At the end of my freshman year in college, I was hired as a Clerk Typist by a church to help the organizer of their big conference. One afternoon, the pastor of the church stopped by to meet me. He asked me what college I was attending, I told him; he was impressed and said so. The organizer then spoke up and said, “My son goes to _______ college.”  The pastor then said, “yes, I know, on a football scholarship. But, she goes to a college that requires academic scholarship.”  He then clicked his heels, turned around, and left the office.

From that point on, the organizer treated me meanly and started criticizing my work, requiring that I work overtime without pay. When I told him I could not work over because it would be dark by the time I got off the bus to walk home, he fired me. So, now, I had no summer job to make a little money to buy clothes and books to return to college. Or, so I thought.

Within less than a week, two things happened: the pastor fired the organizer and recommended me for a new job.  The Sunday before I was supposed to start my new job, my father pulled me aside and asked, “you are starting a new job on Monday, right?” “Yes, sir, at Pan American Airlines,” I replied. “How much will you be making an hour”? I said, “$2.79”.  Then in his infinite wisdom, he said, “Well, they  don’t want you to RUN Pan Am for $2.79.”

My father’s message was my first introduction to leadership.

His $2.79 message was quite simple, ‘stay in your lane, do YOUR job, and keep your mouth shut because you don’t know enough, have no experience, and nobody cares how smart you are’. Now, did he really say all that? Yes, he did–in that one simple statement. Was it good advice? Solid! Did I listen? Not at first, but I learned the lessons of $2.79 over the span of my career.

Leadership is situational, and women often find themselves facing difficult situations. We have to be smart in our jobs, but not arrogant. We must learn to be quiet when there is no need for comment. We must sometimes realize that ‘dewing’ the work without constantly complaining, ‘dewing’ the work that requires extra effort, ‘dewing’ the work without credit can be challenging.

Nevertheless, as leaders, ‘dewing’ the work sometimes just requires us to ‘DEW’ the work. 

That’s my $2.79!

Written by Dr. Yvonne Simmons Howze

Dental Leadership Academy