In our bid for self-development and advancement at our various careers and job situations, we tend to think of dumping our present employment, career or job. It’s a natural desire of every human being to want to advance his earning power and authority on the job, but then often, we overlook where we are, not seeing the tangible and indeed intangible benefits that we can gain from the “here and the now”. Have we exploited our current position or circumstances to the fullest? Are there not nuances, shades and tinges we have not explored? Have we challenged ourselves to take our job to the highest heights possible and like the Star Trek’s Captain Kirk says at the beginning of the television episodes have we tried to “boldly go where no man has gone before” at our job posts?
Two books challenge the mind of a reader to realize that a lot of things he seeks outside of his profession or work are actually in it. Acres of Diamonds by Russel Conwell and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Both of the stories capture the restless spirit of people who wander from their work only for it to be discovered that all the riches and dreams they sought were actually right in the places they left! The hero in The Alchemist returns to discover what he was looking for right where he left. The Acres of Diamonds farmer is not so lucky. He dies in frustration not finding the wealth he sought from his travels and later hearing that the farm he sold was full of acres of diamonds!
Most jobs, if not every one, has both tangible and intangible rewards and treasures beyond our regular remuneration. It is left for us to seek these rewards and exploit them to the fullest.
Most jobs, if not every one, has both tangible and intangible rewards and treasures beyond our regular remuneration. It is left for us to seek these rewards and exploit them to the fullest. Our work normally exposes us to certain groups of people, gives us some qualities of specialized knowledge and often enables us to see the world through a completely different kaleidoscope than other people. So, before we go off seeking for greener pastures, we need to really examine what we do and ourselves; critically considering whether we are taking the right steps. Are there concepts that have not been examined where I am presently? Is the grass really greener on the other side? One major thing that sways people who jump jobs arbitrarily is salary or the prospects of making more money. Now there is nothing wrong with that. Everyone should seek better fortune. But we all have to ensure that where we are going is better than where we are coming from, even before we take the plunge or reach that destination.
Speaking generally, as long as what we do is legitimate and useful to larger society, there are no bad jobs! There are only bad representations of good jobs. Standing beside a sewage evacuator one day, I considered the deplorable stench emanating from the soak away pit he was draining. He had pulled his tanker right by the pit and had it cracked open. He fed the huge pipes into the man holes. He then started the motor on the back of the truck which sucked the contents of the pit into the tank. The whole area let off a dreadful stench and while I held my nose in dismay, he simply smiled. Its either he could not smell the stench or he was more concerned about the money he would make from the exercise. He had raised the quality of his business to a level that made it acceptable among peers that were being demeaned by the rest of society. His trucks were shiny clean. His overalls were neat and tidy. He wore wellingtons to the evacuation site. His packaging was simply superb. He looked at what he does for a living from a completely different perspective and because of his refocus, he was able to charge more per job and be appreciated.
If you plant a mango tree in a flower pot, the tree will grow to the limit of the moisture and nutrients found in the pot. But imagine how big the tree could grow if it was planted on a large patch of loamy soil? As human beings we often limit ourselves. We place a restriction on how far we can go, how big we can grow; how many people we can serve and how many things we can do. Most of the limitations that people face at their professions in life are self-imposed. We are the only life form who can plan ahead, move to locations that are more pleasurable for our work and life and change our environment to suit our needs and purposes. The irony is, most of us do not do it!
If you were asked to assume a leadership role in your office, department or organisation what would be your immediate reaction. Putting it differently, are you prepared? We have all heard the expression: “When preparation meets opportunity, success is imminent!” Life is a journey for preparations. You need to be prepared for opportunities. They knock more than once, unlike the saying that presumes differently. And when they do knock, it is he that is prepared that will succeed. Let’s take the instance of an abrupt promotion. The qualities and qualifications that got you there are not what you need to sustain your new momentum. Three things need to be adjusted when you are moved up on any job: Focus, behaviour and relationships. Your focus has to change because your goals would definitely have changed. Doing things the way you used to is simply out of the question. If a markerter becomes Marketing Manager then in addition to hitting targets in business development, he has to manage others and help ensure they hit their targets too. A manager’s demeanour has to change slightly, he has an eye on the bigger picture and expects to have some level of dignified relations with everyone he meets in the work arena: employees and customers alike. So the trick of preparation is to watch and understudy those who supervise us and get to know all we can about our job and the jobs of those around us.
We all have the gift of imagination, but we rarely use it. On our jobs, at our professions and in the line of duty, it does not hurt for us to use our imagination a little more and think about what can be.
We all have the gift of imagination, but we rarely use it. On our jobs, at our professions and in the line of duty, it does not hurt for us to use our imagination a little more and think about what can be. Brain storming sessions which can prove to be lucrative exercises for innovation are a frequently used strategy for improvement in modern organisations. Members of a department are called to creative meetings where they are expected to fashion out ideas that can help oil the wheels of progress in the organisation. When John Lennon wrote and performed his hit single titled Imagine, never would he have thought barely 40 years after, mankind would make giant leaps forward in aeronautics, communication and medicine. A lot of the changes in the last century or so have come from the imagination of mankind. A little bit of that same imagination at our jobs could make the world of difference.
The tendency for growth in any sector of an economy is normally limitless if it is supported by a thriving market place. Most sectors are. So if your work in that sector has a propensity for unlimited growth, then you can see yourself growing within that sector and getting better, more relevant and greatly rewarded for what you do. It took a delve of enquiry into the nursing profession for me to discover that there are so many arms to nursing and that training that can be accomplished is almost boundless. This is a profession that has been trivialised on the surface and snickered at. But research shows that nursing, in the wake of communicable diseases and pandemics is one of the most valued professions in the world. Whatever job or profession you are engaged in, you need to dig deeper, unravel its length and breadth and determine what your next level is. All these ought to be done before you even think of leaving.
*Ogundadegbe is a renowned management consultant. He trains managers and executives in the arts of Customer Service, Human Resources Management and Management strategy ([email protected]).
