A link in a chain
October 28, 2026
"I am a link in a chain, a bond of connexion between persons." — St. John Henry Newman
Newman wrote this about his own calling, but it might be the best description of a career I've come across.
Most of us don't see the full picture of what we're building. We own a slice: a component, a process, a handoff, a decision. It's easy to wonder whether that slice matters.
It does. Here's what I've learned about being a good link:
Your work is someone else's starting point. The quality of what you hand off sets the ceiling for the next person. Clear documentation, honest status updates, and finished work are acts of respect for the people downstream.
Connection is part of the job. Projects rarely fail because of one broken part. They fail where the parts meet: between teams, between functions, between what was said and what was heard. The person who bridges that gap is doing real work.
Nobody is there by accident. Newman's line ends, "He has not created me for naught." If you're on a team, you're there because your contribution fills a gap no one else fills.
Leaders are links too. My job isn't to be the whole chain. It's to make sure every link is strong, and that people know how their piece connects to the whole.
So this week, ask yourself: who is depending on my link, and who could I strengthen by reaching out?
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#Leadership #Teamwork #WorkplaceCulture #Engineering #Purpose
