Logicality of career development planning

A career development plan is an inescapable requirement for attaining career success. Its importance should never be underestimated. Therefore, you need to be aware of the direction in which you have embarked and which necessitates appropriate planning efforts to achieve success.  

The very purpose of a career development plan is attainment of your career goals. There is no person on this earth who does not harbour any desire to outshine or have his aspirations materialize. A major portion of the planning that you make relates to the formulation and implementation of particular career objectives and then setting out on a correct path to achieve them.  

To be able to move on in the correct direction, you must know what matters to you. Ab initio, you may not know such issues as also what precisely you seek in definitive terms. Nevertheless, you still have to discern them to discover your plus points so that they can be utilized to further your career prospects. And once you are clear about your strengths and capabilities, you can well determine the actions that you need to take. These actions initiate your objectives. 

When you decide to formulate career aims and targets, there are a horde of issues that you need to take into consideration in an honest and pragmatic manner. Is your present job in conformity with your career choice? If it is not, what are those issues that make it agonizing? You should know and comprehend the aspects and facets of your career that ignite your passion. This could be one obscurity that you may resolve, but still you are required to research further to arrive at correct inferences with regard to actions necessary to achieve some sort of a stability in your life. Also, you should be able to understand what your hidden urge are and thus find the true meaning of your life so that your career advancement goes on unhindered.

Enunciation of your passions and life’s meaning come under the array of your career’s roadmap. This is because of the fact that every single soul wants to take up a career that is fun to pursue and a pleasure to experience; it is a different but rather unfortunate matter that a large majority cannot stick on the path that they originally embarked upon. That they switch careers and harbour fresh hopes, desires and ambitions is a fact that stems from their proclivity to react instead of planning to cater for contingencies. A job that such people apply for and eventually select is sans any consideration of whether it is their cup of tea or not. They fail to understand that proper planning makes your thought processes lucid – something that they actually seek but are unable to lay hands on. Resultantly, they are unable to elude various snares and downsides associated with career incongruities. Your correct path can be found only if you pay due attention to your inclinations, preferences and inherent capabilities.

You may not be able to formulate a career development plan totally on your own; and hence it is important to have a mentor or seek the help of a career guide. Whatever be the case, it is directed towards you and everything that you stand for; and hence you need to strike an efficacious work-life balance. Based on your individual preferences as also situational imperatives, you may remain engaged in your work pursuits for major parts of the day. However, such an engagement can cause significant problems and functional difficulties in your personal life and the routine that you follow. It is therefore, necessary that you interweave and blend in your zeal, self-actualization, meaning and individual contentment into the career that you pursue.

Men and women fantasize about achieving happiness, satisfaction and fulfillment in their life. Such fantasies can be made true if you set objectives for yourself and find ways and means to attain them. In addition, you also need to identify fields that you derive pleasure from; and striking the correct work-life balance. In other words, it is you who has to oversee and be in charge your career – an action that calls for setting your bearings correctly. A career development plan helps you to achieve all this. Dreams and fantasies thus cease to be objects of imagination.

 A career development plan will thus offer you the necessary motivation that is essential for your career success. It will also serve to goad you to work hard towards achieving your short-term and long-term goals. In other words, your career development plan will automatically ensure that all your requirements, both current and future are met without any problems. When that happens or when you reach an aspired position, you will feel contented; and contentment is surely the largest attainment that anybody can ever wish for.

Guard against job-search gaffes

Do you think that your job search endeavours are not potent enough? Do you feel that you should be actually going about with more ardour and zing in your endeavours? If yes, then you are not moving on the right career path and that the time is now ripe to eliminate all weaknesses fromyou’re your job search efforts.

Why do people fail to hit a good job opportunity? The major failings of a job search are:

·   Lack of make-up & restraint:  You should regard your job hunting efforts as an assignment by itself; this implies that you must accord the same seriousness as you would do for your job. Your efforts would entail carrying out fact-finding missions, meeting people, shooting applications and attending interviews. It is necessary that you put in place an arrangement to record all your activities so that you know precisely what you are doing and to discern what you need to do. You will find all such cataloguing highly beneficial when the final call or appointment letter reaches you.

·   Scarce research:  In most cases, if you send out an email to a company that you are not familiar with, the outcome will be negative. But if you are armed with appropriate facts and figures, the results will be the other way round. Your research will arm you with the desired potency to maintain focus on good organisations which are bound to make good use of your dexterity and knowledge. You will find that your hard work in your job hunting phase will generate a distinctive drive and help you to recognize opportunity areas. You will also become cognizant of your positive attributes and which, you can accordingly enumerate in your curriculum vitae. However, it is essential that you remain watchful of inappropriate jobs that are not your cup of tea. And most importantly, good research facilitates a better outlook and performance in an interview due to reasons of familiarity with company pursuits and reputation.

