Be the Best You: Don't Give Into Fear!
The one thing many people suffer from is fear. It could be just fear of snakes or mice. That could keep your from checking out the outdoors and all the fabulous national parks the USA has to offer. In the business world fear can dramatically alter someones career. When your a young person just entering the workforce it can be a confusing time. You are getting your first career type job, meeting new people, trying to make a good impression. You might think playing it cool and easy is the best way to go. But I will respond with, did they hire you to play it cool and easy? Or did they hire you to come in and learn with a vengeance? Then take what you are learning and combined it with your skills and set the place on fire? Passion and determination will never be a bad thing to embrace. So when I say set the place on fire I mean with passion. But some people are afraid to succeed. It is easy to "fit in" with the time clock punchers. But who the hell wants that?
No one ever got anywhere without making decisions and embracing risks. It is part of being a rockstar. Research, plan, take your team members thoughts into consideration and then make a decision. Own that decision whether it be a good one or bad one. If it is a bad one, learn from it. Own it. Everyone has made and will continue to make bad decisions. The difference is if you put effort into the decision. It is easy to see the people who half-assed a decision. So do not take this as a endorsement to just make unintelligent decisions. As I said, plan, research and talk with team members or mentors. Put the effort in. But do not be fearful of making decisions. Do not be fearful of failure. Embrace failure. It really is the best way to learn. When people lift weights, muscle do not just grow. Lifting weights breaks down the muscles, literally breaks them. Then they rebuild bigger and stronger. Think of failure as the same thing.
There are the people in the workforce who are content with not making decisions, not taking chances. They want to blend in, not make waves. They do their part. But everyone needs to be apart of decisions. So while the person who is working on 5% of a project might not see themselves as important, they are. Everyone should not be afraid to speak up. If something is not right, or something is seen by someone, bringing it up to the right people is key to a successful operation. I can remember one time on a project someone spoke up. They had no idea what they were talking about in terms of the technical speak. But they said their piece, more in a quizzical way. But that spurred us to look into what they were saying. We had to make an adjustment that we would not have made if they would not have said anything. Do not assume someone else is going to do it. Push aside the fear of saying something and speak up.
A good team embraces everyone's thoughts. Are leaders supposed to have all the answers? Hell no. The team has tons of information to bring to the table. Do not confuse leading with knowledge. That might sound bad, but you get the point. A good leader will look at someone who brought something up or mentioned an idea and say thank you. Even if it is something they were in charge of doing. Leaders embrace the team and push aside their ego. Do not confuse you saying something or bringing something up with a leader always having to embrace what you are bringing up. They could listen and go a different direction. But keeping information for yourself alone is honestly unethical. I would never want an employee who kept information from my team. You have to operate like a family and not like separate entities. So in the end if you have fear or are being roasted for bringing information to the table it might just be time to look for another job. Work for people who appreciate your skills set and embrace you. Not try and erase you.
