There is an interesting dynamic that occurs in most of our careers as we ascend the corporate ladder. The further from the bottom we get, the more meta our jobs become. We evolve such that we are less responsible for point deliverables and more focused on larger movements. This is actually a fairly natural transition, but most people don’t carefully think about how this impacts their psyche. As a result, far too many of us are left using the same measuring sticks we have always used, and it leaves us feeling a bit separated from the impact we have.
When I was managing a product management team a few years ago, one of the guys on my team was responsible for automation tools. He had this vision of building an automation ecosystem. There would be automation features, tools, and a community, all fully supported by the broader organization. He pictured thousands of people using hundreds of applications with nary a sign of anything wrong.
When we embarked on this mission together, we both knew that progress would be measured in years not months. Building communities is always ambitious. And so for the first few months, when progress seemed slow, neither of us was particularly surprised.
But over the next few quarters, there was a shift in his personality. Every time he was able to get over one hurdle, he found out that there were three more hurdles behind it. The lack of progress was draining. It started to affect his morale, which then impacted his performance. I eventually sat him down so we could talk about what I believe is a very fundamental (and all too common) flaw in how he was viewing the world.
Most of us treat our jobs as if we are runners. We start some project, and we run towards its completion. When you are earlier in your career, these runs approximate short-distance sprints. That is to say that when you start, you can see the finish line. You know exactly what you have to do. There is nothing hidden out beyond the horizon. Success is plainly visible, and getting there will typically take a few weeks or maybe a couple of months. In this type environment, the only thing you need to do is keep your eyes up on where you are going and make sure your legs are always moving.
But later on in your career, you transition to longer distances.
I suspect the change for people happens at different distances, but at some point many of us end up in a position where the finish line is nowhere in sight. It’s over the horizon, through a forest or two, and on the other side of a bunch of hills. In fact, we don’t always know exactly where it is. We put it on faith that there is an end somewhere, and we start running.
And when this happens, it can be disastrous for even the heartiest of workers. If you are conditioned to evaluate your progress based on your proximity to the finish line, this can be dangerous for your morale. You get fixated on closing the distance between you and success. But as projects become larger and more difficult, success is a moving target. Every time you take a couple of steps forward, the finish line seems to move out a couple hundred yards.
It is a fact that none of us can perform indefinitely without feeling success. Our psyches require at least a little nurturing to keep moving on. But if you never cross the finish line, what success can you celebrate?
This was the question I posed to the guy on my team. And the answer is actually fairly simple. It is great that he was so steadfastly focused on the endgame. But every once in awhile you need to also look at far you have come. The fact that the finish line was still a marathon away didn’t change the fact that he had already run 17 miles, crossed two rivers, and leapt over a number of hurdles. You see, this gentleman was looking at how far he had to go, comparing it to how far he thought he had to go when he started, and equating that to a lack of progress.
Nothing could have been further from the truth.
When we talked, he asked me how I handled the dynamic in my own professional life. Honestly, I cannot remember the last project I worked on where I was actually still engaged on the project by the time the results hit. In an environment where I never get to see the end, how do I keep motivated?
The answer for me is that I explicitly go hunting for milestones. When I have a large project, I actually type out the major objectives I need to accomplish. Every time I complete one, I put a little “x” next to it and leave it in the list. Whenever I find that there is a new hurdle that I had not expected, I add it to the list. And then I review this list everyday. My lists tend to be quite granular, but I recommend playing with the granularity some to find the right fit for you.
The running list keeps me organized. I always know what I have to finish. But this is actually not an organizational tactic. I find adding that little “x” to be quite exhilarating. It is a moment of celebration for me. In fact, I frequently share that celebration with other folks. It might seem silly, but a party is so much more fun when you are not by yourself. Announcing my accomplishment to close friends who I know will celebrate for me helps me feel the adrenaline rush of completion that otherwise would be absent from my work life for years at a time.
The point here is not so much the list as it is where I focus my attention. I would say we are all taught to keep our eyes on the prize, focusing our gaze forever forward. But as your career advances, you will find that without occasionally glancing over your shoulder to see how far you have come, you will quickly turn what ought to be a fun adventure into little more than an arduous journey.
via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/strategy/important-going-0669574?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=important-going
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