Succeeding in Work Whenever People

Succeeding in Work

Whenever people go into a different environment, be it a new school, different country or place of work, there are major challenges to face in order to be successful. Today, a full-time career in the business world makes these challenges all the more demanding because of the change of pace, the ever-increasing competition and globalization. The word "successful" also has a wide definition -- not only doing well and enjoying one's work, but also finding a healthy balance between employment and a personal life and being able to form relationships with people in and out of work. The path to success in the business world starts with acquiring the necessary tools and understanding of what may be experienced in the years to come. In fact, that is the first lesson on how to succeed: Remembering that continuing education and lifetime learning is the key to advancement in both one's work and personal life.

Most people are looking for their first position in their last semester in college. At this point, it is necessary to be psychologically ready for the major transition from the college womb to the outside world. Since this may be one of the most significant events in one's life, it should not be taken lightly nor done with little or no preparation. As Bruce says in "Making the Transition from Campus to the Workplace" (nd), "The most important factor in making a smooth transition from being a collegian to a full-time employee is having the right attitude." This stars with how the new candidate recognizes his/her future corporate role. While in college, the student mostly sets the schedule based on personal habits and social activities. The student is not reporting to someone on a daily basis. If something comes up that competes with classes that has a higher priority, there are ways to work around it.

Structure and reporting are the two essential words in corporate vernacular. A new employee's time is specifically determined by the supervisor and normally there is a reporting schedule to review what has been accomplished. Newly hired full-time employees must strictly follow the organization's code and policies while they are enthusiastically contributing to its continual improvement. Work responsibilities come first with a positive attitude that represents concern, discipline, dedication and thinking beyond the box.

According to (DuBrin, 2004), the four key characteristics of behavior are perception, learning, motivation, and values. Knowing these general principles and applying them daily will help people succeed and lead others. Perception is similar to getting past a barrier in what one perceives to that which actually is. People's perceptions are built on traits formed throughout their lives, including how they are raised and interactions with others. Perceptual congruence (DuBrin, 2004) is the act of a meeting of the minds above and beyond personal perception and is relied on during the road to success. Classical conditioning, or compliance and following others' actions and tasks, is acquired through observation. Similarly, operant conditioning determines if a person has acquired knowledge based on his/her behavior shown. If someone does not perform to the agreed-upon standards, classical conditioning has not been achieved, and the person is not operating equally in relationship to coworkers.

A number of methods have been established for determining whether someone will be satisfied with and successful in his/her job, including job characteristics, social information processing, and dispositional. These three demonstrate what employer and environment characteristics will lead to satisfied employees, how social judgments and comparisons will influence job success and the evaluation of employee characteristics that lead to job satisfaction. Research concludes that the five personality traits of extraversion, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and agreeableness are positively correlated to job satisfaction, and a tendency to experience negative affect is negatively correlated with job satisfaction (Costa, & McCrae, R.R., 1992).

Organizational commitment is defined as how positively inclined someone is toward an organization and his/her willingness to stay employed at this organization (Meyer & Allen, 1997). Employees often demonstrate strong commitment, because they have positive feelings or affective commitment, toward the company; because the disadvantages of leaving are too great, or continuance commitment; or because they feel morally obligated to remain, or normative commitment. Recognizing these traits in employees may help to predict employee job performance and overall success. Organizational commitment has also been demonstrated as related to attitude. Affective commitment is strongly connected to turnover and moderately linked with job performance. Normative and continuance commitment are correlated with turnover, but not as strongly. Measuring organizational affective commitment can be done through the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire or, measurement all three types of commitment, through one devised by Allen and Meyer (1990). Job Satisfaction and commitment overlap considerably, since it is frequently difficult to determine distinctions between an employee's satisfaction with a specific job and its relationship to the organization. These two factors also feed into each other with higher job satisfaction leading to higher organizational commitment and vice-versa.

When a candidate starts his/her first position, stresses Donald (2006), "it is now time to impress." This is the position that will jump start a career. This is the feeling to have when starting one's professional career. "Excitement drives the motivation needed to be successful." Anxiety is normal, especially since there will be new responsibilities, culture and people. There are many new things to learn. The new employee needs to believe that he/she is the best person for the job and now needs to show the organization that its confidence is justified. Before starting, it's important to review any materials on the company and job down any pertinent information. When arriving, ask for a formal job description if is not provided. Being clear on one's responsibilities is essential.

A well-organized, time-management system for completing work assignments is critical, as well. It is also helpful to resist making too many changes in the beginning before not knowing the ins and outs of the job. After a few days it will be possible "to identify the real fast trackers, high performers and potential mentors in the organization." Networking with these individuals can make the transition easier and more effective by providing additional information on the organization's policies and procedures, as well as unwritten rules and organizational leadership structure.

