of honing skills. But Lissy’s story reminds us that long-term success comes from embracing the process of learning, not rushing to the finish line.
There’s another important lesson here – besides honing skills and persevering in the face of challenges. And that is – the importance of considering your work significant to the growth of the organisation, irrespective of designation or authority. Lissy firmly believed that her work was important, and that is where her drive for continuous improvement and dedication to her craft came.
As early-career professionals we undermine our importance in the corporate anatomy, frequently getting overwhelmed when working in large, often multinational firms. We do not see our work impacting the larger goals of the company and feel like we are not in the driver’s seat, so a slightly laid-back attitude to work will not impact much. Nothing could be further from the truth. If you zoom in to verticals and then departments and then onto teams in any organisation, you will see that no role is insignificant and no responsibility small. The entire supply chain of responsibilities, when well-oiled and working in a collaborative fashion, produces big results. Thus, in the first few years, young professionals should develop a disciplined approach. Remember – early bird catches the worm? It works something like that in your first year at your first job. It is not a time to kick up your shoes and have some fun with your first earnings because you just finished a rigorous graduate program or an intensive MBA/Masters. Rather, it is time to be porous and unlearn and relearn all over again. Real-world scenarios are massively different from theory and case studies. They require us to be adaptable, open to feedback, willing to rewire our brains, push ourselves to innovate and finally, take accountability and not consider ourselves just a cog in the wheel, but the wheel itself that moves the vehicle.
Lissy’s story is a powerful reminder that hard work, perseverance, and a willingness to learn can lead to mastery and success. Early career professionals can draw inspiration from her journey and apply these principles to their own careers. By embracing continuous learning, a disciplined work ethic and resilience, young professionals too can become Magicians at work.
