3 Ways To Turn Up The Volume Of Your Job

Your job is OK, not bad, just OK.  But you’d like it to be more than OK, you’d like it to be – dare to dream - great! 

You don’t need to find a new job to have a great job.  Here are three ways to redesign, add on, and de-clutter your way to a great job.

Work To Your Strengths:

We all have things we do really well, without even trying.  People ask, how do you do that?  And we answer, I don’t know – I just do it.  That’s one of your strengths in action.  A strength is a combination of innate talent combined with knowledge and skills acquired through experience. 

Becoming conscious of our strengths is the fast path to success because your greatest potential for growth comes from your areas of strength, not your areas of weakness.  To turn up the volume of your current job, redesign it around your strengths.   You probably have more leeway than you think to design your job around your strengths.

One of the core questions Gallup asks is, “At work do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?”  Think how great it would feel to answer, “Yes!”

I love the Gallup StrengthsFinder tool.  If you’ve never taken this assessment, purchase a new copy of StrengthsFinder 2.0, complete the online questionnaire using the access code in the back of the book, and download the detailed report of your top 5 talent themes.   Then identify your strengths and find ways to incorporate them into your days. 

Don’t’ Go It Alone

When I interview new clients who are unhappy in their current job, the common theme I hear is they feel alone.  No one supports them, no one appreciates them, and interactions with coworkers are generally negative.  They feel isolated, set up for failure, and the only solution they can see is to find a new job. 

Don’t let things deteriorate to this point.  Building authentic relationships with coworkers, networking in your industry, and partnering with others is something successful people make a conscious effort to do well, even if it’s outside their comfort zone.

I was coaching a new client recently who likes to work at a really fast pace.  But he understands the risks associated with his business well enough to know when he needs to reach out to a couple of trusted partners for help thinking things through.  We all need those sounding boards, no matter what we do for a living. 

My last boss in my corporate job asked me about my networking outside the company. I was not an industry networker, and I regret it now.  When coaching people in senior management positions, I urge them to make sure they have a network (including LinkedIn connections) with people outside of their company – people they meet at conferences, etc.  Keeping up with trends in the industry keeps you current and could spark some new ideas.  And of course it comes in handy if you find yourself looking for a new opportunity.

Stay Away from the Dark Side

The dreaded dark side is populated with negative people and energy vampires as well as your own inner beast or shadow.  The sooner you recognize that you’re engaging with the dark side, the sooner you can extricate yourself.  This includes Negative Nellies as well as those people who might be gunning for you, determined to make you look bad in public.  Find a way to disengage or limit your engagement with these people.  Recognizing them for what they are is the key.

We all have a shadow, that inner ogre that takes over when we’re stressed or pushed beyond our limits.  Different people have different looking shadows.  Mine retreats, but other people have shadows that turn combative, judgmental, overly critical, manipulative, close-minded, or pessimistic.  Learn what triggers your shadow so you can take steps to avoid those situations, or if you can’t avoid them, manage your responses.

Implement these three strategies, and “kick it up a notch” at work!