Let’s Fix It: Disenchanted with Work? Be the CEO of Your Destiny
Employees are
disenchanted with their jobs. Employers can’t find people to fill
their requirements. The problem really stems from something simple.
Work has changed — and many of us have not caught up. It’s a
problem that’s easy to fix, and it begins with blowing up
yesterday’s employment pact.
I learned
this lesson firsthand. For the first decade of my career, I followed
the path of the corporate hierarchy. I was rewarded for my loyalty
and tenure with promotions, picnics, and silver spoons when my
children were born. I was also taught to measure success in other
ways such as the size of one’s office (we actually counted ceiling
tiles) and whether or not it had a wooden desk.
Then, 11
years into my tenure, the company decided to shut down the
manufacturing plant where I was working. They offered anyone willing
to leave two years’ salary, two years of benefits, and $25,000. My
wife also worked there and she thought the package was too compelling
to pass up. If she was going to leave, I decided I would too.
With
that move I also left behind my belief in the paternalistic company.
I recognized that no corporation could take care of me forever. At
first this was a scary realization. But as time wore on, I realized
how empowering it was to view myself as the CEO of my own destiny.
This didn’t mean that I could never work for anyone else again. In
fact, I
would spend the next several decades working for other companies —
but I was the one in charge of my fate. This was perhaps the most
influential epiphany of my career.
My experience
— from the loyalty-based rewards to the excessive exit package
seems utterly unfathomable today. Many of today’s workers don’t
even have a desktop, let alone a wood desk. And jobs for life? Ha!
The number of people who put in more than 10 years at a company has
decreased significantly, while people leaving jobs after less than
one year is rapidly increasing. Statistics show that the Generation Y
employee will have 10 jobs by the age of 38. Kids in high school say
they never want to work for “the man.”
Companies
themselves have changed and can’t offer jobs for life. The average
life expectancy of a company in the S&P 500 has dropped from 75
years (in 1937) to 15 years today, according to John Hagel III at
Deloitte Center for the Edge.
We are now in
the Age of Entrepreneurship, where the only one in charge of your
career is you. This should not be intimidating, but liberating for
both employees and employers. Here are the changes needed to fix
work.
5
Things Employees Must Do to Succeed in the Age of Entrepreneurship:
1.
It’s all about integrity:
Do what you
say. Say what you do. Always act in a way that makes people remember
you positively.
2.
Have a great attitude:
You might be
brilliant, but if you are hard to manage, it’s easy to find someone
else. Be fun and easy to work with.
3.
Be brutally honest with yourself:
Be harder on
yourself than anyone else will be. Know your strengths and
weaknesses.
4.
Don't confuse action for traction:
Focus on
outcomes, not face time.
5.
Build your network:
Find
role models and mentors outside
of
your organization.
5
Things Companies Must Do to Succeed in the Age of Entrepreneurship:
In the Age of
Paternalism, the age in which I started my career, employers thought
of their employees as something they “owned.” And, as long as
employees were loyal, companies took care of them. Tenure was
prioritized over talent and employers did their best to keep their
shining stars under wraps so that they wouldn't be “poached.”
Now, in the
Age of Entrepreneurship, when companies don’t last as long and
employees want to work for themselves, we have to contend with new
attitudes and new technologies. The openness of the web means that
everybody has insight about and access to all of your talent.
If you find
that scary you are focusing on the wrong thing. We must evolve from
Company First to People First as companies don’t have all of the
talent they need and employees will have (and want) many jobs, not
just the one they are in. These are the top 5 management practices
every employer should be doing:
1.
Get
voted onto the team every day.
Employees
have more options than ever. You must believe it’s a luxury to have
them today and work hard to keep them tomorrow.
2.
Promote employees to become CEOs of their own destinies.
People do
better work when they have more flexibility and control over what
they do. We must give people encouragement to do their best work
while they are with us and understand that achieving their destiny
might mean pursing different opportunities.
3.
Provide coaching.
You
have an obligation to grow and coach employees to be as successful as
they can be. Provide them access to executives and others inside and
outside the organization who can serve as mentors to keep them
challenged and help them reach their potential.
4.
Celebrate
contributions along the way.
So many
people don't feel valued and appreciated. Thank you goes a long way.
5.
Rethink
the send-off.
Too
many employers are angry when their best talent leaves. They feel as
if they are being deserted and they shun them. Sometimes great
performers leave and don’t like the new job as much as they had
hoped they would. Why not welcome them back?
Ultimately,
the shift of power to individual employees is not something that
should be feared. When everyone opts in and employees are happier,
companies are more successful. This will fix the way work works.
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