Have you had it up to “here” in your present job? Are you thinking that another job would provide a better fit and mean a true commitment to the job? Well, welcome to the club…and it’s a large one. Employment experts believe that over 50 percent of the working population, at any given time, is ready to move on and find another job that is a better fit.
Of course, now might not be the right time to make that move for any number of reasons, not the least of which might be finances, family or fear. But here are 7 things you can do to create a better work situation for yourself in your present job. If you practice these actions, you will have more energy and challenge, create new connections with your environment and be seen as someone who is working to help your organization succeed. And that’s all good—for you and your career!
1. Identify – and get to know – your strengths. When you know them, you can be conscious of how to best apply them to your work. When we use our strengths, or our natural talents, we are doing our best work…and that provides satisfaction. In their book, Now, Discover Your Strengths, authors Marcus Buckingham and Donald Clifton identify 34 core strengths or talents that people possess, and we each excel in five or six of them. Discover your top strengths, and you will forever look at the work you do and the contributions you make differently. When you are aware of your strengths you can purposefully use them to create work satisfaction. It’s a matter of doing more of what you do best.
2. Use your strengths every day to improve your work and life satisfaction. When you use your strengths with purpose, you connect differently (more strongly) with your work, and you take responsibility for developing work satisfaction. Talk about your strengths with your manager and discuss what work you could do that might make better use of them and help the organization, too. Whether your strengths include discipline, learning or achievement (or any of the other 31 strengths), using them will improve your self-confidence and increase your worth to your employer!
3. Ask for feedback from your manager. Frequently managers hesitate to provide valuable feedback on your job performance because they aren’t comfortable giving it. That hurts you in both the long and short runs, because with the feedback you could “fix” a problem or continue on the right path and without it, you can do neither. So, ask for a few minutes of your manager’s time, and then ask for his/her thoughts on how you can be of greater value to the organization: get his/her opinion on how you conducted the last customer call, or how you came across when you provided the results of your research during the staff meeting or even how you can improve your sales numbers during a traditional slump time. The more you request, the more likely your manager will begin talking with you on a regular basis so your conversations are just that, rather than uncomfortable “feedback” sessions.
4. Keep your manager in the loop with your accomplishments. Track your work, but especially your results, and get them to your manager particularly when its not been requested. Your manager can’t get a good picture of how your area is doing without your specific accomplishments, and you can’t get any recognition for doing a good job. Make special note of any particularly challenging projects or tasks that you worked through in a creative way, or in which you took “above and beyond” initiative in order to keep a customer commitment. It’s very smart to make your accomplishments known and to always be aware of the value you provide to your organization…you get satisfaction and a sense of pride from the knowing, too!
5. Work with a coach**. While your organization might not pay for this professional development approach, you will energize your career in the greatest possible way when you discuss it with an objective, outside observer! You will also be able to focus on your greatest career asset, by becoming crystal clear on your strengths and on your realistic options for how to best leverage those strengths through your work. A coach can help you define possible career directions within your current organization and brainstorm ways to approach your managers with “win-win” suggestions for your career path and learning opportunities. Chances are more than excellent that if you develop a strong business case for your career path (one that supports the organization’s strategies and growth direction), you will get the approval to jump on that path and move forward. What a great way to renew your work enthusiasm!
6. Examine the alignment of your values with the values of your work place. The single most common source of work place discontent is the relationship between you and your manager or your values and those of the organization. You may see things differently and have different priorities, but an awareness of how your values align or don’t align allows you to work on developing a more satisfying environment. If the alignment is weak, you can ask for assignments or work with individuals and teams that share your values, and so find camaraderie with like-minded associates. When your values are parallel, your work satisfaction will improve.
7. Tap into other energy sources to use at work. Pay attention to how you’re taking care of yourself physically, emotionally and spiritually and those sources of new energy will carry over into your work place. There’s a strong connection between how you fuel your body, how you rid yourself of stress, how you form support systems and your ability to find satisfaction in your work environment. Fact is, if you’re unhappy with yourself, it’s unlikely you’ll find satisfaction anywhere.
While your first choice to getting more committed to your work may include changing employers, this isn’t always your easiest or wisest move. If you’re willing to work on the 7 steps noted above, you will create commitment and develop a work situation in which you can, in fact, find satisfaction. This satisfaction, in turn, will encourage better outcomes and results…and these will work to your advantage in your current or future organization.
By Janine Moon
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