We have to be brutally honest with ourselves individually and at an organizational level if we want to improve our skills and be better. We all know that person who, when confronted with a task or training opportunity, proudly quips "I know all that already." No one on the face of the earth knows everything. "I'm just being confident." Confidence is nice but false confidence is deadly. Those people are only fooling themselves and robbing themselves of the opportunity to learn, improve and be better. What's the point of paying attention to the trainer or working hard on the task if you erroneously think you are a master. Watch an early episode of American Idol to see people who think they can sing, yet have no talent whatsoever.
I have worked with individuals who receive the same type of criticism from multiple managers or even multiple employers, yet conclude it is unfairness or some other external factor at work. Consistent critical feedback should tell you something about yourself. A brutal frank assessment is necessary. If your speaking skills aren't as good as your writing skills, own it and work hard to improve. If you are not good at time management, work on it, don't blame your boss for expecting you to be able to handle many tasks in the course of a day. If you are a bad marketer of yourself, own it and take steps. Build a website, network more, realize and discuss freely what you bring to the table.
Companies must also accurately assess themselves. Maybe your company is not the beacon of customer service you wish or hope it was. Be honest, make some changes. Select and train your service representatives better. Make a product worth believing in and stand by it. Constantly assess yourself and your organization. Take those critiques in your appraisal to heart, ask your manager how to get better, get the proper training. An honest significant other can provide helpful insight too. "You're fabulous honey, don't change a thing" isn't really going to help you be better. Hopefully, you have at least one person in
your life who will give you honest feedback, even if it is only "your shirt doesn't match your pants." That's something. But, we all need to be truly honest with ourselves first. It may be impossible to be objective but successful people know where their weak points and strong points are, exploit their strengths and work on their weaknesses. Being honest opens up the pathway to success. http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html
I have worked with individuals who receive the same type of criticism from multiple managers or even multiple employers, yet conclude it is unfairness or some other external factor at work. Consistent critical feedback should tell you something about yourself. A brutal frank assessment is necessary. If your speaking skills aren't as good as your writing skills, own it and work hard to improve. If you are not good at time management, work on it, don't blame your boss for expecting you to be able to handle many tasks in the course of a day. If you are a bad marketer of yourself, own it and take steps. Build a website, network more, realize and discuss freely what you bring to the table.
Companies must also accurately assess themselves. Maybe your company is not the beacon of customer service you wish or hope it was. Be honest, make some changes. Select and train your service representatives better. Make a product worth believing in and stand by it. Constantly assess yourself and your organization. Take those critiques in your appraisal to heart, ask your manager how to get better, get the proper training. An honest significant other can provide helpful insight too. "You're fabulous honey, don't change a thing" isn't really going to help you be better. Hopefully, you have at least one person in
your life who will give you honest feedback, even if it is only "your shirt doesn't match your pants." That's something. But, we all need to be truly honest with ourselves first. It may be impossible to be objective but successful people know where their weak points and strong points are, exploit their strengths and work on their weaknesses. Being honest opens up the pathway to success. http://www.employmentlawman.com/monday-morning-musings.html
RSS Feed