How to get better at your job every day
Back during the days when I was studying for my CPA certification and used to stay at work after-hours to practice a gazillion questions around amortization and accounting ethics (please empathize), I befriended one of the sweetest and most driven, ambitious women I’ve ever met. For our purposes, I’ll call her Maria. Maria was the office cleaning lady, and she might as well have been the CEO of the office cleaning company. She single-handedly developed a method of folding bags into the dustbins that allowed her to get an exact count of how many bags she used, and helped her improve her process on a daily basis, literally. Maria was also a hairdresser on the side, practicing her side business on week-ends, and applying whatever customer service skills she would acquire to her current office cleaning job.
Maria was literally getting better at her job every day. Watching her dedication, punctuality, unbelievable customer service, and commitment to improve the process of cleaning dustbins all throughout the department, would inspire me to get better at whatever I was doing. So what is it that really separates anyone from being effective and fulfilled in any type of occupation, from those who drag along the bottom rungs of productivity (and satisfaction)?
1. Have A Vision (and use it)! Your vision for your life and career is what ultimately drives and defines your success! And it’s not enough to just have a vision, you have to practice it! Start applying it and visualizing, in detail, how successful you can get. The means to do so will start manifesting.
2. Think in advance! Anticipate your department’s needs before they are actually communicated. Think in ways processes can be improved and share those improvements with the rest of the team.
3. Bring solutions not problems to the table! Learning to think proactively about solutions to every problem is what makes you better at any job. For each problem, make it a habit to offer at least two solutions.
4. Focus on effective communication! Find effective ways to communicate your thoughts and challenges in a productive, proactive way.
How do you get better at your job every day?
The Corporate Sis.
