Do you look forward to work? If you don’t, a turnaround is in your hands by leveraging two facts:
First , you spend at least a third of your life working, so it ought to be doing something you enjoy. And second , as a human being, your primary driving force is to be all you can be. A study by Quantum Workplace confirms employees listed professional growth as one of their highest drivers of engagement . [i] These two concepts alone are a clarion call to grab the reins of
your professional developmentby connecting your work performance with the profitability and growth of your company.You may be exclaiming: “Say, what?”Hold on a second.Everyone knows profit and growth is crucial for the survival of a company. It’s all we read about, but what’s an often ignored reality is that’s it’s also the
success formula for employees.Before rejecting this theory out of hand, check out the blueprint provided below which aids in visualizing the thought-process.
Energized employees change everything around them for the better—including careers. Not surprising, as 62 percent of highly engaged organizations reported being in the top quartile of financial performers in their industries as compared to 40 percent among the less engaged organizations.
[i]Related:
Career Transformation Starts With Four Switch-Points of Change Here are a couple of mindset shifts to smooth the way for you:
Connect Your Professional Development With the Goals of Your Company: Research by DecisionWise reports career advancement and promotions are what employees see as giving them growth and development opportunities . [ii] Understandable, and yet short-sighted. Your future is based not on your salary rather it’s the breadth and depth of the skills you offer a business. The balance sheet of your company is an often overlooked performance feedback loop revealing your progress as an employee. How’s your scorecard stacking-up as you mesh your passions along with adding value to the mission of the company? Connect You Work Activities With Improvement: Innovation has changed the face of your customer’s reality by offering an extraordinary array of groundbreaking products and services not imaginable a few short years ago. And it has radically transformed the role of employees.Now is the ideal time to turn your eye on what you can do to improve profitability particularly in areas that energize you. You see research, as well as subjective experience, bear out that those doing the work are more aware of problems and solutions then are the leaders of the company.So, the secret for you, as an in-house expert, is to have an innovative mindset by continually assessing your work environment: How can I change my slice of the world for the better? What solutions will make my part of the company produce enhanced products/or services? What repetitive breakdowns do I see cropping up? Are there any corrective measures I can advocate to fix them, particularly by paying attention to the white space between functional areas? What innovative missteps do I see within my department? Can I petition my boss to lead the charge as an opportunity to “upskill?” Amazon calls this “choose-your-own-adventure.” You see, as you align
your professional careerprospects to the growth and profitability of your company, everyone achieves tangible benefits. That’s really the blueprint for a winning formula!
