Think of a job that you really, really liked. It could be a job in the past as a student, or very early in your career or it can be more recent, and maybe even your current job (if you’re really blessed). Here’s a list of criteria that might have created that ideal job. Check off those that apply to you, as you focus on that job you really, really liked:
Pop-Quiz #1: Updraft wind beneath your wings
- You got ready for work with eagerness and enthusiasm
- You enjoyed the people you worked with
- Time on the job seemed to fly rapidly
- Your manager or supervisor supported and encouraged you
- You were good at what you did, and you even wanted to get better at it
- You didn’t mind staying late or helping others on the team
- You felt engaged, empowered, and enabled when making decisions
- You love it, you’re great at it, and you’re paid for it
Total score: ____ (1 – 8)
If you checked six or more of the eight items above, you were riding an updraft toward success. Even if it was a job with no clear career ladder for advancement, you still enjoyed the position. The updraft lifts your spirit, engagement, and creates a sense of ‘fit’ between your abilities, competencies, and drives. In brief, you found it to be a rewarding experience. You felt motivated. (Notice that I didn’t list money or the paycheck as one of the seven items above.)
Okay, we’ve begun to illuminate a beginning story on a job you really liked. I maintain that a large reason for liking that job is that it fit your Heart, Head, and Hands like a glove. It’s a situation of motivational harmonics where there was real, palpable, and positive resonance between you, the people you worked with, and your combined job roles.
For the sake of contrast illustration, let’s explore a job that you really, really disliked. The alarm clock rang and your first thought was, “Oh, ****! I’ve got to go to work today!” And, from that thought forward, things went into the downdraft that sucked the wind from your potentially energetic spirit. Do any of these items emerge as you recall a similar situation?
Pop-Quiz #2: Downdraft that sucked the wind from under you
- You prepared for work with a sense of dread and foreboding
- You didn’t enjoy being around the people you worked with, but you strained to get along with them
- Time on the job seemed to drag on very slowly
- Your manager was not supportive, caring, or encouraging
- You were good at what you did, but no one noticed or cared
- You didn’t feel like helping others on the team, (even though you could) and they seldom helped you
- You weren’t encouraged to make decisions, innovate, or think creatively
- You didn’t like what you were doing (even though you were good at it), you didn’t feel rewarded, and internally you didn’t feel a good ‘fit’ between you and the job environment
Total score: ____ (1 – 8)
If you checked six or more of the eight items above, you were unfortunately riding a downward toward despair or failure. Assuming you were good at what you did, you didn’t feel a sense of reward for doing it. The downdraft drains your spirit, erases your engagement, and creates a sense of dysfunction between your abilities, competencies, and drives and what is asked of you on the job. In brief, the downdraft sucks. The job sucks. It pulls the spirit of success from you, provides no environment of encouragement, and doesn’t reward engagement. As a result, your own intrinsic drives and motivators are frequently not enough to pull you up and keep you up in a work environment that doesn’t support them.
Okay, you’ve begun two stories of your own. I encourage you to interact with some of your peers about these two story-sets. Ask your peers for descriptors of how they felt internally about jobs they really, really liked, and the converse – on those jobs they really disliked. In asking these questions to your colleagues, you’ll be learning about their Heart, Head, and Hands, as well as your own.
Now, another question: Which are you riding in your current job? Is it an updraft vortex supporting your engagement and encouraging your success? Do you feel empowered and enabled? Do believe that what you do has a real impact on the team, organization, and marketplace at large? Or, is it a downdraft vortex sucking your drive, creativity, and desire to do well straight down the drain? Your answer here will begin a story of your current career and position. Below is a merge-map and I hope you’re operating in a meaningful and purposeful way, right in the center!
Mindset Merge of Heart, Head, and Hands
