You choose. Have you ever worked with anyone who complains about every task that comes their way? It makes the work day seem so much longer. Some people always seem to have a problem or reason why things go awry or they believe that their issue is always someone else’s fault. They can’t see that it is not the project, the people, or the business complexity that is the problem – it is their own attitude.
In a normal working day we talk and interact often with our stakeholders, our teammates, our colleagues and our management. Our behavior allows those who work with us to view us in a particular way. On a daily basis you get to choose whether you will be perceived as someone who gets things done or as someone who gives reasons why things are not accomplished as committed.
I work with people every day that I consider to be “heroes”. I don’t mean like police or firemen that rescue people out of burning buildings but I do mean the type of people that make our jobs fun and exciting. My work heroes are positive individuals. They take what comes, especially challenges, and they create something so much better than we could imagine. A work hero is someone who can muster enthusiasm and encouragement even when their colleagues are being negative, bemoaning the fact that they are working a difficult assignment. You know those projects from “hell” that everyone loves to brag about. There will probably always be victims in the world ready to point fingers and blame others for failures that occur. My heroes do not let themselves off the hook when there is a tough project and they work their magic by bringing people together to solve a problem in a very creative, unexpected way. Their secret ingredients are persistence, enthusiasm, generosity and hard work. I am very fortunate that I do not work with any victims. My colleagues inspire me with their encouraging, optimistic attitudes.
Unfortunate things do happen, but one way to tackle issues is to take pause and regroup to resolve problems or to replan work that is not going the way it should. Think, “What can I do to create a winning situation?” Often problems begin with poor communication. Keeping heated emotions out of work discussions is prudent and working cohesively through difficult times, rather than pointing fingers at our team mates work unexpected miracles.
When you look around I am sure you can see heroes and victims in your work environment. Learn from the heroes and try to influence any victims you know to look introspectively if problems keep happening. It is not always easy to be positive but it is always a good idea to check our attitudes so that we are getting the best out of ourselves and others who we influence on a daily basis. I would love to hear comments about how heroes and victims affect your work places.
July 28th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
Angie,
You make a great point about the impact of peoples’ attitudes on everyone they work with. I wonder if job satisfaction is as much the people you work with as the job you are tasked with. Seems that way in my experience.
I consider myself to be a can-do sort of person, no hero but certainly persistent and sometimes creative in getting the job done. However, like everyone I live in the real world of shifting priorities and sometimes work overload. I try to use effective communication to convey to, say, a manager, that the new priority will cause some schedule (and possibly other) adjustments to current assignments and current workload may affect the timeline for the new assignment. I consider it a professional responsibility to manage expectations so that I can meet them and I give 110% to do so. But I’ve seen that some managers see these communications as (a) messages not to assign any more work to me because I’m obviously overloaded and (b) subtle means of saying “No” to what I’m being asked to do. I don’t mean this at all so obviously my communication is not as effective as hoped.
I bring this up in this forum because I wonder if there is a person type in between victim and hero who is well intentioned and highly productive but only capable of performing so many miracles with the available hours. How does this person survive in the workplace??
July 29th, 2008 at 7:49 am
I just saw this quote today and think it goes with this blog post.
“The pro is the person who has all the hassles, obstacles, and disappointing frustrations that everyone else has. yet continues to persist, does the job, and makes it look easy.”
— David Cooper, Sales Trainer
Jaime, if you don’t want to call yourself a hero, I think “pro” is fitting for you!
July 29th, 2008 at 10:01 am
Jaime, I agree with Kupe you are a "pro" by letting your manager know the impact of shifting priorities so that you may honor your commitments. You may want to clear up any misunderstanding with your management and reiterate to your boss that you are communicating frequently to ensure you honor your assigned priorities. I agree with Neal Whitten in his book Let's Talk! More No-Nonsense Advice for Project Succes. He says there are only two reasons when it is okay to miss a commitment 1) when someone with more authority shifts your priorities or 2)when business needs dictate. When your boss changes your priorities, you should first see if you can adjust your work load to meet the new priorities, and if you cannnot you are correct in communicating with your manager and allowing he/she to choose which priority is most important for you to perform. Sometimes both things are high priority and must be done and so allowing your manager to assign work to someone else who has a smaller work load is not a poor reflection on you. In fact as a manager, I would concerned if you said nothing but then did not complete either task on time or one or both were not completed in a quality way.
July 31st, 2008 at 6:59 am
Thanks for the feedback–I like “pro”!
I’m 3 months into a new job, after many years in the environment I described above. Angie, your book recommendation sounds like a good read for someone trying to get the lay of the land in herfirst government job–thanks!
I look forward to future blogs. Cheers!
July 31st, 2008 at 11:04 am
Hi Jaime, Neal Whitten's books are geared toward project managers, really, but I consider him as one of my mentors and have found his common-sense advice of great benefit for a business analyst as well.
August 1st, 2008 at 3:37 pm
I receive helpful tips from Keith Ferrazzi, http://nevereatalone.typepad.com/blog/2008/08/tip-129-make-li.html, and this latest one hits upon what Angie wrote about and the subsequent comments. Here it is…enjoy.
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Tip 129 - Make Life Happen, Watch Life Happen, or Wonder What the Heck Happened?
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I don't think I would have ever used the word "victim" to describe myself. However, to be a victim is to feel like one has no choice, as if any situation we find ourselves in is being "done" to us and we have no recourse.
The truth is, we all have choices, always. Even if that choice is simply to refuse to feel like a victim no matter what the circumstances.
I've had an internal voice on repeat in the recent past. The voice constantly said, "I HAVE to do everything around here!" and only added to my sense of overwhelm. It stressed me and the people around me out.
Yes, I do have a lot of pressure and responsibilities. But the fact and truth is, I absolutely DO NOT have to do everything - nor do I do everything, nor have I ever done everything. The voice is just flat out wrong. With that voice, I was talking myself into being a victim. That helped nobody, least of all me!
Regardless of whether my feeling is positive or fair, it does well up inside of me. You may have similar internal monologues that you just can't shake. Getting to the bottom of why can help you kick them. Think about the underlying emotions, and ask what would happen if you did not do your personal "have to." For me, that goes something like this: If, in fact, I do not "do everything," or at least try, I feel irresponsible. If I feel irresponsible, I feel afraid. If I feel afraid, I feel resentful. If I feel resentful, I feel angry, and if I feel angry, I feel powerless, overwhelmed and depressed. Ugh. And I think many of you have felt what it's like to go there. Not good for any of us.
It kind of makes sense that I'd rather just try to "do everything" than feel powerless, overwhelmed and depressed, right? That still doesn't make it a strong course of action - try to do everything and you'll do nothing well.
When I recognized that I had a choice, I started making a new one. I started to delegate more to the amazing and talented team I've got working with me. Together, we are setting set a much clearer vision of what success looks like so that we can own it together. That way I can step back without those negative feelings of fear and irresponsibility.
So why didn't I just do this to start with, when it seems so obvious? I'd had the instinct, but for the longest time, I chose to ignore it. Do you have any such instincts inside you? Maybe it's time to act.
Remember, we can make life happen, watch life happen, or wonder what the heck happened?! Let's make life happen, together.
Warmest,
Keith
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