Daniel Pink the author of the book DRIVE: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us, is a marketing expert and a bit of a futurist. In a recent interview, he talked about how many people in America today feel deprived of context in their work. In fact, 75% of people interviewed don’t feel that what they do matters, or that they’re making a measurable contribution to their company or to the world. Depressing, huh?

Photo credit: Renjith Rishnan

There are several reasons that this feeling occurs. Maybe the corporate culture discourages being part of a team.  Maybe the company doesn’t involve their employees in the organization’s success (or lack thereof). Maybe the employee simply isn’t getting any feedback as to whether their work is integral to the success of the business.

If you find yourself in a position where you’re feeling deprived of context in your work, ask yourself why. Do you feel a driving need to make a difference in the world and in people’s lives? Do you want to be recognized for your contribution to your company? Do you feel isolated, as though you’re working in a void? Once you have an honest answer, you can begin to work toward solving the issues around your problem.
 

Here are some ideas for creating context in your work life.

• If you’re not getting feedback from your boss or co-workers, create your own “annual review” form. (You can base it on the form I’ve provided here.  Take an inventory of your skills; then, ask yourself where you feel your progress should be measured and what you could be doing better. You might even create a copy of this form to present to your boss or peers.
• If you’re lacking a team structure, create your own team. Ask your co-workers to meet on a regular basis to discuss projects, smooth over trouble spots, and create working plans for the future. You can even offer each other unofficial “annual reviews” to help bring communications issues to light.
• Ask for feedback. As Dan Pink points out, without feedback you’ll never achieve mastery. If you want to grow within your field and perfect your skill set, you need objective, honest information. If your boss won’t (or can’t) provide this, ask your peers, or seek out a mentor or coach.
• If you can’t come up with a way to feel satisfied and fulfilled in your current job, it’s probably time to leave. You might look for a new job with a company that stresses employee enrollment and accountability (i.e., the Toyota Management style). Research proves that when team members are actively enrolled in the performance of a company, it has a profound effect on morale and productivity. Or, if you’re active in a particular cause, look for a company whose values align with that cause, and in whose mission you can believe.

When we feel that what we do makes a difference in the world, it can change the way we view the daily grind. If you’re having trouble identifying what you need to feel valued at work, give me a call. We can work together to assess what you need from your boss and your career, and help you find a place where you can continue to grow.

To learn more about how I can help you facilitate this process, read my recent case study here.
 

1. What would happen if you performed only the action steps required to complete your tasks?

2. What choices are you making with your time and your controllable decisions?

3. Are your choices in harmony with your core values—like family, personal development, and your long-term career path—or are they simply made in reaction to day-to-day situations?

4. What uncontrollable factors are you allowing to create stress and extra work?

5. What can you stop doing (or start doing) that will allow you to complete your tasks in less time?

6. What are your biggest time killers? How can you reduce or eliminate them?

7. How will shifting your priorities and/or routines affect your work life?

8. How is your attitude about your career life balance affecting that balance?

 
Use these questions, and your answers, to develop a clearer picture of how you control your tasks, your time, and your world. Like the successful people mentioned above, you can begin to make decisions that support a healthier career life balance. Take small steps to start, and stick with your changes until they become habit.
 

How do they do it?

Strategic, sound decision-making comes from a clear vision of how you want to create and control your world. It also comes from a sound knowledge of what you can’t control, and an acceptance of that fact.

Every micro-decision made by a top performer is dispatched based on an organized plan that they’ve devised based on their knowledge of the situation and their short- and long-term goals. Every action they take during a given day is seen as part of this decision process: phone calls, e-mails, business meetings, and individual line items on extensive to-do lists.
 
Of course, no top performer can handle everything that crosses his or her desk alone. That’s why delegation is a crucial part of the decision-making process for successful people. Sometimes, delegating can be hard — especially when you’re operating on a very specific plan — but delegated tasks don’t have to fall under the heading of “what I can’t control” if you’re delegating effectively.

Action Step: Delegation Decisions
If you’re not sure where and what to delegate, ask yourself these questions.
• Does this task utilize my most valuable skill set?
• Is there someone on my team (or in my contacts list) who can perform this task as well as I can?
• If I delegate this task, can I use my newly freed-up time to generate more revenue, or perform the tasks only I can do?

If you decide to delegate, use the following pointers to make sure that you’re giving your associate the right tools to get the job done according to your plan:

• Explain the nature of the task clearly. If you want exact results, give exact directions.
• Share your goals for the project, and your goals for the big picture. When your associates can see the long view, they’re more likely to understand the “why” of your directions.
• Set up an accountability plan.
• Share the results of the project or goal with everyone who worked on it with you.
 
Finally, top performers know that when variables arise, the plan might have to change — and they’re okay with that. Flexibility allows them to always make their decisions based on the way things really are, not on the way they want them to be.
 
If you want to learn more about effective delegation, check out my workshop on the C.A.R.E. Method for Effective Delegation.
 
