Typically, discussions about jobs and careers consist
of people complaining about their jobs and careers. We seem to have
no problem griping about our managers, customers and CEO. When it comes
to discussions about how to improve our careers, though, we fall silent.
We seem to revel in the horrors of our jobs, but feel embarrassed to
admit that we are unprepared to do anything to about it or to even discuss
what can be done. Complaining takes the place of useful action but we
end up just where we started.
I encounter this problem wherever I go. Whether I am talking to people
online or face-to-face it can be almost impossible to move people beyond
the complaining stage. There is too much inertia, too much to say, too
many people to blame. Of course, the reason most people find it so difficult
to move forward is because the process requires deep thought, honesty
and introspection. Complaining, on the other hand, takes little effort.
So, how do you get beyond the complaints and start doing something about
your career? First, you have to deny any embarrassment you might feel
in discussing career issues with others. Even the most successful people
face career problems. In fact, the more you strive to improve your career,
the more problems you will face. You want more out of your life, so
you will be taking more chances and stretching yourself in many ways.
This will bring you up against challenges that others will never face.
This is why it is so important to develop a healthy attitude about your
career, regardless of how happy you are with your current situation.
Next, you need to banish any tendency to complain about your work. It
can be difficult to break such a long-standing habit, but it has to
be done. The worst problem is, we are often surrounded with others who
are even deeper into the complaint pit than we are. Nothing fuels complaining
like a group of dissatisfied workers hanging out in the break room.
We enable each other in a never-ending cycle. You need to break the
cycle.
Of course, this can be extremely difficult because those around us might
not want to move forward. When one person in a group starts to improve
their career, the others see this as a reminder that they are stagnating
in their current jobs and, worse yet, doing nothing about it. You may
find that long-term relationships will fall by the wayside. You will
have to find others who are truly interested in improving their careers
as you are. With these people you will find little complaining and no
embarrassment. You all understand that this job is only one stop in
a long career and not the end of the line.
Early in my career, I noted how computer support people would often
complain about their clients, sharing their best "stupid user stories"
over the cubicle walls. Eventually I realized, though, that this was
clouding my opinion of my customers and effecting my work. I needed
to distance myself from these attitudes. Initially, I just refused to
participate in these discussions, but eventually distanced myself from
particular co-workers. The change in my work was dramatic. Instead of
being seen as someone who was aloof, short-tempered and arrogant, I
gained the trust of my customers, developing more of a partnership with
them rather than a employer/employee relationship. It was direct proof
of how a career might benefit from a relatively small change.
Today, whenever I speak with someone about their career, I listen to
their complaints for a while, but then I attempt to show them that no
matter how bad they might think their career, there are ways to make
it better. It is in action that we find the hope to move forward, even
when things are going badly. Taking one simple step leads to the next
and the next. Sometimes, though, people will not be moved. They have
convinced themselves that their career is written in stone and will
never, ever change. What a depressing place to live -- trapped in a
job with no hope of escape.
Every one of you, reading this column or listening to the podcast, has
the power to make your career better. If you didn't have the desire
to change, the will to move above complaining and the power to take
action, you wouldn't be spending your time with me. You would be hanging
out with all the complainers, trying to make it through another lousy
day.
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