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Human
Relations MGMT611
VU
Lesson
32
TAKING
CONTROL OF YOURSELF
Enthusiasm
Nothing
great was ever achieved
without enthusiasm.
Ralph
Waldo Emerson (1803
- 1882), U.S. poet and
essayist.
Nothing
is as contagious as enthusiasm. It is the
genius of sincerity and
truth accomplishes no victories
without
it.
Attributed
to Bulwer Lytton (1803
- 1873), British novelist
and politician.
Passion
is like genius: a
miracle.
Romain
Rolland (1866
- 1944) French
writer.
A
variety of factors makes us do what we do
not want to do. We will
learn to control our
behaviour and
importance
of flexibility. In the previous lecture we
have learnt about horizontal growth
instead of vertical
growth.
In this lecture we will learn
those behaviors which are beneficial to
us in terms of satisfaction
and
bringing
rewards to us from the organizations we
work for.
Taking
control of yourself
The
new model of career advancement
fits a definition of career
success as
attaining the twin goals
of
organizational
rewards and personal
satisfaction. The same
definition fits the theme of this
text.
The
tactics and strategies in this
section center on the idea of
individuals taking control of them in
order to
advance
in their career. If you have
control over yourself then
you will have control
over the resources
around.
How
to take control of
yourself
A.
Develop Outstanding Interpersonal
Skills
Interpersonal
skills are more important
than technical skills. If
you can develop social networks
successfully
then
you can have more
successful career. Getting
ahead in business-related fields is
exceedingly difficult
unless
you can relate effectively
to other people. Workers are
more likely to be bypassed
for promotion or
terminated
for poor interpersonal skills
than for poor technical
skills.
B.
Develop Expertise, Passion, and
Pride
Career
advancement usually begins by the
person developing expertise in a
specialty or subspecialty.
Famous
people typically launched their
career by being good at something
such as sales, accounting,
or
engineering.
Although
expertise is highly recommended, the
workplace also demands that a
person perform a variety of
tasks
as is required in working on a team.
Passion goes hand in hand with
expertise, and contributes to
creativity
and leadership. Developing
expertise and being passionate about
your work leads naturally
to
being
proud of what you
produce.
Develop
a Code of Professional
Ethics
An
ethical code determines what
behaviour is right or wrong, good or
bad, based on values. When
faced
with
an ethical dilemma, ask yourself
three questions:
(1)
Is it legal?
(2)
Is it balanced? And (3) Is it
right?
C.
Perform Well Including Going beyond
Your Job Description
Good
job performance is the bedrock for
any career, a principle supported by
common sense and
research.
Also,
take on tasks not expected
of you.
Performing
well on all your assignments
is also important because it contributes
to the success syndrome, a
pattern
in which the worker performs one
assignment well and then
has the confidence to take on an
even
more
difficult assignment.
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Human
Relations MGMT611
VU
D.
Create Good First
Impressions
Favorable
first impressions lead to
continued contacts with
internal and external customers,
and can create a
halo
about the quality of future
work. Looking successful and
projecting a sense of control
also contributes
to
a positive first impression.
According to one leadership
theory (the leader-member exchange
model), the
leader
forms in-groups based on favorable first
impressions. Creating a negative
first impression places
one
in
the out-group. Another key
contributor to first impressions is a
person's communication patterns
and
method
of self-presentation.
E.
Document Your
Accomplishments
Keeping
an accurate record of job
accomplishments can be valuable
when being considered for
promotion.
New
learning should also be documented. Let
key people know, in a tactful
way, of your
accomplishments.
F.
Be Conventional In Your
Behaviour
Conventional
behaviour helps one gain
acceptance. Areas for
conformance include attendance
and
punctuality,
grooming, courtesy to superiors, and
adherence to safety
rules.
G.
Take a Creative Approach to
Your Job
Take
initiatives. Organizations place heavy
emphasis on creative problem solving.
For maximum career
benefit,
make innovative suggestions
that are likely to earn
money or save money.
H.
Keep Growing through Continuous Learning and
Self-Development
Keep
on working hard to bring efficiency and
quality to your work. Given
that continuous learning is part
of
the new model of career advancement,
engaging in regular learning will
help a person advance.
Self-
development
can include any type of learning but
often emphasizes personal
improvement and skill
development.
Continuous learning and self-development follow the
Japanese philosophy of kaizen,
the
relentless
quest for a better way and
higher quality work.
I.
Observe Proper Etiquette
Proper
etiquette is important for career
advancement because such behaviour is
considered part of
acting
professionally.
Business
etiquette is a
special code of behaviour required in
work settings.
J.
Develop a Proactive
Personality
An
active agent in taking
control of forces around him or
her stands a better chance of
capitalizing on
opportunities.
A proactive
personality is a
person relatively unconstrained by forces
in the situation and
who
brings about environmental change.
Managers prefer proactive employees
because they take the
initiative
to take care of
problems.
K.
Take Sensible
Risks
Successful
career people, including proactive
personalities, tend to be moderate risk
takers. Not risking
anything
can mean risking even more,
including the inhibition of your
career. Sensible and
calculated risks
might
be helpful in career
advancement.
L.
Learn to Manage Adversity
Some
adversity is almost inevitable in an
ambitious person's career. A
general-purpose way of
handling
adversity
is to first get emotional
support from a friend or
family member, and then
use the problem-
solving
method.
It
is important not to be bitter
and cynical about your
problem. Look to minimize the self-doubt
that
comes
from the mental script,
fear
narrative, in
which you tell yourself that
if you try again, something
terrible
will
happen. A current method of managing
career adversity is to do a career
boomerang,
or be rehired by
an
employer
when a new job does not
work out.
M.
Develop the Brand Called
You
99
Human
Relations MGMT611
VU
Sometime
your name is associated with
success. Success syndrome
plays a role in your and
organizational
success.
The names of some
actors/actresses are associated
with success. Tom Peters
urges career-minded
people
to develop their credentials and
their reputation to the extent that they
stand out so much
they
become
a brand name. In this way you
are not tied to one
company or one job. You
begin developing
brand-you
by identifying the qualities or
characteristics that distinguish you
from co-workers.
Business
etiquettes
Let
us discuss some business
manners and
etiquettes.
·
Be
polite to people in person
·
Write
polite letters
·
Practice
good table manners
·
Names
should be remembered
·
Males
and females should receive
equal treatment
·
Shouting is
out
·
The
host or hostess pays the
bill
·
Introduce
the higher-ranking person to the
lower-ranking person
·
Address
superiors and visitors in their preferred
way
·
Make
appointments with high-ranking people rather
than dropping in
·
When
another person is opening a door to
exit a room or building, do
not jump ahead of him
or
her
·
Be
courteous about the use of common
facilities or resources like the use of
photocopy machine
·
Be
sensitive to cross-cultural differences
in etiquette
References:
Dubrin,
A.J. (2005). Human Relations:
Career and Personal Success.
Upper Saddle River, New
Jersey,
07458.
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