 

“You cannot dream up confidence.  You cannot fabricate it.  You cannot wish it.  You have to accomplish it.  I think that genuine confidence is what you really seek.  That only comes from demonstrated ability.” – Bill Parcells, Professional Football Coach

In our competitive world, there’s no substitute for confidence.

However, most of us don’t feel particularly comfortable talking about our accomplishments—probably because we heard so many times as children that “bragging is bad.” Some of us don’t even feel comfortable thinking about our successes—as if desiring to bask in that happy glow could somehow make us selfish, or prevent us from moving to the next level.

I’m not saying that you have to go around telling everyone how awesome you are all day long. But most of us could benefit from bringing back bragging – at least when we’re talking to ourselves. In fact, positive self-talk is one of the most powerful tools employed by top earners!

When you focus on what you don’t have or haven’t accomplished, you lose power and momentum. There’s always going to be something bigger and better ahead of you—but if that’s all you see, things can start to feel hopeless pretty quickly. In order to approach your tasks with strength and confidence, you need to have a positive foundation—and that means building on your prior successes.

If you have a hard time seeing your accomplishments clearly, start tracking them on a monthly or quarterly basis. I call this “positive reflection.” Whether you’re working for someone, running your own business, or currently in a job search, this tool will highlight knowledge about your strengths and help you approach your career from a more strategic place.

Action Step: Positive Reflection

List the items you worked on in the last month/quarter.  Include all of the goals you’ve accomplished, skills you’ve developed, and projects you’ve completed.  Then, chunk each item down with the following questions

• Why is this an accomplishment?
• What were the results?
• What new skills, techniques, or strategies did I learn from it?
• What skills, techniques, or strategies can I develop further?
• What is my next course of action?

Using this exercise on a regular basis will help you gain a solid perspective about where you are, versus where you want to be (or worse, don’t want to be). As you address each item, let yourself brag for a minute or two about the great work you’ve done. For an even greater sense of empowerment, share your accomplishments with your spouse, friend, or coach!

‘It’s fine to celebrate success, but it’s more important to heed the lessons of failure.’ Bill Gates

This is one of the easiest ways to avoid getting into toleration mode.  Try this test – spend the next 24 hours separating yourself from what is happening.  Take your daily commute, which involved circumstances that are wholly separate from you, like traffic volume and the actions of other drivers. These are circumstances – not you!  You are a complete being unto yourself.  You get to decide how you want to handle the drive.  You choose whether to take a deep breath and not get stressed out, whether to gun it when someone moves into your lane, or ease up on the gas and let them in.  Be crazy – smile at everyone you pass on the way to work one day.  Play with noticing how you are choosing to be and how it works for you.

Time is a always a precious commodity, but some time is more valuable than the rest—for example, the time you devote to your family, your creative pursuits, or the most important aspects of your job.

When you block out time to do something you value, you don’t want anything to interfere—but when you’re really busy, mundane activities can start to creep up on you. You start trying to answer e-mails while playing with your kids, or return phone calls while catching up on emails. Resentment or anxiousness starts to build—and that negativity can sap your energy all too quickly.

I’m a big believer in multitasking: I do it whenever possible. However, notice what tasks you’re multitasking that may demand your full attention and how that might be affecting your overall output? For example, I often return phone calls while driving (using my hands-free, of course!). The calls I make are to friends and colleagues, not to new clients or potential partners. A conversation that requires deep thought and attention, or which might become emotional, should never be conducted in the car. I also love to read Entrepreneur Magazine while I’m on the treadmill or catch up on the news. Not only do I get ahead, it makes the workout go by faster.

More than simply saving time, mindful multitasking allows me to be work toward being fully present when it’s time to do something I value. It’s always a work in progress and a conscious habit I am continuing to practice. For example, if I have plans with my husband, I don’t want to ignore him in favor of laptop or be on the phone while my daughter is home and I know my mother in law hates it when I am doing dishes when I am on the phone. This week we are working on being mindful of knowing when you are mastering multitasking and when you are not.

Your Action Step this week is to make one list of things you do every day that need to be done without interruption, and another of activities which don’t necessarily require your full attention. For example, your train ride to work doesn’t demand that you be fully present; it doesn’t even demand that you be awake. Is there a way you can use your time on the train creatively? If family game night is on the “no interruptions” list, how can you multitask earlier in the day to ensure that your cell phone stays off through an entire game of Monopoly?

Want to learn more about creative multitasking and how to better manage your time? If you are in a service business all you have is your time. Take the time management assessment (click on time management assessment to see a sample) and find out where you are leaving time and in many cases money on the table.

Do you feel like you say YES too often and then later regret it because there is no time left for you? Are on over drive and always trying to catch up? I will share with you my formula that helps to bring a little more balance back into your career and life. Click here for more details.

•  Are you underemployed and looking to make a career change?

• Feeling uninspired by your current job search and/or long to follow your passion but think you can’t afford  to make the change or don’t know where to start?

If you don’t love waking up and going to work every morning, maybe it’s time you made some changes. After all, life is too short to not love your job.