·   Bad resume:  Spelling and grammatical mistakes can be very upsetting for the person going through your resume. You have to make certain that your resume does not manifest any poor focus and that all your skills are appropriately reflected in it. You should make special efforts to highlight those qualities that are organisational imperatives. In other words, your resume should portray you well and suited for the job you are applying for. And in case you do not attach a good cover letter, you miss out in portraying your USPs, as a result, it may be likely that your case also misses out due deliberation.

·   Bad networking: Most people network only to promote themselves. They lose out on the long-term advantages that accrue from remaining in the umbra of your pursuits. Your objective in networking should be to have a sustainable contact base that can serve to promote your career and other interests. Networking is not be construed as a tool for only gaining employment; in fact, it should be a jump board for clutching new career opportunities and moving forward in life.    

·   Carelessness in pursuing applications:  No purpose will be served if you submit applications but do not pursue them. You must plan your line of action and ensure that it is implemented. Queries over the telephone or email to confirm receipt and consideration should invariably be resorted to. Subsequently, you can also put in a request for a meeting to facilitate a formal response. You can also keep the channels of communication going by forwarding informative mails that speak of your professionalism and interests.

· Poor performance in a job interview:  If you are called for an interview, then you are in the race. Therefore, if you slip-up in the interview, all your efforts go waste. It is essential that you avoid any action that could endanger your prospects and towards this, you need to prepare well so that you can respond to questions well. An interview is a test by itself and you have to keep your zeal pitched at a high level. While you have to ensure that you are not dismayed by condemnation, it is also necessary that whatever you speak manifests your strengths and positive approach. Going through an interview is a learned skill and there are no second chances to make a great first impression.  

A job search is primarily a professional exhibition of your self-confidence. You cannot afford to be casual or lax. That you are an applicant should never be forgotten. There are very thin dividing lines between self-confidence and rashness; modesty and shyness; and knowledge and professionalism. If you want your job search efforts to fructify, you need to envision and understand them well.   

Save your career from plummeting

Your career may be suffering on account of a number of factors, The most common causes for career plummeting are a lack of sufficient opportunities for advancement; alterations and changes in the working methodologies, newer applications of technology; and plain and simple monotony and boredom.

Do you feel that your career has nothing more to offer? Do you feel that you have reached a point of stagnation? Do you feel that your career and job is no more as exciting as it was earlier?  The major indicators for these feelings are:

·   Come morning and you do not want to go to work.

·   Your work and responsibilities have remained unchanged in both scope and extent for the last several years.

·   You have been changing jobs quite often but there has been no perceptible increase in your emoluments nor has there been any increase in your status.

·   Your colleagues or subordinates have overtaken you, but you have failed to secure any promotion.

·   In the recent past, you are not being including in any decision making process or discussions to arrive at line of actions on critical issues.

·   Your friends at workplace – people who are seniors, peers and juniors alike – are rather disinclined to take advice from you and hesitate to approach you for any help or support whatsoever.

·   You are not being included in the addressee list of important mail and thus you are unaware of developments in your organization.

·   You are unable to recall the last time when you went through a refresher cadre or attended any training programme for acquisition of a new skill.

·   Off late, you have developed a rather complaining attitude towards your work and management; and become argumentative and grouchy in your general disposition.

·   You have started suffering from a feeling of discrimination and that you are a victim of favouritism.

The above are all warning indicators that your career is off-track. These indicators are objectionable developments, but you can certainly get your career on path and move forward. Four approaches that can help you are:

·   Talk frankly with your boss: Looking a problem straight in its face is the maiden step to dealing with it. If you happen to be stagnating for some time, you must try to obtain of various pecking orders in your company and then do some plain-speaking with your boss to find out actions and efforts necessary for you to make vertical progression. You could also make it known that you are geared up to take on testing and demanding tasks. Perhaps he may be ignorant of what you have been doing or your aspirations because you yourself have been cagey and not selling yourself.

·   Don’t hesitate to ask for what is legitimately yours: You can always seek from your immediate boss guidelines and advice on aspects that you need to perk up. The administrative staff could also be requested to clarify on matters related to your salary increase. You ought to understand that if your overall performance is less vis-à-vis your colleagues, it is a matter of concern. If the allocations for pay increments were made and you happened to be one who has not got any, you should find out the reason for the same. If you are genuinely concerned about finding out the manner in which you could be more competent, operational and deliberate, you could well ask explore the opportunity for being transferred to another department to be acquainted with internal working mechanisms of your company. Acquiring new perceptions and outlooks will lead you to new ideas and stand you in good stead.

