Should You Take a Different Approach or Be Patient?
Many times throughout your career you will be looking to take on more responsibility and move into bigger positions where you can make a larger impact within the organization. Sometimes these moves won’t happen as fast as you want them to. During these pivotal times, you may get frustrated and disheartened with the organization. It’s difficult to stay disciplined and self-motivated. You want to take that next step but no one is taking notice. Worse, they are not giving you proper feedback on what you need to do in order to move you up within the organization.
We have all heard the phrase, “If you want different results than what you are getting, you have to try different approaches.” So, how does that compete with the phrase, “all good things happen to those who wait.” All these different messages can be very confusing. Are you supposed to make drastic moves to produce a new result or do you sit tight, be patient, and wait for your turn? You think to yourself, I’m a hard worker, dedicated to the company, and have the mental capacity to take on much more. For sure, someone is going to take notice. You feel it is going to happen any day now. Day after day, nothing happens. Do you continue to be patient? How long should you be patient? These are the times you wish you could look into that crystal ball to see where you will be in 5 years. What do I need to do today to make my dreams come true?
You feel you are caught between a rock and a hard place. What do you do now? You don’t want to be perceived as overzealous but you also don’t want to be perceived as content. One thing you must ask yourself – have you told your boss your goals? Do they know what your 5-year plan is? If so, do you feel confident that they are willing to help you get there? If you answer YES to all three questions, the last question to ask yourself is how long are you willing to wait? That is where your patience come into play. Know when the right time to make changes to get a different result.
If you answered No to any of those three questions above, it’s time to take action. If you haven’t told your boss you want more responsibility, do it ASAP. If they don’t know our 5-year plan, get it in front of them today. If you don’t feel your superiors are NOT willing to help you accomplish your goals, make a change now. There are too many companies out there that value employees and need people that will step up. If you are willing and able to do more, you better believe there are companies out there that want you. Patience is not needed here; a different approach is!
