Article Index: Career Coach | Life at Work | WorkWise
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Watch your blind spots on the job
ka-bam! You’re hit by a car that appears out of nowhere. It’s not so different at work.
Been blindsided lately?
It’s noon and you’re driving to a lunch meeting with a key client. You were late leaving the office and now you’re stuck in traffic. It’s hot, you’re frustrated and agitated and focused on one thing only: getting to the restaurant before you lose the client and the account. The car in front of you is barely moving so you lean on the horn and pull out to pass it and ka-bam! You’re hit from the rear by a car that appears out of nowhere.
It’s no different at work. You get focused on an objective, run short on time, need to deliver, don’t have what you need, run into roadblocks, start pushing too hard and get blindsided by some yahoo who thinks you’re acting like a bozo.
You have a blind spot when your boss says what you’re doing is getting in the way of what you’re supposed to do, and he wants you to stop the former and get going on the latter. And you don’t know what in the world he’s talking about.
You have a blind spot when you’re getting feedback that you’re aloof and not a team player when you think you’re independent and self-starting.
You have a blind spot when the email says you’re rude and insensitive, and you think you’re outgoing and spontaneous.
Blind spots aren’t potholes. If they were, you’d see them and avoid them. You don’t see what’s in your blind spot because you’re not looking.
What can you do?
Pay attention to what’s going on around you. Focus on what you want to achieve and be aware of what others need from you. Plan ahead and recognize the opportunities as well as the consequences that flow from the choices you make.
How do you describe yourself? Let’s say you are independent, prefer to work alone, need time and space to think before responding, and communicate using email rather than face-to-face meetings. Do you see how the very behaviors you value could be perceived as difficult and off-putting by those who prefer to work on teams, to meet in person and make decisions by consensus?
You don’t have to become someone that you are not. You don’t have to compromise your values. You don’t have to become unethical, immoral or in any way less of a person that you aspire to be in your effort to avoid a blindsiding. You do need to become more aware of the impact you have on others and to square your intentions with that impact. If you want to be that bull in a china shop — to offend, impose and insult — then be my guest. You’ll pay for the damage you cause.
But if that is not your intention — if, instead, you want to be friendly, fun and full of possibilities, or reserved, and bottom-line and task-focused — be that person in ways that are as acceptable to others as they are satisfying to you.
Joyce Richman is a career coach, leadership development consultant, and author of "Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job" and "Roads, Routes & Ruts: A Guidebook for Career Success". You can read her blog at www.richmanresources.com or call 3P Career at (540) 989-0046.