·   Be innovative and take risks: You should not confine yourself to your specific responsibilities only; taking initiative to share the load of others, including your boss is recommended. Towards this end, you need to acquire more skills, for which, attending learning and development programmes will help. You could also become a member of professional clubs where besides attending symposiums or presentations, you also play a key role in delivering lectures. Contributing to professional journals will also benefit you immensely to gain recognition.

·   Change your outlook for the better: Pessimism and unconstructiveness harm your career more than anything else. If you do not want your company to regard you as surplus to its establishment, you should not be grouching around unnecessarily. You must know that there is discontentment within you and take appropriate measures to preclude it. Should circumstances warrant moving somewhere else, you should take that bold decision and for all you know, you may land up in a job that is more satisfying without having to wait.

If you feel that your career is off-track or has been taking a beating, then a career change is perhaps is what is required. You could think of doing that by active consultation with those whom you are in touch with and who you think are your well-wishers. You could also request for a lateral transfer to some other section in your present set-up. However, the bottomline is that it is you and nobody else who should be at the helm of your own affairs and interests as far as your career is concerned.

Give your career a shot in the arm

Any individual in any profession will at some stage of his career is bound to suffer what is called replication stress. The term replication stress implies fatigue and tiredness that sets in when you do something day in and day out. Every work then tends to become dull and every person, irrespective of his position or appointment has a propensity to become a victim of such monotony.

Replication stress is quite common in professionals who have huge aspirations and those who are endeavouring hard to outshine others in their careers. Such stress can be overcome with some simple techniques, though there is no single formula for it. Do you experience similar dreariness at your work? Some strategies recommended to revamp and re-condition you are:

·   Take a break: If you have leave in your account, do not hesitate in taking a few days off to invigorate yourself; during such breaks, undergo some experiential training or pursue a leisure activity. If company rules permit, consider taking a long break to chase a new dream or acquire an additional qualification. Routine duties could well be swapped for more stimulating assignments. There is no harm in having a word with your manager or senior functionaries to supplement your charter or if justifiable, reducing the same.

·   Know your likes and priorities: You must catalogue your workplace likes and dislikes; and dig deep into them so that you can concentrate your efforts on the former and eventually do away with your dislikes.  In the process, you should identify issues that you want to carry on with, indulge more or less in and intend to get going with or put an end to. You also must get to know the philosophies that regulate your life as a whole. If your initiatives are in consonance with them, you will feel an internal tranquil in you.

·   Change your schedule: See if it is possible to modify your daily routine; you can put in a request to come and leave early or late, depending upon your preference. You could also swap a working day with a closed holiday. In order to avoid rush, you could elect to have lunch early or late; or decide to forego it and indulge in some exercise instead.

·   Resort to self-enhancement: You could subscribe to a course of instruction that would help you relax and simultaneously be useful to you and your company. Participation in various learning and development programmes being organized by your company is another sure shot method to get rid of your tedium. You should take to reading and writing articles for newspapers and magazines. Floating or following a blog is another helpful activity. Volunteering to attend conferences and workshops; and client meetings as also establishment functionaries is highly recommended.

·   Share your familiarities: If you can spare time (which you should), endeavor to share your knowledge with others. Based on your expertise, you could give pep talks to others at your workplace or professional clubs of which you are a member. Since you have experience behind you, you could coach and counsel greenhorns and young employees too.

·   Seek assistance & adjust: If there is someone who you look up to, seeking his help in discharging your duties efficiently will relieve you of your ennui. If the organization that you work with is medium-sized or big, you could request for being sidestepped to another section. You could even request for being associated with a specific ongoing project.

·   Boost organizational efficiency: You must recollect previous reviews on your performance and discern fresh improvement arenas. You could even walk up to your boss and solicit an all-inclusive appraisal with inputs from immediate seniors, peers and subordinates; and use the outcome to find a footing for your career bearing.

·   Indulge in personal improvement: Look into your physical health and if required join a gymnasium. Improve your personal grooming and refurbishing your wardrobe will be a great facilitator. Indulging in some social service activity like environment improvement, geriatric care or adult education will also help you rejuvenate. In addition, take care that your network base is kept alive.

The above tips call for a very sincere and honest effort on your part. It will be worthwhile to keep some time up you’re your sleeves every day wherein you ought to be galvanizing your career. However, you should exercise due caution to make certain that you do not embark upon implementing all the above recommendations concurrently. If that happens, you will suffer vexation and fatigue of a more intense type. To begin with, you should select only three or four for implementation; later on you can always supplement your efforts with greater hard work.

Know your work attitude to succeed

You need to know your own philosophy towards your work and workplace. This is possible only if you understand and recognize yourself well. In case you work with deceit and duplicity, people will see through you easily. But if you are passionate about your work and have strong principles, you will undoubtedly generate a positive impact on everybody. Your emphasis should be to create a truthful impression about yourself.

