Thought for the day… You’re either taking selfies or making yourself.
It seems as though social media and mobile devices are flooded with the selfie. There’s even a new TV show coming out that is called Selfie. Don’t know what a selfie is? Click here for definition. What we find interesting is that as much as people want to take the selfie to promote themselves or make the moment all about them, very few people want to make themselves. What we mean by that is most people don’t want to make themselves accountable, remarkable, coachable, etc. We’re in a “hey, look at me, but don’t judge me” world. Ironically, the few that want to be judged or have their performance tracked are often those, who in the end, are the most looked at and celebrated. If you want a fulfilling career, you’re only going to get there and stay there by making yourself and staying away from the selfies. Where is your focus? We’ve listed a few traits of each to show where you might stand.
Taking Selfies:
- Self Promoter – Taking all the credit, especially when not earned
- Track activity – At least I tried really hard. We shouldn’t keep score because we’re all winners.
- Excuser – Always a reason why not… “Yes, but”, “I would, but”, “if only, then I could”, and the number #1 excuse… “I’m too busy”
- Status Quo Protector – This is how we’ve always done it. Accepting non-performance from allies, pet projects and sacred cows.
- All talk – I’m going to do. We did it this way at my old job. Let’s create a subcommittee to the subcommittee of the focus group.
Making Yourself:
- Coachable – Seeking feedback and getting better every day.
- Focused on results – Celebrate the wins not the activity. Scores matter.
- Innovator – Bringing actionable ideas to the table and implementing them.
- Change Agent – Challenges the status quo. Just because we’ve always done it that way, doesn’t mean it’s not incredibly stupid.
Now take a selfie to remind yourself that you’re a work in progress and still making yourself.
