My last post was focused on the need for organizations to commit more into evolving great organizations by ensuring the development of a great workforce. It is obvious that great people make great organizations. Today, I am going to play the devil’s advocate by bringing another side to this very important matter. We are going to be looking at the second part which is personal performance.

I have come to the conclusion that one must never allow his/her destiny to be put into the hands of an employer of labor. It is very important to take one’s destiny as a personal responsibility. I am going to use the following points to expand my thoughts.

1. Personal Development
Most small companies are very guilty of not providing training opportunities for their staff. Some of them are afraid they might lose the staff to bigger organizations after having trained them and they are not totally wrong for these assumptions. In my opinion; one will only stay in a small company if there is a strong sense of growth for the company and a reasonable career progression for the staff. But one thing that cannot be wrong is the case of personal development. I always use a simple analogy for this. Imagine a company that recruited 5 young people at the same time, it is sure that they cannot be in the same level after 10 years. Some might attribute the growth of the top guy to having a god-father but the simple fact is that organizations respect those who take out time to develop themselves. Bigger organizations recruit from smaller ones and only those who stand out in those places get the juicier jobs. Reading good books, writing certification exams, etc are sure ways of getting a good career growth.

2. Growing in a slow environment
There are organizations people work for that look to me like a death sentence to their careers. These are places where the skills gained are so one-sided and gives no room for continuous improvement (Not Kaizen’s 🙂 ).
Some people will have no choice than to start their careers in such environments and it is so important for them to start thinking of a way out. The simple way again is to think out of the box. Most organizations can actually do with a lot of innovations to the way they perform their duties. Individuals who work in such organizations owe themselves a favor to take on extra duties aimed at developing their resumes. Imagine a bank worker who after 4 years of meritorious duties can boast of only a 2-paged CV which highlights his/her duty of being a Teller – it can be catastrophic. Now imagine another banker who developed a new system of bringing effectiveness into his branch’s handling of customers; they are miles apart.

3. Learn To Volunteer
Getting that next move might not be a function of the skills u pick from your regular 9-5 but can come about from strange sources. Imagine if you are interested in Project Management but your role in the office is far from it; there is a chance to do same for NGOs and even your church on a volunteer basis. Think about it.

4. Success is everyone’s friend
I am not talking about Master Success, your next door happy-go-lucky guy. I am talking about the situation when you reach great milestones repeatedly. Have you ever wondered why some people resign and their bosses call an emergency meeting to try and stop them and some resign and everybody feels happy? It is most likely because the first set of people add values to the organization while the latter just come to mark the register. Redundant staff think nobody notices their ineffectiveness but the contrary is the truth. Before you complain about your organization’s behavior to you, please review your own ways.

5. The more you think entrepreneurship, the more you are sought after
One thing that has been recurring in the labor market is the tendency for the entrepreneurial in spirit to get the best jobs. They actually want to leave normal employment and start out on their own but keep getting better offers to stay on working for corporations. The reason is simple; it is a matter of giving from those who don’t have to those who have. Some people have as much as 6 offers in a year while some still don’t have jobs, is that not a cause for concerns. The answer is simple and can be gotten from one of my favorite parables – the parable of talents. When you have the spirit of excellence and use your talents well, people will notice and keep needing you. Take a cue.

6. Work Smart
I find myself hating the term hardwork these days because it is highly subjective, A lot of hard work does not necessarily bring the required results. Working smart does that for you and that is why those who find ways of completing their tasks to time and quality get the accolades. The Nigerian work environment most times can lead to a lot of passiveness which makes people lose tough with their smart sides; hence reducing them to a not so quality workforce. It is time to start thinking of improvement not only to benefit the organization but bring personal fulfillment.

7. The word retirement
Many dread this word a lot because they did not prepare for what is going to happen after leaving their comfort zone. Those who had fulfilling careers where they were selfless and got great skills don’t only retire early but retire well into affluence. I have seen former teachers who left government service to start schools that are doing well today because of good vision. No matter what pension scheme you subscribe to; you still need think of what you can do after retirement and that starts from the way you handle your duties at the workplace today. How you handle other people’s business is a good pointer to how your own will operate.

8. Take Charge
If your career is at standstill now or you don’t like your job, you need to act on your own. Do not think anyone will help you out but know that you are the one that can make a change. Start thinking of things you can do for a career change. Be more useful to your present organizations and take the volunteer point to heart. Some of the decisions you will make might be hard but if you don’t do it now; it will never fly.

We will meet at the top.