April 20 2015
I often hear people say “they’ve overlooked me once again at work”
Do you know anyone who has often missed promotion at work and feels he/she was hard done by?
A colleague at work? A friend? Someone you know? Maybe even you?
The greatest fear most people have today is not a terrorist attack!
It’s not a nuclear attack, not even Cancer or AIDS!
The greatest fear of most people in the world today is the fear of losing their job and not been able to do the things they want to do, and that they would be made redundant before they climb the ladder of success in their chosen field.
And the no 1 fear of people in old age? Not having enough money to look after themselves.
Who can blame them? With failing pensions everywhere, bank collapsing, countries financial systems collapsing and in chaos, and the world financial collapse, people are right to be afraid.
So how do you go from being overlooked to being the chosen one at work?
How do you become the one who “cannot be ignored” in a small or big organisation?
What would make you untouchable when the corporate hammer of redundancy comes at work?
With my partner, we have a combined experience of over 23 business years, and my experience in professional football also taught me life lessons about competition, selection and promotion.
Today I want to quickly share with you some quick tips to get in and stay in.
Daniel 1:3-4 says “Then the king commanded Ash’penaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, handsome and skilful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to serve in the king’s palace, and to teach them the letters and language of the Chalde’ans”
The king’s demand was simple, specific and exact. He knew what he wanted from those he was going to work with;
1) CHARACTER AND ATTITUDE: Your attitude also determines your altitude, but your character determines your attitude. Nobody is ever happy working with someone who has a stinking attitude or is always grumpy and moody at work.
Let your character be gracious. Are you coachable? Can you submit to authority? Can people approach you? Can you be a people’s person? Hear the king “Youths without blemish….. And to teach them the letters and language of the Chalde’ans”
Do you have integrity? Are you honest? Leave no spot or blemish behind and let nobody doubt your character. 2Cor 3:2-3 says “You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on your hearts, to be known and read by all men; and you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God”
2) ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE: What do you bring to the table? What experience, information, perception or cognisance are you bringing to use in the organisation? The king commanded to bring “people endowed with knowledge”, those who would bring value to the organisation. What are you bringing to the party?
3) POSSESS AND IMPROVE SKILLS TO FUNCTION AND MULTIFUNCTION: The king asked for competence. I won’t pay anyone to do a bad job for me, and most employers won’t. In every industry there are basic skills set needed to be successful, the king requested for those “handsome and skilful” The question is do you have the expertise in your industry?
Can you multifunction in multiple roles? Can they pay you for your abilities to do the job well?
3) TEAM WINS, INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES HELPS TEAM WIN: Can we trust you to work for the team and be a team player, while maintaining your identity? Remember there is no “I” in TEAM. We want your individualism to attain excellence, but we need you to be part of the TEAM.
TEAM means; Together Everyone Achieves MORE
4) WISDOM IS KEY: Be emotionally intelligent. Think with your heart, but use your head before you act. The king wanted those “skilful in all wisdom and understanding learning” Pr 9:9 says “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a righteous man and he will increase in learning” The key is to be able to do what is expected and needed at each point in time.
5) DON’T BE LATE: Arrive on time, make it a habit to finish your deadlines with 20% of the time remaining. Don’t procrastinate, but deliver right on time, because one missed delivery from you might mean a big deal to the CEO. You don’t want him to know you for the wrong reasons.
6) CUSTOMER CARE: Treat your customers and prospects how you’ll like your boss to treat you. Treat them with respect, show them you care and appreciate them, and treat them like you treat your boss. Remember that ultimately, the customer is king, and he/she pays your wages. Yes! Without customers, you don’t have a job.
7) WHAT GOT YOU HERE MAY NOT KEEP YOU HERE: Finally, you may have done well to be where you are, but there are many people who want to be where you are; looking for your job opportunity, and looking to make that promotion before you.
They are constantly learning, self educating themselves, and acquiring the skills necessary to become indispensable. What are you doing to stay where you are and progress to the next level? Whatever you do, don’t remain stagnant. The day we stop learning is the day we die the first death.
The truth is that Daniel excelled in a foreign land “Because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and solve problems were found in this Daniel…… Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon” (Dan 2:48 and Dan 5:12)
Hope this helps.