On my run today, I started thinking about something a former supervisor said about my work ethic. She was explaining how a colleague was upset about traveling to a client in another state every two weeks.
After speaking with this colleague my supervisor’s reaction was “if this was Laney she would be psyched about it.” She’s right; to me the business trip is more than just frequent flier miles.
It’s about face time with the client and earning the trust from your team.
Face time with the client so early in your career doesn’t come easily. More often than not you are the one behind the scenes that gets the call for monitoring questions or meeting arrangements. Having a chance to be in front of the client, offering your counsel and learning client service hands on is invaluable.
Back on the home front, your team learns you can be trusted in certain situations. It can strengthen your relationship so that your boss knows you have his or her back and reinforce the idea that he or she can count on you to handle whatever comes up.
So while, catching the 6:00 am flight to wherever and returning 12 hours later can take a lot out of you, its important to remember all the good that can come from it too.