It is rather difficult to enunciate your attitude, but the ones that strike an impression are:

·   Self-motivation: Your output is contingent on your motivation level; this entails working hard and displaying integrity. If you are stanch in your outlook and loyal in your approach, you will be able to maintain a high degree of self-motivation; the result will evidently be excellent work outputs.

·   Compassion & concern: You could well be a genuine well-wisher for others and ever-willing to come to their aid in their bad times. Whether you do so with a motive or not, is another question, however there is nothing wrong if you expect something in return because after all, you are working and working has aspirations attached to it.

·   Team-spirit & solidarity: This implies being keen to be part of a team and work with others. There are distinct advantages in being part of a team. A plethora of ideas come your way and you arrive at decisions collectively. Since you work in concord, you can chase your dreams with ease and help others to do so likewise.

·   Commitment & allegiance: This implies putting in your best - the best of your knowledge and expertise to deliver results. On its own, a dream cannot transform into an actuality; what is essential is hard work, resoluteness and a sense of purpose. Life invariably calls for struggle, but all of us tend to not do our utmost, but that is what catapults you forward.

·   Focus & attention: You will always be under pressure to meet deadlines. Your spotlight and focal point has to be your work and work alone. Most of us have no idea of the colossal capability and competence that comes to us when we focus all our faculties and resources on achieving supremacy in any single facet of our lives.

·   Creativity & resourcefulness: You have to be adept at managing things and accomplishing your and organizational goals. Ingenuity implies using available resources optimally, be they integral or outside. In other words, you have to be adroit enough to utilize them imaginatively and innovatively.

·   Distinctiveness & individuality: An organization is what its employees make it. The chairman or managing director has little role to play except for showing the path; it is the people down the chain who march on it and make the difference. Therefore, if you can add exceptionality and matchlessness to your work, your contributions will be acknowledged.

·   Leadership & personal example: Being a leader means helping those who are nor performing well to do things satisfactorily and impelling those who are doing well to excel. There will be many who would yearn to climb the ladder of success but there will be very few who would know whether this ladder is leaning against the correct wall. If you lead by example, perhaps you will.

·   Visualization & farsightedness: True vision means imaginativeness in scheduling things and vital judgmental disposition. Your inkling helps you to discover new-fangled wisdom. That is what creativity is. You need to apply inventive methods to move forward and if you do not, you remain where you are. You need to have a vision. Life is all about being forward-looking. People who peep into their future may switch careers at the drop of a hat, but then they are also quick to learn new things. Such people invariably go where they dream to be at. Their eyes always remain wide-open for the consequences of their actions.

·   Work-life balance: 'Work while you work, play while you play; that is the way to be happy and gay' is a new mantra that has gained popularity. You should be able to strike a good balance between your workplace and domestic front; it is only then that you will be able to kiss success. Some physical exercise at the end of your day's or spending some moments with your family can be very stimulating.

·   Learning from experience: There is a vast difference between an error and a mistake. An error becomes a mistake if you repudiate any move to rectify it. You learn to learn from your mistakes with experience. Remember that if you do not learn from your mistakes, there will be many who would do and get ahead of you.

Remember that it is you who has to make your mind up on the type of attitude that is beneficial to you. Once you identify it, you have to adhere to it. Should you be asked to enunciate it, you ought to do so in a deliberate manner quoting examples of happenings and relating to the philosophies identified by you. The bottom line is candidness and honesty in your disposition; and if you go about your work with seriousness, sincerity and earnestness, there is no way that you will not be successful. 

Dispositions that you need to harbour from Day 1 of your career

You have clinched a good job and being a little apprehensive is not unusual. If you harbour correct dispositions, you will certainly acquit yourself well. While there can be no guarantee for success, moving ahead with due zeal will facilitate its happening for you. However, there are some dispositions that you should possess as you set out on your career journey; they are:

·   Discipline: The implication of discipline is dual; one pertains to the environment and the other to your inherent traits. In its broadest sense, discipline entails individual compliance. Remember that you are no more at college but a grown-up employee, though a junior one. You have to be skillful in whatever you do. More importantly, your work has to begin and be completed in time. Procrastination or delays will never be acceptable. Just because you are a fresher, people will tend to underrate your self-discipline. Surprisingly, self-discipline also encompasses some sacrifice of personal comfort and leisure. This will facilitate concentration on your goals. It is all about opportunity cost, there will always be a price tag attached to all facets of career advancement vis-à-vis time for personal work.