THIS PROGRAM IS FOR YOU IF:

• You want to transition into a new career
• You want to change the direction of your current career
• You are laid off or underemployed
• You are unemployed
• You need to diversify your job search techniques
• You want to learn new ways to use social media to find a job
• You need more job search resources
• You want to reduce the amount of time you’re in a job search

YOU WILL WITH:

• A clear understanding of your core strengths, transferrable skills and motivators
• A proven step by step method to support keeping your new career on track
• A new tool for breaking through fears or doubts that hold you back
• Techniques and exercises that create experiential learning and interaction
• New connections, partnerships and options for support 

Sign up now change your career and change your life!

Join Professional Certified Career & Life Coach, Dawn Quesnel, “DQ”

in this 2 part interactive IN PERSON workshop.

 Where:  The Healing MoonWellnessCenter, 34 School Street, Foxboro, MA02035

When:   Tuesdays: January 29th and February 5th

Time: 6:30pm-9pm (2 classes 2.5 hrs each)

Instructor: DQ ~ Dawn Quesnel, CPCC, PCC

Phone: 508-520-9933

Cost: $97(registration is required by Monday, January 28, 2013 space is limited)

Register: http://coachdq.com/lifes-too-short-love-your-career-or-change-it-2-night-workshop/

• “This is what I want, and this is what I’m going to do.”
• When you make a plan around that goal, you’re adding, “This is how I’m going to do it.”

Pretty simple, eh? The tricky part, though, isn’t saying it. It’s meaning it.
If you’re tired of paying lip service to your career, now is the time to get on track once and for all. 2013 can be your best year ever, the year you take that next big bold step in your career.

The year you get out of your own way and allow your unique attributes to become part of your everyday norm. No more excuses, no more “ifs,” “ands,” or “buts.” All you have to do to get started is decide to keep the promise you’ve made to yourself.
What is your promise to yourself this year?
If that promise involves advancing your career, take a minute right now to work on this quick Tip for Top Performers on goal setting.
Action Step: One up a new word document, a new note on your iphone, or simply grab a piece of paper and write down the goal you are most proud of accomplishing in 2012. Then, write down the answers to the following questions:
Exercise:
What was the goal?
What obstacles did you overcome in order to achieve this goal?
What were the beliefs you had around this goal?
What visions, pictures, success habits, and/or techniques did you use to help you reach this goal?
What was the value you yearned to honor in achieving this goal? If you are not sure what I mean by that question, here’s another way of looking at it; What motivated you most to want to achieve this goal?
Achieving your goals helps when you start from a place of a positive leverage. Now that you have this anchor and proof you have what it takes to achieve your goals, the next step is to write your top goal for 2013 using the same format above but in the present tense.
“Your mind, while blessed with permanent memory, is cursed with lousy recall. Written goals provide clarity. By documenting your dreams, you must think about the process of achieving them.” – Gary Ryan Blair, American Goal-setting Expert

Self-Evaluation can be difficult and even painful sometimes, however, it can be one of the most valuable tools available in preparing for a career change or advancing in a job search.

Sometimes the hardest part of reaching your goals isn’t figuring out what needs to be done, but rather deciding how to do what needs to be done. There are usually several ways of tackling a problem, and all of them can be valid if they’re executed correctly. The trick is to know what works for you. 

Every one of us has skills that add value to what we do. Every one of us has had experiences which, whether they were good or bad at the time, helped us to learn and grow within our professions. Every one of us wishes we were better at certain things. The question is: can you put your finger on what all of these things are?  

This is where the objective self-inventory comes in very handy. Your action step is to take an inventory of your skills and experiences.  Include everything you’re good at, not just the things you see as directly related to your profession. Are you super-organized? Are you highly empathetic?  Do you have a knack for making people see things your way? Did you learn more about leadership from your fifth grade camping trip than you’ve ever been taught in a classroom?  Did your weekend of base-jumping in Colorado last summer really teach you the value of taking a risk? Write whatever comes to mind. Don’t hold back, and don’t sell yourself short. Your brain is like a warehouse where your whole life is stored; dust off the back shelves and bring out the experiences that really impacted you.

Next, make a list of things you wish you were better at. Is there a particular skill which you feel would rocket you to the top of your field, if only you could learn it? Again, don’t hold back – but don’t let guilt become a factor, either: this is not about what you coulda/shoulda/woulda done if only you’d had the time/money/ambition, but rather about what you can and will do with those skills now. If learning how to use that 3D modeling program or the hottest new graphic design software would really boost your earning potential, write that down. If learning to speak German would really set you over the top in your next teleconference with the big bosses in Hamburg, that’s great (and if learning German would also help you get on your mother-in-law’s good side, that’s even better: it’s all about work-life balance!)

Finally, resolve to do the following two things over the course of the year using the information you’ve just listed. First: from the list of your skills, pick two to three skills to apply in new and creative ways.  If you’re manifesting a career change this summer, try to think of ways to transition valuable skills from your old field into your new one. Second: pick one or two skills from the list of things you wish you could do, and learn to do them.  These could be as simple as learning to keep your desk organized, or as complex as mastering a computer code language; it doesn’t matter what you decide to do, as long as you follow through and reap the benefits.