What I (Re-)Learned as an Usher on Broadway
This past Spring, after more than 35 years working in the investment management and financial technology industries, I did something I haven't done since college: I took a part-time hourly job. For almost exactly 20 years, I've been walking by a certain Broadway theater on my block in the theater district of New York City. The thought crossed my mind from time to time that it might be fun to be an usher at some point in the future. So one day in the merry merry month of May, the future was now.
There are primarily two age groups that work as ushers on Broadway and in other New York performing arts venues: people of my age and, shall we say, younger folks. But everyone was quite accepting and downright welcoming, which candidly surprised me. Of course, I enjoyed watching the shows (I work in five different theaters for a specific organization so there is some variety), but I also needed to learn the ropes.
The first lesson I learned, much to my delight, was that my coworkers were by and large anxious to help me when I needed it and to pick up any slack that I inadvertently created. This was quite a change from the competitive landscape I am used to as an enterprise sales executive. In fact, it reminded me of my first jobs in food service (dishwasher, busboy, and waiter), where everyone had the common goal of serving the clients, and there was no benefit in seeing another person fall behind. If you've ever worked in a kitchen, you’ll know what I mean; if not, please tune in to the new hit TV show, "The Bear".
The second lesson I learned soon followed as result of the many interactions I had with as many as 100 patrons I seat during "walk-in", the handful of folks who I talk to incidentally during intermission, before and after the show, as well as my coworkers. After several years of on and off pandemic lockdowns, the value of human interaction and camaraderie became surprisingly clear to me despite the steady media drumbeat regarding the same. I knew that I missed that interaction during the pandemic since most of my work was virtual. The one large industry conference I attended between 2020 and 2022 resulted in my getting COVID! Although the media outlets have covered this issue repeatedly, I was quite startled by the impact of this re-immersion into human interaction.
The third lesson I learned, or rather has been reinforced, is the personal value of being of service to patrons, clients, and coworkers (i.e. others). As a sales representative and account manager, as well as an entrepreneur and coach, this lesson is one that I often teach. However, experiencing it firsthand in a “back to basics” job really emphasized that realization. Something as simple as solving a patron's lack of orientation within the theater or the neighborhood provided immense satisfaction to both me and the patron. Sometimes, I was able to direct folks to an after-theater restaurant but more often to the theater restroom or bar!
The fourth and most surprising lesson I learned at this latter stage of my career is the value of working. Broadway ushers don't make a huge sum of money (although it is a union job – another first for me!), but I experienced the pride and dignity of a job well done all around me on a nightly basis and soon realized that these qualities aren’t necessarily proportionally related to the pay.
In conclusion, it is sometimes easy to forget amid the hustle and bustle of advancing one’s career, the true personal value of working, which in turn is simply being of service to an employer or actually the end client. Perhaps this is why I rarely encounter folks that want to stop working, but lots who want to change what they are doing. This also explained to me the attraction of charity work which quite mystified me when I was younger. This experience has been so powerful that I thought others might be interested in these lessons I (re-) learned last year.