Career strategist Thourlby writes in Passport to Power: (1992) that "Success is the ability to get along with and interact with others while always getting the job done" (p. 56). He offers several guidelines for establishing oneself as a valuable new employee and a person marked for corporate success: 1) Associate with individuals with seasoned contributors who want to share their viewpoints and insights to help others succeed. Stay away from the disgruntled; 2) Quickly develop a reputation for dependability and resourcefulness. Learn from mistakes and continually improve performance with a positive attitude; 3) Maintain a disciplined lifestyle, including being careful of what is being done during non-working hours that could reflect negatively on work. Eat and sleep well, so that it is possible to work at 100% performance level; 4) Establish high yet attainable goals that support lifelong ambitions; and 5) Make appropriate networking connections that will open doors of opportunity.

The strength of communication skills has a direct impact on a person's image and potential, whether it is written communication, one-on-one or in small groups. Especially for new employees, it is necessary to respect others who are communicating by listening carefully and responding directly to what is being said. Early in a career is not the time to communicate aggressively, cut people off and go on tangents. Enthusiasm is important, but there is a big difference between being enthusiastic and being rude. It is also very important to think twice before saying anything whether it is written or verbal. Once the words are expressed, they are out for good. Nonverbal communication can be just as telling, if not more so, than verbal, so a person has to be continually aware of what his/her facial expressions and body language are saying.

Teams have become a typical form of communication in the corporate world. Effective techniques are used by many organizations to encourage people to work together and lead to positive results (DuBruin, 2004). For example, the consensus technique involves taking a group vote, but with everyone agreeing before proceeding. Everyone also votes with the Democratic technique, but the majority rules. Breaking down larger groups to form inner circles is very effective for brainstorming techniques, because it enhances creativity without being overwhelming to group participation.

Many newcomers are used to working on their own rather with others, especially those who come from a variety of different backgrounds. Team work skills are highly valued in the corporate world, especially in cultures that continuously strive to improve the quality of their products. Employers look at their employees to determine if they have the following traits (Career Media 1999, p. 12): 1) team orientated-- able to establish sound working relationships; 2) astute -- ability to develop, present and support a point-of-view; 3) communicative -- feeling comfortable dealing with people from diverse backgrounds; 4) disciplined -- ability to set priorities and be committed to meeting deadlines; 5) insightful -- being open and responsive other people's ideas and needs; 6) resourceful -- desire to accept challenges and attain a better-than-expected outcome; and 7) versatile -- interest in learning concepts from disciplines other than those studied.

Business coach Jonathan Farrington reports that the standards that follow team work should underpin how a person operates. The purpose of a team is to get work done satisfactorily by involving everyone and gaining through their individual strengths. Involving people with a variety of interests on broad issues is motivational and very effective. Myriad views can enhance methods, standards, processes and overall effectiveness and productivity. Other people's differences need to be respected, regardless how unusual they appear, and any personal biases eliminated. It is never healthy to underestimate people or make quick judgments about them. Humans are very complex beings; just because a person says or does one thing, he/she should not be immediately categorized.

When becoming involved with a team, it is necessary to spend time to understand its goals, the ultimate task that is to be performed and each person's responsibilities to accomplish the goals. At first, it is helpful to remain quiet and get the lay of the land. Once feeling more comfortable about how the team functions and the different roles, it is important to contribute ideas and provide helpful feedback on other people's suggestions. Volunteering for sub-tasks, even though they may not be exactly to one's liking, is a way to demonstrate interest, commitment to the team's goals and a desire to be a valuable contributor.

Teams go hand-in-hand with leadership, which is another critical element of a successful business. Leadership is the ability to motivate diverse groups of people towards a common goal. In the past, it was possible to have "managers" who managed or controlled projects and people. Now, without strong leadership a business can easily fail. To succeed in the business world, it is necessary to understand and begin to cultivate leadership characteristics. The majority of the most acknowledged and respected leaders worldwide share certain personality traits, such as the ability to initiate change and inspire a shared vision, at the same time as modeling the skills and behaviors necessary to achieve stated objectives. Effective leaders must also be self-confident in order to enable others to contribute and succeed.

Are leaders born or developed? Disagreement continues about this. Ansary (2009) believes that leadership is a genetic principle. Quoting Sociologist Maxwell Weber "Leadership is a mysterious force that some people are just born with, it is called Charisma." However, in the World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle (2005), J.D. Hunter, CEO of J.D. Hunter Associates training and development firm, outlines steps for how to become a leader who assists others to become their best. He notes that leaders do not have to be in charge to impact others. He also disagrees that people are born leaders, believing that leadership is a skill someone can develop rather than something innate. Effective leadership results from "service and sacrifice," or if someone gets people what they need, they will give back to the leader everything he/she needs. Leadership does not necessarily mean being someone as important as JFK, Mahatma Gandhi or Mother Theresa. Instead, it simply means appreciating people, listening to them and giving them the opportunity to prove themselves.

Over the past several decades, and even most recently, there have been a number of unethical actions in organizations. According to Mohrman (1998), it is practically impossible to imagine a healthy company with a high level of organizational culture if leaders are characterized by immoral ways of actions, or decisions (Mohrman, 1998). Enron personifies the extent to which unethical actions and decisions can ruin an organization.