Why can’t you go faster?
What more can be done? I heard
those questions from executive management practically non-stop for 3
years. I ran a program to reduce deposit
fraud at a bank whose losses were nine times industry average. It was my job to quickly get changes implemented
to reverse years of under-investment and find that critical balance between
customer service and being victimized by fraudster customers.
My team was doing a great job, we had fantastic partners in
technology which enabled us to implement seven new systems in three years,
branch administration who spearheaded big changes in culture and tools used by
thousands of individuals on millions of transactions, and back office
operations who did so much with so little.
But management kept pressing demanding more, faster,
better. Every few months they’d send the
Six Sigma-light brigade in on a fruitless quest to find the key – that one
thing that could be changed to crack the nut.
But my team and partners knew there was no magic key. Reversing the trend would take years of smart
decisions and hard work.
The one thing that kept me sane for the first 2 of those 3
years was my senior manager. (Don’t ask about year three – it was hell.) She shielded me, I’m sure, from the hottest
winds blowing down from the executive suite.
Her parting words at the end of difficult meetings were, “We’ll get
there.”
Just three little words, but they meant the world to
me. They told me she understood the
challenges, supported our strategy, and most importantly had confidence that we
would, in fact, get there. I sighed with
relief and buckled down anew every time I heard those words: we’ll get there.
That doesn’t mean she went easy on me. She asked hard questions and pushed back to
make sure we were thinking things through and weighing all the risks and
options. But no matter what, I knew she
was there for me. She was a key
component in my support infrastructure that also included my fabulous team, key
partners, and of course my friends.
How strong is your support infrastructure? Do you have a manager and a management chain
up the organizational ladder who understands what you do and values your
contribution? Do you have a network of
colleagues who you can kick around ideas with and vent to when needed?
My own experience matches the findings of recent research on
the
secret to happiness at work .
Looking back at my favorite jobs, no matter what the job or how
challenging, one of the common elements is that I had a supportive network in
my workplace.
If you’re not happy in your current job, one of the causes
might be a lack of a support infrastructure.
Here are three things to ask yourself:
Describe your relationship with
your manager. Does she/he understand
what you do? Does she/he value your
contribution? People will take a job
because of the company, but they will likely leave a job because of their
manager.
Do you have friends at work, even
if they’re just “work friends?” Do you
have organizational allies, or do you feel like you’re paddling alone?
Do you feel like you have the
opportunity to succeed or do you feel you’re being set up to fail. Are
you in the right job? Sometimes through
no one’s fault, we find ourselves in the wrong job. Perhaps there was a reorganization, and you
got moved. A new manager came in with a
different vision. You took a job that
turned out to be different from what you thought it would be.
We spend at least 40 percent of our waking hours each week
at work. If you’re not happy at work, it’s
likely you will not be happy…period.
Before you decide to chuck it and find another job, see if
you can build a support infrastructure in your current job. It might take stretching outside your comfort
zone, especially if you’re an introvert, and you might have to swallow your ego
a bit. But progress will be worth the
effort.
