WHAT MAKES YOU TICK
One of my favorite questions to ask friends, colleagues, and clients is this:
What would you be doing, instead of your current job, if money and public image were not a factor in your decision-making?
Invariably I am faced with a pause first. Studies show that only 20 percent of Americans feel very passionate about their jobs. What about the rest? Surely everyone wants to be somewhat happy at their workplace where they spend eight hours a day, five days a week, or more. What could they do?
Two books offer the key to a successful and rewarding career - The Achieving Society (1961) and Human Motivation (1973) by David McClelland.
Finding your motivation, figuring out what you would wake up for, day in and day out, what makes you tick, is the sustaining force for a successful career.
Here are the three behavior drivers in a workplace.
Achievement - the commitment to reach a mastership in your role.
Affiliation - the need to build and maintain relationships.
Power - the desire to influence and impact.
Whichever one of these aligns the best with your personal values and needs, and gets you out of bed each morning, is what you need to center your career around. As soon as you lean into your natural motivators, you will feel engaged and inspired at what you do. What's more, you will be in your element and this is easy to notice, which is the most sustainable way to advance your career organically.
Here are the three behavior drivers in a workplace.
Achievement - the commitment to reach a mastership in your role.
Affiliation - the need to build and maintain relationships.
Power - the desire to influence and impact.
Whichever one of these aligns the best with your personal values and needs, and gets you out of bed each morning, is what you need to center your career around. As soon as you lean into your natural motivators, you will feel engaged and inspired at what you do. What's more, you will be in your element and this is easy to notice, which is the most sustainable way to advance your career organically.