|
|
The View from my Window . . . Sitting at my desk in my newly remodeled office, I have a fabulous view of the world outside my window. And it's QUITE a window- measuring 6 feet tall and 9 feet wide! Why am I telling you about my new window? We all enjoy some parts of our jobs more than others. I love to travel to new places to present keynotes and workshops and make new friends. But I don't enjoy the days when I'm in the office feeling "trapped" at my computer terminal. Since I can't eliminate that part of my job, I found a way to make my job more enjoyable by adding my "window wall." I'm not going to describe the view, because I want you to imagine what you would see outside your "window wall" if you could create one. I mentioned feeling trapped sometimes. Do you ever feel "trapped" in your job- like you're doing the work of several people? With fewer resources? On a tighter budget? With a demanding time schedule? Are you worried about restructuring and downsizing? Dealing with difficult coworkers and with customers who don't appreciate you? Have you noticed that, although you're getting enough sleep and exercise, and eating healthy, you still don't have the energy you need to do your job well? Has your comfortable job become boring ? Maybe you can't knock out a wall and replace it with a window. You may not be able to remodel your workplace, but you can remodel your attitude. Begin by finding some creative ways to put more joy back into your life. What do you do for recreation-for fun-something that is just for YOU? When I ask audience members why they're no longer doing the things they used to enjoy, they always answer, in unison: "Not enough time." We're all busy people. But no matter how busy we are, we can make time to do something that brings us great joy and helps us recreate the spirit we need to come to work every day and give our best. And some of that spirit and passion is sure to spill over into our personal lives as well. The possibilities are endless. The task is up to you. Your own window--of opportunity-- awaits! If you would like to reprint this article, please give Jean Gatz credit as author, list my website: www.jeangatz.com and my phone number: (225) 769-6800. Please send us a copy of the publication in which the article appears. Would Your "Audience" Call You a STAR? Customers and co-workers alike want to interact with people who bring a positive and proactive attitude to their jobs. But it's difficult to stay enthusiastic and excited when things aren't going well. How can you do it? When actors are on stage, they know they must be so good at their role that their performance will be "memorable" in the eyes of their audience. They know they must be "star performers" who will be remembered for doing an excellent job. Like actors, we all play a part. Your customers and co-workers have a right to expect a "star performance" from you because they serve as your audience. They expect you to play your part well, regardless of what is going on in your personal or professional life. While they don't expect you to act like a robot or be fake or phoney, they do expect you to play the part of a professional, even when you're not feeling particularly enthusiastic, compassionate, or whatever your job requires you to be. Today's workplace needs people who are positive, proactive, and enthusiastic. Your attitude has the power to make or break your company - and your career. It only takes one person to set the tone for the entire team. Do your customers and coworkers see you as a positive and proactive person -a "star performer?" Or would they remember your "performance" for all the wrong reasons?? If you would like to reprint this article, please give Jean Gatz credit as author, list my website: www.jeangatz.com and my phone number: (225) 769-6800. Please send us a copy of the publication in which the article appears.
Clean Out the "Junk Drawer" of Your Life Most of us have at least one junk drawer at home or at the office. It's full of things we don't need and haven't used in a long time. But we can't bring ourselves to throw that useless stuff away. Our minds contain a space for junk, too. We each have our own junk drawer. It's full of the negative attitudes, beliefs and behaviors we bring to the workplace that keep us from bringing added value to our jobs and developing the skills we need to remain employable and marketable now and well into the future. In research for my book, How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep, decision makers told me they would fight to keep those employees who could come to work every day and give 100% - without all the clutter of negative attitudes and behaviors. To advance in your career, you must be willing to clean out your own junk drawer. A good place to start is to ask yourself some questions like these:
It requires courage to take an objective (and sometimes painful) look at yourself on the job - to examine all your weaknesses as well as your strengths. "Cleaning out your personal/attitudinal junk drawer" makes room for the positive attitudes and behaviors you MUST bring to the job if you want to remain employable and marketable and continue to advance your career. If you would like to reprint this article, please give Jean Gatz credit as author, list my website: www.jeangatz.com and my phone number: (225) 769-6800. Please send us a copy of the publication in which the article appears. Take Charge of Your Career! The world is changing quickly. What do the terms downsizing, restructuring, outsourcing, mergers and budget constraints mean to you and your career? Do you understand what today's organizations are asking - and even demanding - of their employees? In research for my book, How to Be the Person Successful Companies Fight to Keep, I interviewed over 300 business owners, CEOs, managers, supervisors, HR directors and employers and asked: "Suppose you have two employees who are both technically competent. But you can only keep one of them. How do you decide which one stays and which one goes? Which one would you fight to keep?" What my co-author and I discovered in our survey is that decision-makers were in remarkable agreement on the high performance behaviors employees must demonstrate to bring added value to the organization and remain employable and marketable. The key to staying successfully employed will depend on your ability to:
