You’ve probably seen ivy that covers a hillside or someone’s yard, maybe even your own. But as for me, I hate the stuff, and I mean HATE it, with a passion. It takes over and has huge root systems that steal all the water from the other plants nearby, not to mention that I just think it’s kind of ugly. The funny thing is that now as I think about the experience, there is a great lesson to be learned from my experience.
The other day I was digging up some ivy with the help of my family, and it took several hours to pull up and cut it’s almost 6 inch diameter roots out of the ground. It would be impossible to dig all of the ivy up at once or just pull all of the roots up in one big pull. Instead, digging was required, as was prying with the shovel, using a bar to pry it up, and finally sawing the ends of the roots off with a hacksaw. In short, it took several smaller steps to actually remove all of the ivy roots from the section of the yard that we were working on. It also required working together and figuring out where the best places to pry up on it and cut it were, and weighing all of the options in getting it out.
What does all this have to do with tackling your problems at work, you might ask? Just like when we dug up the ivy a step at a time, your problems at work have to be solved the same way, a step at a time. Trying to instantly fix problems at work is impossible, and so every problem has to be broken down into smaller steps and each of those steps needs to be carefully taken as you work on fixing your problems at work. It’s important also to self-evaluate your progress, as well as ask for constructive criticism from others, just like we all contributed our opinions and helped each other dig up the ivy. You obviously can’t use all of the opinions in solving your problems, so you just have to use your best judgment and go forward after weighing all the options.
What kinds of problems are typically found at work? There are so many problems that I can’t list them all here, but some typical ones are: communication problems, performance problems, and hitting a wall in a creative project.
Each of the above problems can be solved in most cases, given time, patience, and by breaking up the problems into smaller steps. Just like we broke up the problem of digging up the ivy into smaller steps, doing the same in your work will help you overcome almost any problem that you might face in the workplace.
Team-building exercises are never fun — unless it’s the kind where they fly everyone to Jamaica. But if you’re forced to sit through something like this, pound a nail into your head. It’s less painful, and you can get worker’s comp.
By his own schedule and design, today is his first day of hard work – although it could legitimately be said that he’s been at it since the election. And whether you’re a Republican, Democrat, Republicrat, Reagan Democrat, NeoCon, Green Party member or ragingly apathetic, it is difficult not to feel SOMETHING for his constructively aggressive attitude and confidence. What kind of job will President Obama do, and why should you care? Well, we hired him, and he took the gig. Now, what should the average schmuck like you and me be watching for and learning from Obama about going into a new job?
Here are some employee basics that apply as much to a fish feeder at Sea World as to the new Leader of the Free World:
Communications: Tout your strengths, deftly acknowledge your weaknesses but tell anyone who’ll listen why you’re right for the job.
TeamBuilding: Assemble, coordinate, congregate and delegate with those who most compliment you and fill-in-the-blanks that may not be your strongest suits. (There is no “I” in “teamwork,” but there are a couple of them in “idiot.” Don’t be one of those!)
ConsensusBuilding: Work with those you may disagree with or who may not immediately see your way. Acknowledge that there’s a job to be done and a united effort is required.
Document your Progress: OK, so the President has a press corps doing that, but you’ll need to keep your own data for future reviews, future career moves and, well, the future.
Remember, that tired old adage about first impressions is pretty true. Start strong! And if you’re doing something that sucks or is sucking the life out of you, start over. There are plenty of jobs here. The may not put you in the White House, but doing something you like to do and were meant to do may keep you out of the nuthouse. Your call.
You Found Employment Crossroads — Now do something with it.
In the miracle that is cyberspace, you've no doubt read a zillion blogs and websites about how to improve your employment picture. It's kind of sick and ironic that employment among employment "experts" seems to be doing just fine. Dubious at best.
Well, we do things a little differently here, and it boils down to basically two options:
A) Keep going to employment sites that only feature ads paid for by employers; or
B) Try something that works.
This blog is published by EmploymentCrossing.com. We feature the most comprehensive websites on the PLANET that don't charge employers to post their jobs with us. Think about that...And as we say during our elevator pitches to people who don't quite get why that's important:
You’ve probably seen ivy that covers a hillside or someone’s yard, maybe even your own. But as for me, I hate the stuff, and I mean HATE it, with a passion. It takes over and has huge root systems that steal all the water from the other plants nearby, not to mention that I just think it’s kind of ugly. The funny thing is that now as I think about the experience, there is a great lesson to be learned from my experience.
Loading ...