What We Don’t Say Out Loud … Volume 2

Once you top out… we stop checking you.

Here’s what we don’t say out loud… In this trade, topping out is treated like a lifetime clearance. Once you’re a Journeyman, the questions stop. The verification stops. The friction stops.

Not because it’s smart… Because it’s uncomfortable.

We don’t want to offend experience... We don’t want to challenge confidence... We don’t want to be “that guy” who slows things down.

So we assume...

We assume the hand still has it. We assume fatigue hasn’t crept in. We assume repetition hasn’t dulled judgment. We assume confidence still equals competence.

And assumptions are cheap.

They don’t cost anything… until they cost everything...

We say we respect experience. But real respect would be holding experienced hands to a higher standard… not a lower one.

Instead, we do the opposite...

Apprentices get watched. Apprentices get checked. Apprentices get corrected.

Journeymen get left alone… Even when their body language says something’s off. Even when the job feels rushed. Even when the plan is thin, and the pressure is thick.

And when it finally goes bad… When a seasoned hand makes a “rookie mistake”… Everyone acts shocked.

But nobody wants to talk about how long it had been since anyone actually verified the work. Nobody wants to talk about how many times we let “he’s good” replace “prove it.” Nobody wants to talk about how many close calls got brushed off because calling them out would’ve been awkward as hell.

That’s not trust... That’s laziness wrapped in tradition.

Judgment isn’t permanent. Skill isn’t static. And confidence, left unchecked, turns into arrogance real damn fast.

If the only people being evaluated are the least experienced ones… Then, the most dangerous assumptions in this trade are wearing Journeyman tickets.

That’s not Brotherhood...

That’s abandonment...

And every time leadership chooses silence over verification… They’re not respecting their people.

They’re rolling the dice with them...

BETTER... NEVER RESTS...

~Kevin | Lineman Bull$hit™ Academy

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