Demonstrating these abilities and behaviors could very well save your career and allow you to stay employed. Notice I said “stay employed.” I did not say “keep the job you have now.” There is a difference. If your primary goal is to keep the job you have now, you may actually be placing yourself in jeopardy. We’ve observed that many employees who attempt to keep their current jobs often become anxious and resistant to change. They act defensively, hoard information that needs to be shared, and fear that they will lose credit for the work they do as part of the team. In other words, they display exactly the opposite behavior of what today’s companies are looking for in successful employees. To remain employed, you have to picture yourself as “employable.” You must remain flexible and keep all your options open. These options could include being employed by another company or in another industry, working for more than one employer, moving to another department or location within your present company or perhaps starting your own business. Keeping the job you have now may be a short-term goal for you. Staying employed is a far-reaching, long-term goal. Most people will change jobs – and careers – at least three times throughout the course of their professional life. And few people can count on the safety net of a lifelong job. Since job security as we have known it no longer exists, then it’s up to each of us to create our own “career” security. But how do you go about making a visible contribution? One manager shared his opinion: If you're my employee, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve been on the job, how impressive your resume is, or how many initials and titles come after your name. What matters is what you know, and how you continue to learn to stay on the cutting edge. How you apply that knowledge on the job is what really counts in our organization. The CEO of a Fortune 500 company put it this way: No one is going to take care of you today but yourself. Every employee focused on job security must be flexible and contribute to the bottom line – every single day. Our research confirmed this reality. The only organization that will take people under its wing and guarantee them food, clothing and shelter for life is a state or federal penitentiary. Not a very wise career move! So each of us must take responsibility for our lives, both personally and professionally. And we must plan for the future. There is no one else to blame if we fail to reach our goals. A mid-level manager commented: We need people who can partner with us to stay one step ahead of the game, remain competitive in the changing marketplace, break away from tired old ways of doing things, and help us plan for success. In addition to the high performance behaviors listed, every single decision maker stressed the importance of character. They all agreed they wanted employees they could trust, people who are compassionate, honest, and act with integrity, who keep their promises and do what they say they are going to do. Although you may be one of the most honest, hardworking employees in your organization, it’s important to be aware of company politics. Although employers don’t like to talk about them, they exist in every workplace. My advice is to become savvy about the politics in your company, know the lay of the land, network accordingly, and understand that sometimes decisions are made which are not fair. It’s naïve to think that if you close your eyes, cross your fingers and keep your nose to the grindstone, all will be well. Sometimes it’s not enough to be good at your job. You must also stay connected and alert. Many employees we talked to were so busy trying to find fault or blame someone for their recent or impending job loss that they couldn’t focus on doing something about remaining employable. Their anger, frustration and bitterness drained them of the excitement, creativity and energy they needed to move in a positive direction. Does your company have the right to expect you to demonstrate the eight high performance behaviors in your job? We could argue the point, but arguing will not change the reality of today’s workplace. These abilities are what today’s companies expect – and even demand. Do you have to meet these expectations? It’s totally up to you. But I recommend that you seriously consider the importance of these abilities if you want to remain employed over the long haul of your career. Your job title and job duties may change, you may leave your present company through downsizing of through your own choice. You may already have some or even all of these abilities. But if you don’t, are you willing to change to fit the needs of today’s employers? The main reason people are willing to undergo serious change is because they realize it’s imperative to their survival to do so. In today’s volatile and rapidly changing workplace, it is imperative to your survival that you become – and remain – as marketable as possible. You can no longer depend on a company or an organization for your financial and professional well being. Instead, you must depend on yourself and be responsible for your own future. How are you doing so far? How employable and marketable are you? Have you taken charge of your career? To find out how you measure up, take the Positive Impact Quiz on my website. As you read the interpretation of your score, ask yourself this question: "Am I the person every successful company would fight to keep?" Click Here to take the Positive Impact Quiz Take Charge of Your Personal