·   Sincerity: The importance of sincerity in your career has several dimensions. As a fresher, you should not be found deficient in sincerity and industriousness. There is no way that you can regard your job as a burden. Should you ever come to deem it so, you should look within and identify the source rather than blaming others. If you are sincere at your work, then you will work hard. It is all about discharging your responsibilities well and remaining answerable. More often than not, sincerity also implies sharing whatever you know. In doing so, your importance in your team will go up. Withholding knowledge has no advantages and is fraught with risks of failure. It should be remembered that sharing knowledge results in reciprocation; the more you do it, others will also do likewise.  

·   Seriousness: This attribute is perhaps the most important. No success has ever come without hard work and working hard also means working extra. It is here that the factor of dynamism comes in. It is all about taking extra initiatives to make things better and functioning smooth. Remember that if you are a conscientious employee, you will always be viewed as a sincere person. Your passion will serve to boost your morale and increase inspiration levels, not only of you but of others as well. The outcome will be in your favour – appreciation and recognition will come your way.

·   Purpose: A sense of purpose should be inculcated the first day itself. It could stand for your mental picture of the stage that you aspire to be at some years hence. Alternatively, it could suggest the manner in which your current employment will facilitate attainment of your objectives extending into the distant future. Identification and understanding of your position and charter of duties in your organization also falls within the gamut of purpose. You should never forget that you have a role to play, even if you are at the lowest rung of the ladder. You should be clear about your role and know how to play it well. This would facilitate timely and useful inputs by you; in the process you will definitely become self-assured.

·   Hopefulness: You need to be sanguine at all times. Hopefulness is something that requires the same effort for display as despair, so why should you be pessimistic? Hopefulness implies exuberance, self-confidence and resilience; it should be fused into your stash of work attitude. Have you ever imagined what will be your own purpose and inspiration if you have nothing worthwhile to look forward to? Your motivation levels will drop and hence, it is inescapable to appreciate the positive sides of all matters. Remember that optimism always sends out positive vibrations, the very geniality of which will serve as an impelling factor in all your pursuits.

You need to characterize the meaning and implication of success for you. Having done so, you can formulate a route-chart or a roadmap to achieve it. All this calls for mulling over the matter in peace and forming a good mental picture of it. Having done so, you should now move forward determinedly to achieve your objectives. Moving forward determinedly is indicative of not losing focus; your objectives should always remain the focal point centre of your attention. It is a time-tested fact that the more you concentrate your efforts towards attainment of your goals, the more booming they will turn out to be. There will be very few interruptions and distractions; and because of your resolution, you will be to inch forward successfully.

The crux of the matter is that you ought to know what your capabilities and vulnerabilities, assets and liabilities and strengths and weaknesses are. If you want the road ahead to be a smooth ride, you will have to play up on your competence, potential and aptitude in full measure. Simply exerting may not suffice; a continual improvement of your skills will also be necessary.

Your maiden job is the commencement of a new chapter of your life and you need to know what dispositions are best for you. That you have commenced a journey into the world of employment where only hard work and toil pays, you should etch discipline, sincerity, seriousness, purpose, hopefulness and hopefulness in your catalogue of work dispositions. These attitudes will stand you in good stead in your present job for certain. And as you move ahead following them, you will emerge a winner, even in the long term.

Take retirement positively

I retired from the Indian Army after serving as a commissioned officer for thirty three years. Post-retirement, I have been keeping myself busy - not that I need to but because I want to. There are many lucky people like me. On the contrary, there are other retirees who are not so lucky. Domestic obligations coupled with financial considerations compel people to work after retirement. And it is only retired personnel alone who can comprehend feelings of blues and unhappiness, mental anguish and collapse of elderly employees as their day of retirement comes close.

In the light of the above, it is no wonder that people start looking for post-retirement jobs much before they physically retire. They prepare their resumes and post them on websites, attend rehabilitation programmes, participate in counselling sessions, revive their networking and are on the lookout for suitable jobs.

If retiring employees were to be asked what they thought of their present, most of them would admit to not being able to live their life as they dreamt or visualized. They do not realize that such feelings silently, perhaps unknowingly compel them to deal with unexpected situations and challenges thrown up by them. As a retired individual but happy with whatever I have, my advice to retired people out hunting for jobs is:

·   Don’t allow your fervor to take a beating.

·   You may have retired from your job, but you haven’t bid your life adieu.

·   Give wings to your unfulfilled passions.

·   At this stage of life, you need to be happy and busy.

·   The pleasure of working after retirement would far exceed the aspects of extra money.

More often than not, attempts to look for a job in the same sphere where you served for three or more decades do not necessarily bear fruit. Employers want staff that has flexible mindsets. Hence it is always advisable to avoid taking up re-employment in any setup where you may be regarded as rigid and overage to bring about an alteration to course.

