Published on Wednesday, May 21, 2008
With fly-by-night jobs and transient employment becoming the norm, the ground is forever shifting beneath us. No longer able to take a job for granted or count on our allegiance to the employer to pull us through, we end up feeling victimised and helpless – completely unhappy with our life and situation.
Yet, in these perilous times, we still nonchalantly go with the flow, keeping ourselves at the mercy of the management.
I shudder to think Why? Will things change on their own? Is it right to depend on others to bail you out from the sinking quagmire of circumstances?
Sorry to shatter your hopes but the bitter truth is that there is no guardian angel or knight-in-shining-armour rallying round you. You are in the driver’s seat and have to steer your own life, that too under your own steam. As the quote by John Rohn goes, ‘You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”
It’s all about “Me, Inc.” and shifting to a commitment to yourself alone will enable you to control your own destiny. There is no place for ambivalence anymore, you have to take charge, be responsible and action-oriented.
The new manifesto for ‘holding yourself responsible’ includes essential building blocks like:
Goodbye to the ‘not my fault’ syndrome – It is easy to sit back and criticise or complain incessantly. But will the blame game get you anywhere? Instead, eliminate the excuses and stop dodging the personal responsibility of your choices and actions. Assume ownership of the problem – be it unfinished tasks, missed deadlines or unmet goals. Once you realise that you can and should control your circumstances, you will transform from a finger-pointer to a problem solver.
No more wallowing – On a similar note, cynicism is no longer an option. You cannot hide behind lame defences like, ‘the boss is unfair’, ‘the company is responsible for keeping you contented’, ‘the manager is lax’ or ‘colleagues do not pull their weight’. You are in charge of your own morale and have to step up your work attitude by getting beyond the negativity.
Wing it - Get over your need for structure and certainty to be able to take on projects that are laced with ambiguity. You cannot even afford to completely depend on the manager to frame the situation and clarify things. Strive to make constant attempts, learn from your failures, improvise and move on.
Take in your stride – Education, accomplishments and track record take a back seat to adaptability. You have to be flexible, mobile and able to adjust to new situations quickly.
No free lunch – Your loyalty, tenure and good intentions are dispensable. Sticking to the same mode of doing things, waiting for others to call the shots and simply following direction will never augment your value. Instead, contribute more than your share by seeking to cut costs, improve productivity and innovate on your own.
The big picture – Simply aligning your objectives with the manager’s or department’s goals will not get you far. Look beyond to concentrate on the right things and their outcomes.
Lifelong learning – You cannot get by on experience alone. Keep your education relevant with constant courses and workshops that provide personal development.
Take personal responsibility for improvement and seek to grow. Continuous learning and retooling will increase your knowledge base and skills, thus keeping you competitive.
Role models – Study successful people and analyse their approach, attitude, work habits and skills. Benchmark yourself against their potential, achievements and how they operate to be able to get better and better.
Spend purposeful time on visualising a mental picture of your goals and what you want to be. This will fire you to turn them into reality Les Brown puts it best with “If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” This is not to say that you don’t have to work effectively on the job, aspire to achieve organisational goals and contribute to its development. But, do it without losing sight of your commitment to yourself.
Needless to say, the going will not be easy; numerous potholes and detours will line your journey, detracting you from achieving career success. Stay focussed on commitment and accountability to yourself. Then and only then can you emerge as a flexible, dynamic and vital asset to yourself. As you will become valuable to have around, organisations will seek you out instead of the other way around!
Yet, in these perilous times, we still nonchalantly go with the flow, keeping ourselves at the mercy of the management.
I shudder to think Why? Will things change on their own? Is it right to depend on others to bail you out from the sinking quagmire of circumstances?
Sorry to shatter your hopes but the bitter truth is that there is no guardian angel or knight-in-shining-armour rallying round you. You are in the driver’s seat and have to steer your own life, that too under your own steam. As the quote by John Rohn goes, ‘You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.”
It’s all about “Me, Inc.” and shifting to a commitment to yourself alone will enable you to control your own destiny. There is no place for ambivalence anymore, you have to take charge, be responsible and action-oriented.
The new manifesto for ‘holding yourself responsible’ includes essential building blocks like:
Goodbye to the ‘not my fault’ syndrome – It is easy to sit back and criticise or complain incessantly. But will the blame game get you anywhere? Instead, eliminate the excuses and stop dodging the personal responsibility of your choices and actions. Assume ownership of the problem – be it unfinished tasks, missed deadlines or unmet goals. Once you realise that you can and should control your circumstances, you will transform from a finger-pointer to a problem solver.
No more wallowing – On a similar note, cynicism is no longer an option. You cannot hide behind lame defences like, ‘the boss is unfair’, ‘the company is responsible for keeping you contented’, ‘the manager is lax’ or ‘colleagues do not pull their weight’. You are in charge of your own morale and have to step up your work attitude by getting beyond the negativity.
Wing it - Get over your need for structure and certainty to be able to take on projects that are laced with ambiguity. You cannot even afford to completely depend on the manager to frame the situation and clarify things. Strive to make constant attempts, learn from your failures, improvise and move on.
Take in your stride – Education, accomplishments and track record take a back seat to adaptability. You have to be flexible, mobile and able to adjust to new situations quickly.
No free lunch – Your loyalty, tenure and good intentions are dispensable. Sticking to the same mode of doing things, waiting for others to call the shots and simply following direction will never augment your value. Instead, contribute more than your share by seeking to cut costs, improve productivity and innovate on your own.
The big picture – Simply aligning your objectives with the manager’s or department’s goals will not get you far. Look beyond to concentrate on the right things and their outcomes.
Lifelong learning – You cannot get by on experience alone. Keep your education relevant with constant courses and workshops that provide personal development.
Take personal responsibility for improvement and seek to grow. Continuous learning and retooling will increase your knowledge base and skills, thus keeping you competitive.
Role models – Study successful people and analyse their approach, attitude, work habits and skills. Benchmark yourself against their potential, achievements and how they operate to be able to get better and better.
Spend purposeful time on visualising a mental picture of your goals and what you want to be. This will fire you to turn them into reality Les Brown puts it best with “If you take responsibility for yourself you will develop a hunger to accomplish your dreams.” This is not to say that you don’t have to work effectively on the job, aspire to achieve organisational goals and contribute to its development. But, do it without losing sight of your commitment to yourself.
Needless to say, the going will not be easy; numerous potholes and detours will line your journey, detracting you from achieving career success. Stay focussed on commitment and accountability to yourself. Then and only then can you emerge as a flexible, dynamic and vital asset to yourself. As you will become valuable to have around, organisations will seek you out instead of the other way around!
PAYAL CHANANIA
No comments:
Post a Comment