Career Tips - Issue # 29 (March 2006)

FREE weekly newsletter dedicated to your career development.

You'll need less than 10 minutes to read this newsletter.

Keep left, avoid right

If you want to know how you look, you just have to look into a mirror. But is there a mirror that can tell you how beautiful or ugly you are in terms of behaviour, attitude and character?

Such a mirror is available to you. Just dive into this hypothetical situation: Suppose, you have been given the power to promote three persons and also demote three persons in your company. You can choose anyone. Who will be those lucky three? And who will be those unfortunate three? Think about them. The next part is slightly involving.

Take a page and draw a vertical line to divide it into two parts--left and right. Now, first think about those three whom you would like to promote. Consider each one and ask yourself, "What do I like about this person?" Write on the left side the good qualities you admire in them. Perhaps, you may be attracted by someone's honesty, great attitude and cooperative behaviour. Whatever attracts you to these three, write it down on the left side.

Next, take the second batch of those three whom you would like to demote. What you don't like about them? Take one person at a time and write down on the right side his or her flaws that turn you off. Maybe, you feel the person lacks sincerity, misuses power and takes credit for work done by others. Fill the right side.

If you really do this exercise, which should not take more than 15 minutes, you would realise something interesting: In the end, what makes people admirable is not their qualification, position, looks, knowledge or IQ. It boils down to basic human characteristics: honesty, sincerity, integrity, unselfishness, respect for others, friendliness, attitude to work hard, etc.

Finally, the last part of this exercise: Forget about them and think about yourself. On which side of the page you might be if others did the same exercise?

I would request you not to read further if you've not done the exercise mentioned above. Please do it and then proceed.

>>CAREER TIP:If we want to be admired by others, the key lies in becoming a good human being. Is that also important for your career? According to Jack Welch, former CEO of GE, the first thing he looks in candidates even before trying to assess their abilities is integrity. Warren Buffet, the second richest man in the world, has said that he looks for three things in a person: integrity, intelligence and energy. So being a good person is a top requirement in the eyes of some top people.

Now, back to the page. What about the qualities written by you on the right side? That's your own shadow!

Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist, gave the concept of "shadow." According to him, the flaws we observe in others are basically our own flaws. Yes, the person observed has them, but the observer also has them.

If you strongly dislike someone because he exploits others, then, you, too, have the same characteristic to some extent. So, more than the people whom you wish to promote, you should pay attention to those whom you want to demote. They have something to tell you about yourself.

It's not easy to accept the shadow theory, but look at the right side of the page and ask yourself with utmost honesty: Do I also possess these qualities to some extent?

No one is perfect. The question is whether we're willing to accept our right side characteristics and keep predominantly on the left as we drive down the path of our career and life.

Atul Mathur

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***Copyright 2006 Atul Mathur***

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