Let me first clarify the title of this post. I am not talking about:
a) scoring a rock on your left ring finger, or
b) combat procedures, or
c) the current sitcom on CBS.
Rather, I'm talking about
self-awareness of what engages us.
Yeah, I know, not as amusing a topic. But my knowledge is very limited when it comes to:
a) proposing
b) use of military force, and
c) free time before 10 pm.
I do know that we have a responsibility to give ourselves tasks that we find engaging. Instead of looking to others to engage our talents, we need to understand that as mature adults, it is
our job to realize what engages us and makes us tick, so to speak. If we want to be engaged in our work and lives in general, we must identify what our ideal day should entail. If this self-assessment (or assessment with the help of a career professional) doesn't happen, entitlement may take over. In career terms, "entitlement" is the belief that
others should know what
we need to be engaged and feel rewarded. You know, kind of like asking those around us to read our minds... and tell us what we want to be doing.
Of course, I'm sure as you read the word, "entitlement" many of you over age 30 thought I was mainly referring to young people- from twenty somethings and college students to teens on down. But then, I am hoping, you smacked your forehead and realized that it was
me talking, and, knowing how I love screwing around with traditional notions and giving conventional wisdom a good kick in the butt, you realized that NO demographic was safe from scrutiny!
(Mmmmwwwwaaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha....)
Seriously, I need to get out more.
The media and many adults perpetuate the idea that young people, especially those of well-to-do parents, are the kings and queens of entitlement. While I can see some semblance of that notion in our American society, (much of it brought on by modern day parenting philosophy which dictates we must cater to our kids 24/7) I perceive entitlement to be found in all generations, socio-economic classes and industries.
For example, whenever you have an employee of any age who is what many managers covertly call the "BMW" (Bitch, Moan and Whiner) of the workplace, you've got someone who, among other things,
feels they are entitled. They want management to give them tasks that suit them without doing the necessary digging to discover what those tasks should even be!
Instead, they assume management should just know what their strengths and preferences are and in turn make them happy and engaged at work. The ball, they believe, is in their manager's court, not their own. I'm confident you've all worked with, managed or dealt with someone who fits this description.
Part of this problem, I will concede, derives from the fact that none of us are adequately assessed when we are young. It is pretty rare for someone to truly know what they are really really good at and what can engage them on a daily basis. This information needs to be gathered via assessments at an earlier time than, say, middle age, when the majority of people finally seek career counseling and coaching! Did you know, the typical age of a career client is 40-50 years old? This is when people begin realizing that they want to know how to feel engaged vs. disconnected to their work.
In light of the above phenomenon, I am working in my small, individual way, to change that general practice of "let's just wait and see if some true calling epiphany hits me in the head some day."
That was my so-called strategy when I was younger, whereby I subconsciously told myself that "it (my calling) will just come to me eventually... by trial and error... or whatever." But eventually has an uncanny way of turning into decades and how many decades do we really have to do what we're really good at and enjoy? Therefore many of my professional goals entail helping young people discover their inherent talents and preferences
before they begin making meaningful decisions such as what activities to pursue, classes to take in high school and where and what to study thereafter. Making decisions from a place of self-actualization rather than self-doubt will lead to engaging work throughout their lives, not to mention the fact that hard, engaging work is fun when we are intrinsically motivated!
We'll see how long it takes for these rules of engagement to stick. I'm hoping it's just around the corner... or we'll have more and more BMW's to contend with in our workplace.
And, just to clarify, I'm not referring to:
a) the YUPPY car, made by
b) zeee Germans, filling up
c) office parking garages.
