This Four-Letter Word Can Help You Grow in Your Career

On seeing the caption of this post, do not let your imagination fly in the wrong direction. Remember that in English, you have thousands of four-letter words but unfortunately, most of the folks remember only that particular word that should not be remembered. Let us now get into the intended topic without wasting further time.

As an employee, your aim may be to achieve quick growth in your career. But how to accomplish this aim? It is here you have to remember the four-letter word. The word is spelled as "PLAN." Yes. You have to make a solid and workable plan for your career growth. Let us find out how you should go about it. 

Remember the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson who said, "If you would not be known to do anything, never do it.” Even Saul Gellerman, who authored the book entitled "Motivation," says that when your boss recommends you for an elevation, he or she is betting his or her or even the company's reputation on you. This means that you have to earn such a name that the company and your boss is willing to promote you despite the fact that there is an element of risk in it. But how can enter the good books of your boss and the company's top brass? There are three things you should do for achieving this.

1. If you think that you are only a good performer in your organization, you are terribly wrong. There may be others who may be as good as or even better than you. They may be more knowledgeable or more talented than you. The only way you can make your management or bosses choose you over other performers for promoting is to stand out from them. You should show the management that you are competent in a wide range of tasks. You should also display your intelligence and knowledge in more number of areas than the other performers. Simply put, by distinguishing yourself from others, you can make the management choose you for a higher position. On the other hand, if you keep focusing on your own tasks and do not make the management realize that you are versatile, the top brass will prefer to retain you in the same position in which you have been showing your excellence.    

2. Let the managers of the other teams also know about your competence. If you succeed in accomplishing this, the leaders of the other teams will vie with each other when there are suitable positions for you in their departments. For making the other departmental heads know about you, you should be ready to mingle freely with the members of those teams as well. There may be several occasions that can help you develop a good relationship with the members of the other departments. There may be company outings, get-togethers, company seminars, etc. These people should know that you are competent and knowledgeable. You should be nice to them. It is not that you are advised to embrace hypocrisy and be nice to them. You should really be sincere and nice to them. If you fake, you will be found out very soon. 

The purpose of making the suggestion that you should create such an internal network is that these people will carry the details about you to their managers who, in turn, will keep the information in mind for future use. When there is an appropriate position in their department, they will remember you. Of course, they will test your competence before giving their final nod. Secondly, once you are chosen for the position, the folks who have passed on your details to their bosses are likely to be your peers or subordinates. They will extend their fullest cooperation and support to you and this will eventually help in your growth.

You have to make a plan to execute the above suggestions. That is the reason we firmly say that PLAN, a four-letter word, can help you achieve quick growth in your career.

How the Attitude of Mediocrity Can Kill Your Growth

A study says that the number of people who are complacent with their mediocre skills and their learning aspirations is huge. On the other hand, there are people who firmly believe that any level of talent or skill is not enough in the highly competitive environment that is prevalent now. For these latter folks, even the sky is not the limit and they do not even consider age, qualifications, and other barriers as impediments. There are people who are in their eighties who keep studying and enhancing their knowledge levels. In this context, you should understand and realize that if you develop such an attitude, no one on this planet can stall your growth. Let us find out how the attitude of mediocrity can stunt your growth and how the attitude of not getting complacent can help in improving your growth trajectory.

1. It is true that mediocrity may make you comfortable. But it may take a toll on your growth regardless of whether you are running a business or in employment. If you believe that average or normal performance is enough for executing your tasks, you will be increasing the chances of your faltering along your way. This means that your output and performance will be below par. You may commit errors and mistakes as well. Therefore, you may have to repeat the tasks again and again. This may sap your energy as well as your enthusiasm. When your enthusiasm gets a beating, your output will again be much below satisfactory levels. In other words, this may become a vicious circle and so, getting out of this quagmire may become highly difficult for you.

2. If you continue nurturing your mediocrity mentality, it may negatively impact your health as well. Your stress level will increase. For example, if you are employed and if your output or performance is not to the satisfaction of your boss, he or she may ask you to repeat the tasks until he or she is satisfied. Unfortunately, you have always been in possession of the mediocrity mentality and hence, you yourself are not certain if you will be able to improve the quality of your output. This uncertainty coupled with the energy you spend for executing the tasks repeatedly will increase your stress level. It is a known fact that constant stress can lead to serious ailments such as high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart-related health issues. 

3. Your attitude of mediocrity can rob your peace of mind at the home front. A home is a place where you can enjoy tranquility and peace of mind. But thanks to your mentality and mediocrity habits, you will adopt a cavalier and insouciant attitude towards your close relatives including your spouse and children. Remember that such a lack of concern for them will certainly annoy them and they are bound to get upset with your behaviors and habits. This may lead to avoidable arguments or tiffs within your family, the casualty being the tranquility at your home.

     

4. Another very important point to remember is that your mediocrity mentality will not allow you to utilize the opportunities available on the career front in an appropriate manner. Though every organization affords near-equal opportunities for its employees, it will not be a level-playing field for you because you have chosen a mediocre mentality. Those who believe in acquiring more and more skills and developing their knowledge will be able to move ahead of you and you will find yourself in an unenviable situation. 

