We’ve all been there. That first job. You showed up to the venue, signed in wondering “What happens now?”, got assigned to a department with a group of other hands and then ended up just bobbing along like a piece a driftwood floating in the waves. At that moment, you may have chosen to act like you know what’s happening and what you are doing; but on the inside, that tiny voice in your head was screaming “WHAAAAAAAT?!?”

In that moment, how many of us actually felt comfortable enough to pose questions? How many of us tapped the shoulder of the person next to us and asked “How do I do this?” After all, we were the new guy and who’s going to want to bother explaining anything to us, right? So we just pretended and followed along and hoped we didn’t break anything or anyone along the way.

But perhaps “fake it till you make it” isn’t the best approach.

The Teacher Called Experience

We could all hope that a new hand would stop and ask the how and what of it all, and some do; but many just act like that piece of driftwood in the load in/load out sea.

I have always believed that you truly do learn something new every day. It could be anything from procedures that could one day save a life to factoids useless for anything but winning bar trivia contests. We are constantly assimilating data and learning from it. It’s just how human beings are wired.

Rhino has all sorts of formal training to teach us how to do what we do, but there is also that hands-on, in-the-field teacher called experience. Every gig can be an opportunity to learn that “something new”. Veteran stagehands have all learned to take advantage of these opportunities and make the best of them. But how can we who are already established in the Rhino community help a newcomer maximize the learning potential inherent in the everyday work experience? How can we help them bridge that knowledge gap between newbie and veteran?

Finding Teachable Moments

It’s easy to just dismiss a person who doesn’t know what they are doing when you are trying to concentrate on your own task. But all it takes is a minute or two. A few bits of time to let them know they are not alone. You don’t have to be a supervisor to impart your knowledge and share what you know. If you’re working next to a fellow Rhino and they have that slightly confused look on their face, ask them if they have any questions about the task at hand. Describe the how and why of your actions while you do it.

If you see someone doing something incorrectly, take a second to show them the right way. Show them that it’s OK to ask questions. Then perhaps that new Rhino will start to understand that it’s better to ask questions than to do it wrong. When someone looks a bit lost, reach out to them, they may not have the confidence to reach out to you first. Use these times as teachable moments. It’s up to all of us to remember what it felt like on that first gig and to look out for those drifting Rhinos.

And let’s be honest, even experienced Rhinos don’t know everything. We can all get lost from time to time. But isn’t it nice to know that the person next to you has your back and that we can all give each other the helping hand and tools we need to do the job?

Carolyn DuRoss is the National Director of Training for Rhino Staging