Get better at your job
By Tony Wilson
We like to improve. You might not realise, but being able to achieve is a major factor in your happiness at work. Research from Harvard Business School suggests that one of the pervasive elements of a miserable job is when people are not allowed to achieve and develop and progress. Our first thought is to blame our managers, but, as strenuous as this may sound, you should actively look for ways to improve if you want to enjoy your job a little more.
It is so true - all you need to do is look at a child’s development years from one to six years old to see that we are learning machines. And what’s more, learning is fun – just look at the delight in the eyes of that very child who has just caught a ball for the first time, or just realised how to get the square peg into the square hole. What about the last time you went travelling? Didn’t you just love learning about the intricacies of the culture, the history and (possibly) the language? We like to learn and we like to achieve.
Why does learning seem boring?
We are conditioned to believe that learning is boring. A few years ago I went back to University to do my MBA. There I was, first day back, desperate to get into it, full of energy and enthusiasm. The lecturer introduced himself, the lights went down, the PowerPoint presentation came up………….and I started falling asleep.
The content wasn’t bad, and I wasn’t overly tired, but I have been conditioned from an early age to believe that this environment is boring. Something inside of me switches off automatically. You would be hard pressed to find a teenager in school who thinks that learning is fun, right? There is some research to suggest that our rate of learning and our ability to learn declines dramatically a couple of years into school. Isn’t that odd? The very institution that is supposed to be teaching us actually contributes to the decline in our learning.
Why Learning Sucks
When we are developing as children, learning is fun. It is unstructured and it is done on our own terms. But then we begin learning in a structured environment, which doesn’t seem like much fun at all. Despite the efforts of most well intentioned teachers, they are not professional speakers, and while they try to impart their knowledge the best way they know how, it is rarely engaging. You can probably count the teachers you really liked on a couple of fingers and I bet you they were engaging – either naturally or self-taught. The bottom line is, after a couple of years of doing this every day, we decide that learning and developing is boring.
What’s more, achieving is hard work, not fun. We are told this every day and again it is what we believe. Getting better, finding ways to do our job more efficiently and trying new things is hard and they are only for crazy people or that Energiser Bunny that sits in the far cubicle.
But the fact remains, that we do like to achieve. Even if you know someone who doesn’t care about their job or how they perform, even if you are sure they just turn up every day to go through the motions, I will guarantee that they get some satisfaction out of crossing things off their to-do-list, or clearing their inbox, or getting a “well done” from the boss.
Look for ways to improve:
You have the opportunity everyday to engage in unstructured learning on your own terms. Ask yourself these questions:
“How can I do my job better?”
“What is something that I can change today in order to be more efficient?”
“What are the small things I can do every day to get some sense of achievement?”
“What are the things I hate doing? Why? How can I change that?”
I guarantee that if you find just one thing that you can change today - something that will make you better at your job – you will immediately feel the buzz.
And what an amazing by-product………if you find the right thing to change, it will actually make your life easier.
Tony Wilson is the founder of Teamcorp Australia, and has spent over a decade working with elite performers in business and in sport. His ability to help athletes reach their potential and maintain motivation has been a large factor in their success, and many corporate leaders throughout Australia now also apply Tony’s philosophies with outstanding results. Tony’s practical background, coupled with an MBA, give him a unique perspective on personal and team performance.