The problem with your mediocre mentality is that if you are a team head, your attitude will deprive your team of great achievements also This is because you will either hesitate to make decisions or even if you dare to, you will perpetually make faulty ones. 

How to dispense with this mentality?

These are some of the disadvantages you are likely to encounter owing to your mediocrity mentality. You should, therefore, try and get rid of it. But you have to remember that you cannot achieve overnight success. By taking small and baby steps and achieving small successes, you can boost your confidence. 

You should remember another fact also. You cannot acquire skills in all the areas. Even if you try your best, there are bound to some areas in which you can never become an expert. In this context, it is better to recall a conversation between Bruce Lee, a Hong Kong-American martial arts instructor and philosopher, and another upcoming martial artist. This upcoming artist told Lee that however hard he tried, he could not lift his legs and use them as effectively as his peers did. To this, Lee replied that it was not necessary to acquire that skill, and instead, the artist could develop those skills in which he was strong.

You should apply the same analogy here and focus on your areas of strength and try to develop your expertise in them. You should not get complacent with average-level skills. You should learn to adroitly sidestep roadblocks along the way. You should work hard to become an expert in your strong areas. This will empower you to a great extent. You will be in a position to leverage your skills for achieving enormous success on the career front as well as in your life.  

  

Do You Want to Advance in Your Life or Career? Adopt These Habits.

If you think that you have to be very smart and highly talented, and should work very hard for long hours for succeeding in your life or career, you can not be more wrong. In fact, some of the millionaires throughout the world are not smart and do not possess huge talents at all. Nor do they work for long hours. But what factors have helped them achieve the success you are struggling to achieve?

According to a study, those who have seen huge success in their lives have certain traits in common. So, if you cultivate these habits, you can increase the chances of your success significantly. Let us find out more about these habits.

1. Successful people always ensure to plan ahead.

If you observe successful people, you will find that they plan ahead. They not only plan their daily tasks but plan ahead for the coming weeks as well. Some of them plan for the coming months also. By planning ahead, they prevent hurdles such as temptations and distractions. For example, if a millionaire has planned to visit the manufacturing facility she owns in another town, she will not allow other tasks, temptations, or distractions to supersede her plan. 

Planning is necessary because it will help in reaching the destination you have chosen. Without a plan, your life will be chaotic and you will not know where you are heading.

2. They know their strength and focus on it.

Successful people know their strengths and focus only on them. Remember that one can not be an expert in everything. It is the same with successful people as well. That is the reason they do not try to do everything themselves. They will delegate other tasks to those who have skills in them.  If a person keeps on changing her area of strength, she can never acquire skills in any area. So, you should also try to find your area of strength and focus on it. If you acquire the appropriate skills in that particular area, it will go a long way in helping you advance in your life or career. 

3. They know their magic hours and use those hours optimally.

That every person is different and unique is an undeniable fact. Some people can bring out the maximum output during the morning hours. A few others are "nocturnal birds" and they will be highly productive during nights. Successful people find out what their magic hours are and try to do the maximum during those hours. You must also find your magic hours and use those hours optimally and purposefully. Especially, if your ambition is to grow in your career, you should choose these hours for acquiring the required knowledge or skills.

4. Successful people are highly decisive.

Successful people never delay their decisions if they have all the information they need. Once they make their decisions, they do not vacillate also. At the same time, they are never after "perfect" decisions. They are aware that no decision can be perfect. They also know that decisions can be changed or improved upon as they move along. On the other hand, those who are not able to achieve quick success in their life always vacillate. Once, when asked how he was able to make quick decisions, Colin Powell, former Secretary of State of the USA, said that he always followed the 40/70 rule. If he had only 40% of the required information, he would do further study or would ask for more information before making a decision. But if he had 70% of the information he required, he would go ahead and make a decision. 

5. Successful people control their environment.

The most important factor that helps successful people in their accomplishments is that they do not allow the environment to control them. To elaborate on this, they do not allow negative-minded people or those who can distract or discourage them to control their time or work. As a person with ambitions, you should control your environment also and keep away from such "bad" elements.

By imbibing these habits and putting them to practice, you can accomplish great feats. You can achieve stupendous success in your career or life also.

The Head-Start You Do Not Know You Possess for Your Career Growth

Imagine a scenario. You and another colleague of yours are holding important positions in your company and the rank of both the positions is the same. Suddenly, there is a chance for a promotion for both of you because the person holding that position has resigned. The management has to make a choice now between you and your colleague. How will they decide? Let us find out.

You:

You have all the qualifications required for the position. You have experience as well. You have been winning accolades for the good work you have been able to do. 

Your colleague:

Your colleague is more qualified than you are. He has as much experience in the field as you have. Thanks to the inputs he has been giving the company, the management has been lavish in extending additional perks to him.

The question now is: Who will get the coveted promotion? Before answering this question, let us find out what Phyllis Schneider has to say. In an article entitled "Career Charisma," that he wrote in a magazine called "Working Woman," he said, "The real winners in business and in life, the women and men who are tapped for golden career opportunities, have something extra.

