Your growth is in the details that work for you
Do you know the rules of your environment? Are you making them work for you or the people that you serve?
At this moment we are actively in the fourth industrial revolution or digital age. The digital age’s right hand is globalization. Globalization is shining because of the opportunities that the digital age creates for it and vice versa.
Why is this important?
This is the first time in over 100 years that growth opportunities are accessible across classes and industry due to technology and globalization. This duo is taking our economy by storm. This behavior isn’t new though. President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order outlines the impact on our economy and offers the solution to redefine policies to be in favor of smaller entities. The pace of changing policy cannot keep up with the change and shift of power this duo creates. The opportunity in it for individuals is to figure out where we can add value AND what’s sustainable. Like I said before this duo’s pace is fast, to stay in the game we have to keep up. Which brings me to my next point.
Know the rules of your environment AND make them work for you
They say that knowledge is the key to unlocking levels. I’d say that in this digital age knowing and acting on what you know is the key to keeping up with the pace.
Hear me out…
Have you ever played a board game without reading the directions? I have and it only got me so far. My strategies weren’t sustainable because they were only based on what I wanted to do and not what I wanted to accomplish. I got caught up on simple challenges that I would have seen coming or been able to avoid if I paid attention to the rules of the game AND made them work for me.
Essentially that's what happens to you when you operate in a space without knowing the levels and rules of the environment you are in. Here are 4 basic levels you need to understand and navigate - industry, company, culture and function.
The top three levels are designed to activate your skills to solve your employers/environments problems and benefit their missions. The function of your role can serve two purposes if you let it - benefiting you and benefiting them. To make it benefit you, you need to use #1 - #4 in a strategic and intentional manner. How you perform your role benefits the top three levels and is your opportunity window to position yourself for success.
In my career, knowing the functions of the top levels helped me avoid challenges those levels bring. Knowing what to avoid and how to play to my strengths helps me be mindful of how I distribute my energy to do the work to reach my goals.
Here’s a cheat code:
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, employ means to make use of (someone or something inactive) or make use of it advantageously. In other words, the employer activates the employees skills in exchange for a salary and the employee provides their skills to the employer for the amount of their salary. The documents of this agreed upon value exchange outlined in your job description, employment contract and roles on projects. Anything outside of this needs to be renegotiated. As an employee, this definition is a tool to keep in your toolkit. I have personally used this definition to hold myself responsible for speaking up when this exchange was no longer working to my advantage and when I had to negotiate new terms to make the employer-employee relationship work for me.
A tip for the road:
When you are keeping yourself accountable along this journey remember these two things:
You are responsible for
knowing what you need to be able to perform your duties and
taking care of and advocating for your needs to complete the tasks you agreed to do. More about this concept in another blog.
Along this journey you will discover more about yourself and how to leverage the momentum of your environment. I encourage you to keep an open mind and be ready to pivot and choose the route that works best for you. You are the asset that keeps all of the plays running. Keep going and growing.
Wishing you success
