How do many people build their careers? I believe a large part comes from the fact that when a boss says, "Handle that, will you?" they do.
For the most part, they are problem-removers, not problem-bringers, and that trait is highly prized in places where the latter group seems to be the most populous. They handle the problem and don't make matters worse in doing so. They don't seek great praise but rather prefer the silent accolade that is represented by the assignment itself.
That part about not making matters worse is vital. Sometimes, it includes holding off on taking action and getting back with the boss to note its downsides. These individuals are not robots; they give the benefit of their insight as well as the effectiveness of their actions and that involves speaking truth to power.
One of their skills is the ability to get a quick grasp in situations and to see when the real problem is not the one shouting in the middle of the room but the one hiding in the corner. Either way, however, they can handle it and the boss knows that when the assignment is made, a solution will be created.
4 comments:
Very well put and the very credo of my career. I especially appreciated the idea of being a problem remover, not a problem bringer.
A former boss once put it this way: Never come to me with problems, come to me with solutions. If you recognize a problem (whether your boss assigned it to you or not) it takes a great deal of work to seek and solution and suggest one or sometimes more possible courses of action. If you are doing this work, your boss won't have to, and sometimes you can do it better than he can anyway since you are closer to the problem. In this way, you create value, which at the end of the day is the only thing which will matter to the company.
I think often of that manager who drilled this attitude into my head and have thanked him many times for the level he demanded of me, though it was a painful process at the time.
I love being a problem remover. What I don't love is when your boss asks you to handle a problem - which you do - but then HIS boss comes along and changes everything that you just spent six months researching and resolving.
:-/
The real question for me is why is this behaviour and ethos not obvious? Shouldn't this be what everybody does?
How can being self absorbed, doing as little as possible, whining, being lazy, just lacking initiative and motivation, being late, leaving early, being envious, expecting or assuming things to go their way....be the logical and obvious intuitive behaviour for so many?
How do you look behind the gloss to see the real character of a person, their values, abilities and ethics.....
All good points.
Thanks!
Michael
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