Post retirement period is the best to look at a fresh career, and perhaps the best time to do something that one has always thought of doing. The days of woolgathering and stargazing should be regarded as over. Giving shape to your dreams should now be accorded top precedence by you.

We all know that in ancient times, a person's lifespan was categorized into four distinct periods - Brahmcharya (Celibacy & Learning), Grihastha (Householder's Life), Vanaprastha (Retreat or Hermit's Life) and Sanyas (Renunciation). In today’s world, these stages not applicable. Since the last forty or fifty years, the last three stages have merged with one another. People now seek to experience the pleasures associated with learning; and work and play till they are alive.   

But there is another angle to the above. When young, people dream of retired lives as ones of contentment and relaxation. Such dreams are actually dreams in the current day context. It would be rather presumptuous and even impractical on every individual's part to envision or regard postretirement life as one of relaxation or leisure activity. So, everybody needs to shed such a fallacious approach at the earliest because one does not know the compulsions of time.

It is rather difficult for employees who have been overlooked for promotion and due for retirement to have the same degree of motivation as their other colleagues. It goes without saying that retirement perks are always in consonance with the current appointment. Similar is the case with those who are disgruntled and shifted to insignificant posts. But it is very important to alter such mindsets and make the best out of everything possible. And the maiden step to achieve this is to break mental barriers that may exist.

One needs to be amenable to the suggestion that working, learning and play can coexist, even if one advances in age. And if such a transformation takes place, a realization would dawn that re-employment:

·   Opens up doors to a new world that provides direction. It also leads to fulfillment of aspirations that are in consonance with own morals, ethics and principles.

·   Offers you a motive and a rationale to get out of bed early as also a commune of like to work in. It ought to be remembered that feelings of seclusion associated with old age can be disastrous.

·   Keeps you active and robust. Good health follows and it by itself begets happiness and cheer.

·   Provides a chance to interact with young people and in the process prove to them that aging does not increase rigidity, decrease utility, reduce efficiency and cutback ingenuity.

·   Keeps you occupied for the better. Statistics have shown that people who take up work after retirement invariably outlive those who elect to be put out to pasture.

There is no alternative to the first step talked about above. Once that is taken, the other steps come automatically. You will keep moving ahead and that will be a new worthwhile career by itself. It is important that you discard all inhibitions in this context.

Teamwork – the new workplace exhortation

No employer ever wants his employees to have discords among themselves. A congenial working environment is every management’s cherished desire and to that extent, employees who are as at ease working with others as by themselves are much sought after. Anybody contrary to this is undesirable and sooner or later, finds himself being shown the door.

The truth is that no person can perform in a watertight compartment or vacuum like environment.  A common goal is what is cherished by all in all activities and projects. In fact, they are designed to achieve this, which is made possible working in a team. Workers at all levels are increasingly seeking diversities in visions and opinions, which, per se are facilitated only if work is done in groups.

Today, it is essential that individual preferences are discarded and replaced with those that foster teamwork. People who have all along been loners (and this word should not cast any aspersions on their performance capability) also ought to start acknowledging the importance of and subscribing to camaraderie.

Functioning in a group implies that there are different forces acting on the prevailing atmosphere. People may harbour varying standpoints, support diverse lines of action and accord individual precedence to matters. Under such a situation, one should be a patient listener. New options of implementing a work-assignment may be thrown up; it is desirable that one is receptive to them. Display of rigidity has more monumental problems vis-à-vis exhibition of flexibility.

Some tips to be an efficient team-player are:

·   Respect others: The most important aspect is to respect the suggestions and viewpoints of others. In this game, there is no age factor, issue of experience or personal proximity that is involved. A conscientious person needs to be considerate to every team member, junior or senior, young or elderly and novice or experienced alike. Equal opportunities have to be afforded to all. It should be remembered that more often than not, out-of-the-box ideas originate from quarters that are least expected. Another related but highly significant issue caring for the time of fellow workers. If there are internal deadlines to me meet, there can be no alternatives. Punctuality and doing one’s homework ought to be the guiding principles.

·   Be flexible: The rudiments of teamwork are found in a flexible approach. One needs to have and adjustable working disposition. There are many people who like to be slow but steady. They are not impulsive, unlike others who exert in bits and pieces. Team work means convergence of ideas and adoption of an acceptable course of action, divergent notions that may be existing notwithstanding. The beacon of adaptability should always be functional. But giving in or acceding to others more than what is essential is incorrect too. One may be fairly reasonable and circumstances may exert pressure to succumb. There is no justification to unwarranted succumbing to external pressure tactics, when one is reasonable enough in put across viewpoints. Anybody who does so evidently ignores output considerations.