Life! When I talk about “the employee’s personal life” in my workshops, someone always asks: “What does my personal life have to do with work? It’s personal because it’s private and nobody else’s business!” And I totally agree – your personal life IS private – IF you leave it at home. One of the major complaints I hear from my clients - business owners, CEOs, managers, supervisors and HR directors – is that many employees do not keep their personal lives private. Instead, they bring their personal problems into the workplace. And when they bring their personal life to work, they negatively impact their own productivity and the productivity of the entire team. Maybe there are some employees in your workplace who act like their life is a soap opera. They come to work every day and manage to involve you and others in the latest episode. Their constant whining and complaining about small issues impacts their ability to do their job and also distracts others from doing theirs. As one store manager shared:
A manager is not supposed to serve as a counselor, therapist, parent or pastor. First, they may not have the knowledge or experience to take on those roles. And second, it is not their job. The future will require more focus on work, more flexibility, more willingness to work as a team, more risk-taking, and more energy. Employees who cannot find the courage, strength, willpower, or assertiveness to work on resolving personal problems usually have a difficult time coping with the overwhelming changes and demands of the workplace today. Here's what today’s organizations expect from their employees: 1. Separate the “big stuff” from the “little stuff”. When a major personal crisis occurs, you should be able to count on your company for understanding and support. But coming to work every day depressed, angry, upset, or stressed about small, petty inconveniences wears out everyone's patience. Many of your coworkers are dealing with their own challenges, including maintaining healthy relationships, keeping their children safe, caring for their aging parents, financial problems, death, illness, separation, divorce - the list is endless. No company should be expected to accept a drop in work performance every time a minor stressful event comes along in an employee’s life. They count on employees to deal with most situations on their own, most of the time, without allowing the situation to affect their ability to do their jobs. 2. Get help if you need it. When tragedy or difficult times strike, some people think asking for help to get through the grief, pain, sadness or depression is a sign of weakness. But weak people rarely ask for help. It's the strong people who may be going through tough times but refuse to be a victim of circumstances beyond their control. Those are the ones who seek help and actively search for ways to cope - even with the "big stuff" going on in their personal lives. They may have been momentarily weakened by a specific event, but their strength of purpose and character lead them to seek the help and support to allow them to heal and move on. The hardest thing for many of us to do is admit we need help. What about you? Are you a person who can ask for help when you need it? Are you unwilling to be a victim of circumstance and actively search for ways to cope with even the “big stuff” that comes your way? If your personal life is in trouble or out of control, then perhaps you could benefit from some of the many excellent services available in your community or through your own company. 3. Work with your company to find a solution. Even though your company may sympathize and want to help in times of serious personal crisis, it is not your company's responsibility to fix the problem. It is your responsibility to find a way to deal with the problem in the best way for both you and your employer. Suppose you temporarily need a more flexible schedule because of a serious situation at home. Don’t storm into your boss’ office and issue an ultimatum: “I can't work these hours right now because of (whatever the personal problem is), so you’ll just have to find someone else to work my shift.” A more effective approach would be to find a coworker willing to trade schedules with you until your situation improves. Then you can go to your boss, explain the problem and offer a solution for the short term. For example: “I can’t work my regular shift for (state the time frame as best you can) because of (state the problem). But I’ve found someone on my team to trade shifts with me during this time. We’ve worked it out and nothing in our department should be interrupted until things return to normal.” Put yourself in your boss’ place. Which statement would you rather hear? Which is a better solution so that your customers and coworkers will not suffer during this time? And, of course, you should be willing to return the favor to the person who helped you if/when they need your help. (Or perhaps you’ve already helped them out, and now it’s their turn to help you!) Today’s organizations need employees who can come to work ready to put their full effort and energy into the task at hand. Of course no one’s personal life is ever perfectly in order because we live in such an imperfect world. As quickly as we resolve one problem, another one appears. That’s why it’s important to have good, solid, loving relationships in other areas of our lives to help us through the tough times. What about you? What needs to happen in your personal life to give you a calm center from which to function effectively on the job? Is there a decision about something in your personal life that you’ve been putting off? What is stopping you? Who is stopping you? How much longer can you afford to wait? Can you separate the “big stuff” from the “little stuff”? Are you confident enough even to admit you have a problem? Are you strong enough to ask for help if you cannot resolve the problem yourself? Will your future employability be at risk? If you haven’t done so already, you may want to take the Positive Impact Quiz on my website. Look at the specific questions relating to your personal life and answer them honestly. As you read the interpretation of your score, ask yourself this question: “How is my personal life impacting my ability to do my job?” |
 |
1736 Plantation Oaks Drive Baton Rouge, LA 70810-7119 phone. 225-769-6800 . fax. 225-769-7744 jean@jeangatz.com |
 |
