How many times have you wondered, “Am I the only one here that gets it?!”
Have you ever worked somewhere that seemed as though everything was backward? Up was down, left is right, etc.
It can be highly frustrating to feel as though you’re not making any progress and in your attempt to contribute to your team and organization, you want to make sure that you’re not the one that’s causing problems.
So, to do your part, you set out on developing yourself to be a better employee and ultimately shoring up your character in order to be a part of the solution and not the problem.
If you have asked yourself, like I have, what are the most important attributes to be carrying with me not just in a work environment, but that will translate into any realm of life, then you’re intentional about personal growth.
Today, I’d like to answer that question by giving you my list of personal development areas I believe are necessary when starting to lead yourself well.
Here are my 7 Personal Development Tips to help you succeed at work (and anywhere else really):
Emotional Intelligence
When work involves people, and it always does, it’s important for us to be able to manage our emotions. In today’s world of technology, this is an even greater need.
How many times have you read an email or direct message from a colleague and misinterpreted their words? Tone and intent are impossible to determine from text alone and in an office environment, it’s one of the primary ways we communicate.
We’re emotional creatures there’s no getting around that. So how you keep your emotions under control during times of stress, disappointment, frustration, or hurt will help you stand out amongst your co-workers.
Self-Awareness
The guy in the office who lacks self-awareness is usually the guy people talk about when he’s not around. This guy scurries around the office oblivious to how he treats people, unaware of how little he does, and distant from connecting with others.
Having a proper level of self-awareness means you know how and when to act, speak, and assist. You provide just the right amount of input and are conscious about growing yourself to contribute more to the organization.
Initiative
This is an area that involves taking. It’s an action word that leads us into staying alert to what’s around us and what needs to be done.
Taking initiative means not waiting for to be asked or someone else to step up. When you can look around and identify a need and handle it without prompting, that says a lot to leadership and your co-workers.
This isn’t something difficult to learn either. If you struggle with this, practice by evaluating each situation and volunteering as soon as a need is recognized.
Faithfulness
No one on a team enjoys doing your work for you. Maybe with enough notice and on occasion, it’s not a burden.
But if you’re the one in the office who always shows up late, takes time off constantly, and seems to abuse the generosity of your team and your organization, it’s a weight others are left to bear.
Being faithful to what you’ve agreed contractually to do is one of the easiest ways to be labeled a great employee.
Loyalty
Today, with a myriad of options available to us in so many areas – cell phone service, restaurants, clothing, entertainment, etc. consumers typically opt for the cheapest option with the best quality.
That’s not a great sign of loyalty and that attitude can bleed into our work environment if we’re not careful.
Being loyal to your boss and not letting others talk about her to you is a sign of loyalty. Don’t engage in those kinds of talks. Build others up and show you can be loyal with your words.
Conflict Resolution
When people hear the word “conflict” we often apply a negative label and it definitely can be that. However, how would your business or team look if everyone thought exactly alike and had original opinions or contributions? It would probably be pretty dull.
Since that typically doesn’t happen, when conflict arises, being able to resolve it peaceably and timely is a rare skill. This will involve you putting aside technology if at all possible and communicating in person.
Resolving conflict means that you put emotions aside and deal with facts. If emotions were the reason for the conflict or played a large part, hear each other out, understand one another’s perspective.
Once you can harness this attribute, you’ll have fewer conflicts in your work.
Relationships
In his book, the 360° Leader, John Maxwell encourages us to “walk slowly through the halls”.
The point he’s trying to make is that we can easily come in, put our heads down, and not look up until either lunch or quitting time.
Building strong relationships at work makes for a more enjoyable work environment where people care about each other. Taking time out of your day to get to know people on a personal level will make them more loyal, easier to work with, and often you’ll discover skills in people that can help everyone out.
If you aren’t intentional about building relationships, then don’t expect people to work easily on a team or enjoy the office environment altogether.
All environments are not created equal, I understand that. However, no matter where you go or what profession you sink your career teeth into, it’s going to involve people.
If we can be diligent and intentional about developing ourselves, we set ourselves up for success in any area we find ourselves in.
If you were to add 1 tip, what would it be? Comment below and share!