·   Share & contribute: A bunch of individuals thrown inside a ring do not necessarily display teamwork or work in harmony. But it should not be forgotten that parts and fractions add up to more than their sum total. Hence the need to play a team game cannot be overemphasized. A healthy competition is an inescapable requirement in a team. But when such competition gives way to intra-team rivalry, volatility pervades the environment. Spirits of mutual trust or collective esteem take a beating. The focus should be to share everything available and everything possible - from thoughts to resources. Working for personal motive should be a big no-no and any tendency to climb the ladder individually should be discouraged. It is working together in harmony towards the achievement of a common objective that should never be lost sight of. Doing so will offer a wide spectrum of solutions to problems, several options and courses of action and more importantly, well-arrived at decisions.

·   Communicate & disseminate candidly: The prime causative factor of success of a team is frankness with which ideas are exchanged. But regrettably, unambiguous communications continue to plague setups as a result, misgivings and misunderstandings creep in. People who are effective team players invariably do not conceal things. They are forthright and convey their points of view honestly, be they within the group or outside it. Calling a spade a spade is alright, but it should be done with due diligence. Communications are a two-way process. Speaking out one’s mind in a candid fashion also calls for listening patiently and accepting feedback, even if it is negative. But more significant is to put such feedback to good utility, that is, to become a better team-player.

·   Remain devoted & sincere: A person who is disinterested or who lacks perseverance is never welcome. Any individual having a focus of attention that lies elsewhere cannot fit into a team. So if one has to part of a tea, it has to be in letter and spirit. And if there happen to be deviations, the same will manifest in changed behavioural patterns. Any indifferent or unconcerned attitude will not go unnoticed. Dedication calls for sincerity of effort. It also means playing an active role. It is no point standing in the galleries like cheerleaders. What will matter is being where the action is. A my-horse-also-ran disposition is worthless and a person harbouring it is a non-performer.

You cannot whistle a symphony; it takes an orchestra to play it. And strength lies not in similarities but in differences. And if the differences come together, it is a good start; if they keep together, it is progress; and if they work together, it is success. That says it all.

Gear yourself for your next career step

“Your comfort zone is a place where you keep yourself in a self-illusion and nothing can grow there but your potentiality can grow only when you can think and grow out of that zone.”

― Rashedur Ryan Rahman

Just because you are into a job does not mean that you do not have to work out your future moves. You need to bring your future into your present so that you can do something about it today. If you worry in advance, then you can think and plan in advance. The fact is that a good plan today is better than a perfect plan tomorrow.

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed-up. The same is true for your career. You have to find your next career move. Here is how you can do that:

·   Evaluate & grade yourself sensibly: You should prefer to pursue an opportunity that gives you prospects of advancement on all fronts. It is essential that you consider your workplace environment and people around you also; money aspects should not be accorded high precedence. It is also essential that you have absolute clarity of your thoughts and direction. This is possible only if you reorganize and simplify your functioning. Anything that is not your major aptitude should be discarded. It is also necessary that you strive to form a rational opinion of your capabilities: You should spare time to evaluate your strong points, vulnerabilities, prospects and risks. In doing so, you will get to know yourself better and thus will be better poised to acquit yourself well.

·   Lay emphasis on self-improvement: What you should endeavour on a continual basis is self-improvement. Be it your overall performance or spoken reputation, people should acknowledge you and your contributions. You must also allow yourself aspects like knowledge and education. These entail interacting with people and enlarging contacts at one end of the spectrum to making yourself presentable by having good attire on the other. You have to make the most of yourself and hence you must always dream and shoot higher than you know you can do. It is necessary that do not bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors; you must try to be better than yourself. Remember that no matter who you are, no matter what you have achieved so far, no matter what has been your past, you can always change and become a better version of yourself.

·   Be aware of what is transpiring around you: In order to progress, you have to keep abreast with changing environments. You need to possess manifold perceptions of various issues; if you are able to incorporate your outlook with others, you will comprehend things holistically and stand at a higher pedestal to face challenges. You must make efforts to sell yourself for the job and position that you are seeking. You must dress and conduct well; your personal dealings should be par excellence. You simply cannot ignore developments around you; but on the contrary, you must evaluate matters for their long-term ramifications: You should try to get into an appointment where you cannot be dislodged in the immediate future. If you happen to be an intern, recall the dedication with which you went to college and the outcome it had. Remember that the work environment in which you work can bring out the best or the worst in you.

·   Ensure a positive portrayal of your image & reputation: You should be clear about the image that you want to represent. It is only after you are able to do this, you should draft your resume; needless to state it should be accurate, brief and concise. Remember that your resume is a perceivable and concrete document and hence everything in it should portray you in a positive manner.

