Category: Your Job

The View is Different from the Top

Posted on by Carl Weber

I was meeting with an executive the other day to discuss their behavioral style.  We talked at length about how this style may work in certain situations, but over the long-haul is the kind of style that may wear people out.

I could tell that it didn’t really sink in, so we covered it again.  That is when the real issue became clear.

“Well this is all well and good, but people who work for me need to deal with my style.  I get results, and I cannot be concerned about developing a relationship with any of them.”

The view is different from the top.  When you are in charge or in control, the temptation is to make everyone bend and conform to you.  As an employee you may see the need to change your behavior in order to be more successful, to fit in, to become part of the organization.  But as a leader, you may have one of the more prominent blind spots: You and your view from the top.

To compound the problem, if you are in charge, and have an intense style, no one around you has the guts to challenge you.  Well maybe once, but I bet they are no longer around, or learned right away to keep quiet.

Understanding that our views are different, also means understanding that the issues, strategy, and hard decisions may not be as apparent and understood by others who do not sit where we sit.  If you are somewhere else (besides the top) in an organization, your more limited view may not provide you with all the facts.  So be careful about drawing the wrong conclusions about those above you.

This clash of views can create real tension.  Soon we will talk about the power-distance created in our organizations, but for today, just realizing that our views are different and not necessarily wrong is the first step.

By the end of our session, the executive began to see the blind spot inherent in the top down view.

“So, what you are saying is my drive for results while intentionally distancing myself personally from my employees may give them the impression that I am kind of a jerk?”

“Yup.”

Progress.  One step at a time.

The Poll Results

Posted on by Carl Weber

Thanks everyone for participating in the first of many polls.  Part of what makes this whole blog process work is feedback and information from YOU.  So keep it up, and who knows where this thing may go…

The results are in, the poll is closed.  Just 25% of you have jobs that fit your style.  Good for you, I bet each day doesn’t really feel like work.  A smaller percentage (13%) are in jobs that do not fit, but since you have to eat you may have to tough it out.  Most of you (63%) feel that your job is “sort of” the right fit, with some parts you do not like.

I was asked to do a talk on Work/Life Balance a few months ago, and while preparing for that day, I came across an alarming piece of information:

“the Conference Board published results of a survey showing that 55% of American workers are dissatisfied with their jobs, the highest in 22 years.”

January 5, 2010 Daily Finance

Apparently, (according to this survey) a majority of us are dissatisfied with our jobs.  My survey was much less sophisticated, but only 1 our of every 4 of you feel like your job really fits you.  Strange isn’t it.  If you work from age 20 until age 65 and work a standard 40 hours per week, you will have spent 93,600 hours at work.

That means 93,600 hours of dissatisfaction for most of us!

That seems like an eternity.  How can this be?  I have a few ideas about why work feels so much like work.

1.  We are asked to pick careers way too early in life.  The world doesn’t even look remotely like it did when people expected me to make a choice and decide what I wanted to be.  Frankly, I am still trying to figure that out.

2.  Employers traditionally have hired on skills, not if you are suited to do the actual work.  I help a lot of people try to hire the right employees and have had to move beyond just asking about technical skills.  If I hear another “tell me your strengths and weaknesses” question I may just blow a gasket.

3.  The economy isn’t helping.  Many people are feeling a little trapped.  The “you are lucky to have a job” may be perfectly true, but doesn’t inspire us to be our best in the long-term.

What do we do with the results?

If you are a “sort of” or “not really” when it comes to your job, take the next few days to take an inventory.  (Yes I am always giving some sort of homework.)  Write down the parts of your job that you like, the stuff that doesn’t feel like work.  Then make the list of those aspects that seem both hard to accomplish, and make you exhausted.

Does talking to that customer really make your day?  Does pouring through the spreadsheets until everything is in balance feel like a win?  The parts you enjoy are most likely consistent with your behavioral style.  Then the real challenge begins: finding the “right” job for you.  But that is a topic for another day.