The people with charmed careers have a way of looking at the world that takes top management feel they can do almost any job superbly, that imbues everybody with whom they work with a kind of enthusiastic, winning spirit. Their success is as much a matter of attitude as of hard work and talent. They are optimists. That optimism is astonishingly powerful, and it can be cultivated.

...................The optimist almost invariably has an edge over less enthusiastic colleagues."

In short, if you have an optimistic mindset, you can certainly be confident that the management will choose you for the promotion. So, pause for a moment, and check if you are an optimist or not. If you are not, don't lose heart. You can cultivate this attitude, and once you master it, you can be confident of your career growth.

Quitting Is Not The Right Option When Employees Are Unable To Achieve Work-Life Balance

In the recent years, a considerable number of employees including those of popular companies have quit their jobs declaring that they could not achieve work-life balance at all. These employees might be thinking that the step they have taken is right and may do good to them. But in reality, they have not done good either to them or to their companies.

Most importantly, their step of quitting does not help the thousands or may be, millions of other employees who may experience the same plight of over-working and not being able to spend quality time with their friends or family members. But since they may have other problems including lack of other resources, they are not able to quit their jobs.

One of the classic examples of those who quit their jobs due to this problem was Max Schireson, former CEO of MongoDB, who could not balance his roles of a dad and a CEO. Similarly, Patrick Pichette, former CFO of Google, quit the company citing the reason that he wanted to spend quality time with his family. Mohamed El-Erian, Pimco’s CEO, resigned when he was given a list by his daughter how he had missed more than 20 childhood milestones due to his work pressure. Thanks to their work-packed hours, these people lost the time they had to spend with their families. 

But instead of quitting, they should have chosen to make use of their experience and creativity to find work-life balance. In fact, if CEOs and managers strive to bring a good change in the corporate policies, all the employees will benefit. Their organizations will ultimately benefit also.

"Flexible working hours - A perk or a smart decision?

Companies have all along been thinking that flexible working is a perk to employees. But management experts opine that it is a smart decision made by business owners. Flexible working can do immense good to departments such as finance and HR management and most importantly, to employees.

The best benefit to companies is they can save substantially if they utilize the services of telecommuting employees. Further, these employees remain more engaged than the normal employees. Studies reveal that in companies that offer the flexible working option to their employees, employee satisfaction levels increase by more than 80%. Likewise, these companies are able to retain talents also.

How a flexible working program can be implemented

Assess the current situation as well as requirements of your company 

You must first know the problems the flexible working program you are offering will solve. Never make a guess but try to gather as much data as possible so you can know what work-life balance issues will get resolved by your offer. You can explore what types of options are available to you. You can offer the working-from-home option or you can accede to employees' request of choosing the starting and ending times of their working days. You must keep an open mind so when you stumble upon unique and new options, you can add them to your list of offers.

Change may take time

You should put in place a good strategy for testing new policies. The details of the policies you introduce in your company must be communicated in lucid terms to all the employees. You are not advised to implement the new policies in a full-fledged manner while taking the first step itself but at the same time, you need not hesitate to make a beginning. But be committed to your implementation goals so you can move forward steadily. For example, you can initially offer flexible working hours for a day in a week. If you think it works well, you can increase the frequency. You can make suitable changes to your policies as and when necessary. Do not hesitate to solicit feedback from your employees because this is a very good trust-building step.

Be a role model

When you introduce the flexible working policy, you must be the first to use the option. Most of the employees may not feel safe when they observe that their bosses themselves do not use the new option. So, you must inspire your staff to follow suit by leading from the front.

Your managers must be suitably equipped with excellent techniques

If your employees think that just attending office and being at the desk or the workplace throughout the day are enough, you must bring about a change in their attitude. They should understand that being productive is much different from being present in the office. Employees who choose the option of flexible working should know that they must focus on the company's goals and targets and work towards achieving them. This means your managers must proactively and clearly communicate the targets as well as goals of the company to their subordinates. Managers must also collaborate with the employees for making them work towards these goals. If employees realize that the company has realistic expectations from them, they may not hesitate to take all the steps to optimize their productivity.

Managers should get rid of all the passive and useless techniques they have all along been adopting and switch to new skills that may suit employees who work the traditional way as well as those who choose flexible working.

Findings of a study reveal that by 2020, more than 50% of employees will opt to work remotely. So, companies must provide employees with more control so they can choose where they work from, when they should work and how they intend to work. This will boost their productivity and their health will also improve. They may derive more satisfaction from their job. They may work for longer hours than the employees who work the traditional way. This will ultimately lead to better work-life balance.

So, those employees, managers as well as CEOs who decide to quit because they are not able to find good work-life balance must choose to stay so they can spur the necessary changes in their respective organizations. This will improve their relationship with their families. Thousands of employees who are forced to stick on to their jobs despite the fact that they are not able to balance their work life and family life will benefit also if business owners and managers introduce this viable option of flexible working in their organizations.