the white knight.

I love  it when someone new starts working in your office. Fresh meat. All of a sudden your jokes that everyone else has heard a billion times are once again hilarious, and the quirks/qualities you would normally be teased for by the other office veterans no longer exist. Why? Because you must now be on your best behaviour, you are in the presence of the white knight.

Boss and Mr. Dash had been in search of a white knight for quite some time. This came after Pegs had left us to rule another kingdom, and we were left in a hole, frowns had replaced our smiles, getting choked up, humming ‘the way we were’ as we would walk past her empty desk.

The white knight rode in on his steed to our office one Friday (Friday is the new Monday morning start) there was fanfare, I curtsied, Tech-Man was dressed respectively, his shirt was tucked in, ironed, it was all very elegant.

Just like the start of a new relationship, new prospect, clean slate. You put on your Sunday best, you smile. And when it comes to conversation pieces? Well  who needs new material when your white knight hasn’t heard about the priests, Somalians, STC’s and Tech-Man teaching you the word no?

Of course you have to tread carefully here, make sure the white knight isn’t too proper, or easily offended. Especially when the stories in your back pocket are a bit eccentric. One false move and the white knight could be thinking ‘what have I done? I could have stayed put, or gone out on my own as an entrepreneur. Really, how do these people all have jobs? How has HR not been told about this?’ And we can’t do that to Boss and Mr. Dash.

But in the same breathe, you don’t want to be fake, nobody wants to think they have something real and then they find out its totally faux. That is when the real disappointment sets in.

Thankfully, we soon discovered that the white knight was just as loony as the rest of us, with stories of his own, as well as giving Mr. Dash and Tech-Man a bit of a run for their money with the one liners.

And this is what you want, especially if you’re more than just a good on paper person, and you are seeking out the same in your potential candidate, someone that has good energy, who brings wit and banter, but also the compassion, heart, and a desire to be part of the team. A mentor, whom can breathe a bit more life into things, and inevitably, someone you can run with.

And if you find yourself as a white knight whether in a new gig, or in a new relationship, it is in most cases well deserved, as you were likely cast as a villain upon breaking up with your last company/significant other. No one likes being the villain, its yucky, especially when you know you’ve tried everything, compromise, sacrifice, and you’ve come to the realisation that despite your efforts, you just can’t make it work. Now it is time to break up. And to be clear, this is not giving up, it is actually more about self preservation, freedom and growth. As of course there are always two sides to every story, it is quite easy to spot those who are genuine white knights, and were potentially just placed in a situation where they were briefly antagonists.

Welcome to the team white knight, your initiation is now complete, we told you the hazing would be fairly painless. Once you’ve been blogged about, you’re truly part of the crew, and we are very happy to welcome you to our crazy work family.