5 Psychologically Uncomfortable Career Shaping Opportunities
by Kate Nasser | 11 Comments »
How good are you at turning negative situations into positive career opportunities? People often focus on major career shaping milestones like earning a degree or relocating for a better job yet often don’t convert difficult interactions into defining moments.
Maybe it’s harder to see the psychologically uncomfortable career shaping opportunities yet it is well worth the effort.
5 Psychologically Uncomfortable Career Shaping Opportunities Image by:kroo2u
When leaders and managers must decide who to place on new projects, in newly vacated job spots, and in managerial and leadership posts, they draw on their everyday observations of staff behavior.
How you behave in difficult and uncomfortable situations creates an impression that shapes your career opportunities.
5 Psychologically Uncomfortable Career Shaping Opportunities
- When You’re the New Kid on the Block. Moving onto an existing team can be uncomfortable. How will your expertise be received before you’ve had time to build trust? If you are adept at asserting without pushing, leaders see you as an asset to critical collaborations and sudden teams.
- When Deadlines Loom and You Have Little Information. These situations can challenge your sense of self-confidence and competence. If you perform well without blaming other groups for the void, leaders see you as a resourceful asset worthy of trust for tough high profile assignments.
- When You’re On a Toxic Negative Team. Do you succumb to the negativity — even if just to fit in? Or are you the lonely voice of inspiration that holds strong and re-inspires others? If you inspire in the face of naysayers, leaders see you as the turnaround titan that keeps productivity flowing.
- When Emotions Are Running High. Many people hate conflict. Avoiding it impacts results. Fueling it can be disastrous. If your focus and insight triumphs over emotion, you pop to the top of the next leader list!
- During Rapid Start-ups. Start-ups present a huge revenue and public relations challenge to companies. The learning curve is an expense. Delay is risky. The stress of these start-ups crushes many people. If you are a fast fearless learner undaunted by a lack of structured training programs, leaders see you as pure profit and risk reduction.
What does it take to develop these traits and seize these opportunities?
- Desire
- Persistence
- Continuous improvement
You can strengthen your ability to blend into new teams, handle ambiguity, stay inspired, improve focus, and embrace fast change. In fact, you can achieve most anything you desire.
Leaders will notice; confidence and commitment burns bright and builds the leaders trust in you.
From my professional experience to your success,
Kate Nasser, The People Skills Coach™
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©2012 Kate Nasser, CAS, Inc. Somerville, NJ. If you want to re-post or republish the content of this post, please first email info@katenasser.com for terms of use. Thank you for respecting intellectual capital.
Kate Nasser, The People-Skills Coach™, delivers coaching, consulting, training, and keynotes on customer service, customer experience, teamwork, and leading change. She turns interaction obstacles into business success. Masters in Organizational Psychology. See this site for workshop outlines, keynote footage, and customer results.
Thank you Kate for your usual excellent and well chosen topics!
I’m currently competing with my colleagues to take our boss position but I think I did very well when my boss assigned me to relief him while he was assigned on a special assigment (in the same company premises). That time, my country went in to the Arab spring unrest and lots of employees went into strike for more than a week (violated the company’s absence without approval policy). I was put in a position to sake my other colleagues who were participating! It was a real hard time I’ve been through! But I had to do what is right and report whoever didn’t take permission for leave and they got sacked! I’m still not comfortable talking about this to be honest and I had lots of sleepless nights during that period but my fairness paid off as it was very much appreciated by my boss! It was a difficult CHIICE I had to make!
Thanks again Kate for letting me express this unfortunate situation 🙂 luckily that now all of them returned back to work and no one blamed me as they understood my situation by then 🙂
Regards,
Khalid
Hi Khalid,
Your situation is tough. I am glad you used your own beliefs and did what you thought was right. In the end, life is about you and your conscience.
Very pleased you share your thoughts and challenges here. So glad we are connected.
Best wishes,
Kate
Another one to add to the “Psychologically Uncomfortable Career Shaping Opportunities” list staying power over the long haul. Although the length of time people generally stay with a company has grown shorter, there is a “grass is greener” mentality that can creep in after being a company for 5+ years. Staying or making the jump can be career shaping, one way or the other. Being persistent and always getting better may eliminate that desire and make your career more satisfying in any place.
Great things to think through, Kate. Thanks! Jon
Excellent addition Jon. Staying power has been diminished as a strength and yet it pays off for the company in many ways. Many thanks for adding this perspective.
I am so glad you contribute to my posts!
Kate
First-class post, Kate. A comprehensive and under-appreciated list of transitions that reveal strength of character. And, as you know, these opportunities often re-emerge over the arc of a career. Thank you for your work. I always appreciate your perspective and insight.
Hi Paul,
I am so glad you see these under-appreciated transitions as rich with opportunity. They do matter and are worthy of attention.
Best wishes and thanks,
Kate
Kate,
Great article! Building your skill-set to shape opportunities is essential in today’s turbulent workplace that above all demands we bring out the best in team efforts. A desire to continuously improve our relational cognition will not only shape our work but give it meaning.
Thanks so much, Kate!
Carla
Thanks Carla. I like your “work on your skills in today’s turbulent workplace”. Employees don’t have to be victims of the economy.
Appreciate your visit, insight, and thoughts.
Kate
Great topic, Kate. And I appreciate your take on it. Usually we dread these kinds of situations. But actually, not only are these career shaping opportunities, they provide a very real opportunity to stretch and grow -like the grain of sand in an oyster.