·   Make certain that your contact base remains intact: Your list of contacts should be ever increasing. You should keep meeting people and discern their thoughts and plans so that you can be of assistance to them. Remember that you cannot predict when a person can be of help. It will be in your interest to interact with well-informed people. You should remember that if you know relevant people and also how to connect with them, they will render you correct advice. Their recommendations and suggestions will surely make you more valuable at work. You also have to ensure that people who belittle your ambitions are kept at an arm’s length. Quite a few people will do that, but there will always be many who will be there to motivate you to become great. Those are the type of people you should not ignore at all. .

·   Don’t shy away from taking risks: You need to be venturesome and not be extra cautious in your approach and dealings so as to ensure that your individuality is maintained. You must continue to give wings to your passions without having fear of failure. It is best to proceed ahead in keeping with what your conscience prompts you.

Remember that if you are working and working hard, you are not doing so to earn a pension. Your aim should be to attain success. And to be successful in your career and life, you cannot lose out on your dynamism and punch. Therefore, let your next career step be prudent and carefully planned.

Defeat generational conflict at workplace

We have centuries and centuries of traditions wherein any person who is elder, educated and erudite is respected. Age and knowledge however, have a direct relationship. But in recent times, this norm has been seen to be fading away, largely on account of immense technological process and globalization. Though experience is of significance, what matters most is how well you perform at work. In the light of the foregoing, ingenuity, flexibility and learning prowess have come to be regarded as prime movers for success. Therefore, people who have experience to their credit are losing out to people younger to them.

When a junior overtakes you, a shift of power and authority will always take place. And like all other shifts, this shift will generate some hostility because taking directions from someone younger and junior is not an easy task. There will be immense undercurrents of pressures and strains; and which, will make the younger employees unduly busy, despite their high morale, ingenuity and initiative. That is when workplace conflict takes birth.  

All conflicts are an outcome of differences in viewpoints, approaches and mind-sets. Elderly employees who hold decades of experience tend to suffer from feelings that their once-upon-a-time juniors and now their bosses are yet to acquit themselves and hence need to be more experienced to hold their current appointments. The young bosses are also seen as being impulsive, rash and irresponsible in their conduct. On the other hand, young bosses feel that the experience that the other category possesses is out of date and outmoded; they are of the view that superseded juniors are rigid in their approach and lack an –out-of-the-box thinking capability. Since they are elderly, they are reluctant to embark on ventures that call for toil or taking some risk.

The generational conflict that prevails cannot be precluded. However, if one was to keep organizational interests above everything else, there is no place for them. Ways and means to reduce tensions have to be found. Here are some time-tested recipes to reduce such tensions:

·   Be insightful & amenable: Age differences give rise to differences of disposition, outlook and mind-set towards both towards work and life alike. Both generations are morally obliged to be considerate and discreet in their dealings with each other. The younger lot has to exercise restraint more than their older friends - be they juniors or seniors. If it is understood that the oldies find it difficult to change and adjust, the problems stand greatly reduced. After all, no individual likes to be ordered around or treated like a shuttlecock. Having fortitude and staying power in your dealings coupled with showing due respect to age and experience will keep the machine well-oiled and going well.

·   Discard inflexibility & severity of approach: Opinions and stances apart, it would be presumptuous to state that all old employees are disdainful and not all young bosses are hardliners. Therefore, chauvinism and narrow-mindedness should be shed at all costs in all dealings. What is important is the fact that interpersonal relations should be viewed as associations between coworkers rather than juniors and seniors.

·   Don’t get involved in unnecessary confrontations: Memories should remain memories; the older lot should not unnecessarily keep talking of the past. People will respect your age and experience more if you cast off your haughty feelings and approach that people younger to you are less knowledgeable. On the other hand, the younger lot, particularly young bosses should also shed all apprehensions of the older lot as a cluster of opposition. Perhaps their confidence can be earned if due respect is shown to their age, experience and involvement.

·   Be broadminded & tolerant: Anybody, irrespective of his or her age or appointment should invariably be respected for their outputs. There is no denying the fact that the older lot has solid experience and steadiness to back them, whereas the younger lot is always bubbling with ingenuity and are better poised to address the complexities of today's fast-moving working milieu. Therefore, if both complement and supplement each other; and learning from each other is resorted to, the results can be zenithal.

·   Never let organizational interests suffer It should be remembered that everybody, young and old alike has to strive for maximum productivity so that organizational objectives are achieved.  You have to be clear about the larger picture and considering it, all efforts have to be made in a positive manner. Conflicts and differences therefore have no place at work.

Today, when all working atmospheres are prone to regard outputs by employees as important vis-à-vis their knowledge and experience, the need to overcome all conflicts and differences arising out of generational gaps cannot be downplayed. And that calls for special skills, understanding acumen and empathy. Develop these traits and you will not have any problems at your workplace.

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