If you’re feeling like you’re so busy that you’ve lost touch with why you’re doing what you’re doing, my first suggestion is to breathe deeply. Then give yourself a little time to take a step back and consider how you find meaning in your work.

One path to find the meaning in your work is to reconnect with your values: what’s important to you? Work is most meaningful when you are acting in alignment with your personal values.

Take time to find meaning

Here’s an exercise I do with clients to help them connect with their values:

Go for a walk on your lunch hour or book some time, even 20 minutes, for a meaningful meeting with yourself! Think about a time, even a brief moment, when you were really engaged and energized in your work. Recall what was happening, who was with you, what you were working on. Get such a complete picture in your mind that you can actually feel that energy again.

What made that experience so engaging and energizing? For example: I loved being part of the brainstorming team, or I really enjoyed being there for someone on my team who was struggling, or I was jazzed leading at the front of the room.

Go deeper. What values were you honouring in that experience? Take for example, ‘I enjoyed the brainstorming team’. Within that experience there could be several values for different people. One value honoured could be ‘Creativity’ or it could be ‘Learning from Others’ or it could be ‘Risk-taking’. Look for your own unique values in the experience you found energizing. Name your values and write them down. You could even put them on your computer screen.

Values that work

Now, that you have some greater clarity about what some of your values are, you can look at your work. Where do you, or could you, honour those values in your work today? Look for ways to act on your values. Let’s say you found ‘Risk Taking’ as a value – what opportunities are there to express it? You could put forward some new ideas to your boss or your team, reach out and connect to someone new in another department or just share your passion for snowboarding over lunch.

When you start to honour your values more consciously, you will start to find the meaning in your work. Take the time to find meaning – I think you’ll find it meaningful!

Photos by Darrren Hester and Michele Catania. Licensed under CC.

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Or maybe the real question is: Can you find meaning in your work? In my coaching conversations, we often look for what is meaningful – or – fulfilling to an individual. It’s about being clear about what’s important to you and finding – or creating – it in your life and work. And how would you recognize it in your current work?

I had a recent conversation with a woman who works in marketing. She’s much happier in her new work in social media than her previous work in promotions. As we talked more deeply about her experience, what became clear is what she finds meaningful in her work.

The difference in meaning for her, lies in the nature of the interaction with ultimate customers. In promotions, there was little two-way dialogue. She wasn’t sure the impact of her work on the customer – even if the customer seemed happy about a coupon or product sample, it wasn’t a relationship. What’s satisfying for her in creating social media marketing activities, is that she’s creating a dialogue, sometimes even a deeper conversation. And for her, that’s what meaningful in her work.

And btw, for someone else the excitement of the moment or face-to-face promotional ‘experience’ would be more fulfilling and meaningful. It just wasn’t for this person.

So what’s meaningful for you in your work? What could you find, change or create to make your work more meaningful?

Be yourself. Go beyond.

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• The fear of change by Nathaniel Rottenberg • Tue, Jun 30, 2009

So, it’s normal to want feedback – and – guess what, it’s also normal to be afraid of how you will look asking for it.  Will I look insecure? Needy? Like I can’t wait for the formal review process?   There’s some truth in that voice of the ‘inner critic’, which can guide you in asking for feedback.  It can provide guidance for being relevant, choosing who and when to ask for feedback.

And don’t let that voice stop you.  You know that feedback is essential to growth.  Many opportunities for growth will be lost if you wait for a quarterly, or untimely annual review.  And receiving feedback from more than just your boss can help you gain valuable perspectives on your work.

So how will you look, asking for feedback?  I’m going to suggest that you’ll look confident, and humble, enough to be open to improvement and growth.  In fact, as a coach, I see asking for feedback as taking charge of your own development – leading yourself!

Where to start?  As with all learning, you can take baby steps*.  First, you can start with seeking your feedback from highly trusted sources, anonymously.  As you get more comfortable, you can ask for anonymous feedback from others who you respect, outside your inner circle.

Another baby step is to start with small questions. Not so small as to be meaningless, but small in terms of risk for you.  Ask about a project or event that you feel good about, and ask for suggestions for focused improvements.  Here’s an example:  How could I improve the flow of my presentation at our last meeting?  Check out the sample question list on the Rypple home page for examples.

By asking for feedback, you’ll demonstrate that you want to improve.  And most importantly, you’ll demonstrate that you are leading yourself, taking charge of your own growth.

Now, how would you like to be perceived? Take the step, ask for feedback – and lead yourself!

(*For those who hate baby steps, watch for the upcoming post on ‘Diving into the deep end of the Feedback Pool’)

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