Edge (eBook)

How to Stand Out by Showing You're All In

David Morrison, Adam Tarnow (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022 | 1. Auflage
250 Seiten
Houndstooth Press (Verlag)
978-1-5445-3215-8 (ISBN)

Infos

If you want to stand out, you have to be all in. In today's job market, employers are looking for more than just talent-they're looking for an elusive combination of talent and emotional commitment. They want people who will work hard, pursue excellence, and bring their best every day. This attitude of being 'all in' is what separates good employees from great ones, giving your career an EDGE. And right now, emotional commitment is at an all-time low. There has never been a better time to stand out and get noticed as an emerging, engaged leader. The Edge lays out four simple, profound ways to show that you're emotionally committed without sucking up, selling out, or being anything but the best version of you. Start putting them into practice today, right now, and get ready for your next promotion in a rewarding and impactful career.

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If you want to stand out, you have to be all in. In today's job market, employers are looking for more than just talent-they're looking for an elusive combination of talent and emotional commitment. They want people who will work hard, pursue excellence, and bring their best every day. This attitude of being "e;all in"e; is what separates good employees from great ones, giving your career an EDGE. And right now, emotional commitment is at an all-time low. There has never been a better time to stand out and get noticed as an emerging, engaged leader. The Edge lays out four simple, profound ways to show that you're emotionally committed without sucking up, selling out, or being anything but the best version of you. Start putting them into practice today, right now, and get ready for your next promotion in a rewarding and impactful career.

Textauszug

Chapter 1

1. Motivation

The TED Talk That Shook the World

Maybe we’re being a little dramatic. It didn’t shake the world, but it sure made an impact.

Simon Sinek’s talk “Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action” went viral and became the latest way to sound smart around other people. Sinek’s talk asserted that great leaders and organizations focus on why they do what they do instead of what they do and how they do it.

At the bar: “You know, I’m really in a season right now where I’m trying to determine my why. If I can unlock that, I know I’ll have a successful and rewarding career. I know that sounds deep, but I really feel strongly that I need to make this connection between my career and my why.”

In a team meeting: “Honestly, I think the problem with your growth plan is that we haven’t told our customers why we exist. People care about why we exist. We don’t exist just to make glow-in-the-dark dog toys. There’s a bigger reason for our existence, and we need to make that clear. If we do that, we can become the Apple of dog toys.”

For years, it was all anyone seemed to talk about. Keynote messages, blog posts, Fast Company articles, leadership books, podcasts—everyone was referencing Mr. Sinek’s start with why principle.

I thought it would be a phase. I thought sooner or later, everyone would get over it and laugh about our brief obsession with why.

Here I am over a decade later, and that day hasn’t come. Why? (No pun intended.) Because this principle is so helpful and applicable to so many different areas of life.

The Principle and Your Career

If you haven’t watched the TED Talk or read Sinek’s book, the message can be summarized with five bullet points:

1. Your why is your purpose, cause, or belief.
2. Every inspiring leader and organization, regardless of size or industry, starts with why.
3. People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.
4. Knowing our why is essential for lasting success and to avoid being lumped in with others.
5. When your why goes fuzzy, it becomes much more difficult to maintain the growth, loyalty, and inspiration that helped drive your original success.6

I know you probably already see the connection between Sinek’s principle and your career, but I’ll say it anyway. What’s true for organizations is true for you. If you understand your why, your career will be more sustainable, more fulfilling, and more successful.

However, this is where I’m going to say goodbye to Mr. Sinek and 2009. I’m not going to tell you to camp at your local coffee shop and journal until you discover your why. I’m not going to give you a series of exercises that makes finding your why easy.

Why? (Again, no pun intended.) Because finding your why is not easy! You can’t figure out your purpose, cause, or belief in a few hours, scribbling in a journal. This is not the way real life works.

In my experience, discovering your personal why is a journey. Of course, there will be exceptions to this rule, but generally speaking, I’ve never met anyone who figured out their why through anything other than experience.

Why Leads to Motivation; Motivation Leads to Energy

When you know your why, you tap into something powerful as it relates to your career: motivation. I’ve never met a motivated person who wasn’t also energetic. If you are not motivated to do what you do, it will be very difficult to consistently bring the energy of a positive attitude.

If you want to stand out by showing you’re all in, then you need to first and foremost know and understand what motivates you—in other words, your why.

Chances Are, You’ve Already Tried to Find Your Why

Most people choose a career based on their interests and motivation. For example, I chose to study accounting in college. Did I do this because my dad and grandfather were both accountants? It’s true, they were, but that’s not why. Did I do this because I was born on April 16 (the day after Tax Day)? Again, this is true, but no. Did I do this because I wanted to endure a life of jokes about pocket protectors and assumptions that I’m socially awkward? No! (And, sadly, also true.)

I chose that career path because, for some reason, it was my favorite class in high school, and I was motivated to learn more about the subject. I followed my motivation, which provided me with energy and kept me focused.

Motivation is essential to a fulfilling career. This is both good news and bad news. The good news: it’s possible for everyone to have a satisfying career. The bad news: you have to figure out what motivates you.

Again, in my experience, I haven’t met many emerging leaders who are able to clearly articulate what motivates them. This lack of clarity causes all kinds of issues. The primary issue is you end up choosing a career path for unsustainable reasons.

Money, title, cool office space, a short commute. These may seem like great reasons to take a job or choose a career; however, the luster will fade. There are greater factors that will lead to more sustainable motivation. To that end, here are three ideas we think will help you on your motivation journey—three ideas that might help you begin to discover your why.

Idea #1: Study the Puzzle Pieces

We like to think finding your motivation is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, but with a twist. Unlike a normal jigsaw puzzle where every piece in the box fits together, the motivation puzzle is one that comes with one hundred pieces, but only a few pieces need to combine to complete the puzzle. The other pieces look like they might fit, but they don’t. That’s the twist.

Figuring out your why—what motivates you—is the strangest puzzle you’ll ever solve. The hard work isn’t so much finding your few pieces. The hard work is eliminating all the pieces that don’t fit. Most people don’t get through the sorting process. They give up and just float through life and hop around from one unfulfilling job to another.

As you attempt to put together your puzzle of motivation, consider some of the most common pieces, many of which are likely to fit you.7

Puzzle Piece

Description

Autonomy

You feel like you have some influence over the how and what of accomplishing a task or goal.

Mastery

You feel like you are growing and developing in skillfulness.

Impact

You know your job is making someone’s life better.

Connection

You feel known and appreciated by your boss and peers.

Purpose

You feel like your job is making the world a better place.

Results

You know how to define a win for your job and you feel like you are winning consistently.

What are you supposed to do with all of those words? As a simple guide, ask yourself these questions:

1. Which puzzle pieces best describe me?
2. Which puzzle pieces feel like they are missing from my career?
3. Which puzzle pieces de-motivate me?
4. Which puzzle pieces would my current team leader say motivate me the most?
5. What do I believe are my top two motivators?

These are not easy questions to answer, but taking some time to think through the motivators listed above is helpful as you ponder your why.

The list above can be helpful, especially if you are struggling to find motivation with your current job. Everyone goes through what our friend Chris Shelton calls “a work valley” from time to time. But if the valley persists for more than a few months, it might point...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 13.9.2022
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Sachbuch/Ratgeber ► Beruf / Finanzen / Recht / Wirtschaft ► Bewerbung / Karriere
• ISBN-10: 1-5445-3215-6 / 1544532156
• ISBN-13: 978-1-5445-3215-8 / 9781544532158