Star Performer But Not Satisfied?

“It's necessary to be slightly underemployed if you are to do something significant.”- James D. Watson

We read every day about people looking for work, not just the right job but any job.  Included in these stories are individuals who have jobs but are underemployed.  In other words, they remain stuck in roles where their experience and education often exceed what is required.  The irony is these individuals often excel in these roles but feel insignificant and frustrated.

When we excel in a role where our qualifications far exceed what is needed we can get addicted to being recognized as a star performer.  An analogy would be an athlete or team competing at a lower level – a false sense of success.  The key is to recognize the situation you are in, a situation you agreed to, and commit to a better future.  You may need help with both the diagnosis and prescription – reach out to people you trust.  Putting it off to another day keeps you in the demoralizing cycle of getting good at something you don’t like.

I have had moments in my career when I felt underemployed, and questioned if I was in the right field. When I joined a new, technology-focused unit in our sales division, I thought this was the exact job I was looking for. But once I arrived, I found the unit was not prepared for the changes I was expected to bring. I wound up sitting in a hallway without any real idea of what I was hired to do. I spoke with my boss and we found a workable solution where I transferred to a different area--one that could use my input even though it was lower profile. What I found was a fantastic work environment where I could put my ideas to use and thrive--I broke out of the cycle.

Three keys to being a star performer at work and enjoying what you do:

Compete Against Yourself
Resist the temptation to measure your success against others – envy is sure to generate strong feelings of being underemployed.  When you tear down others who move on you neglect yourself.  Stars at work with high job satisfaction critique their performance, seek feedback, and own their professional development.  They learn from others but realize growth comes from within.

Initiative
Leadership studies continue to rate initiative as a key characteristic to differentiate individual performance.  Low initiative means sustaining the status quo, and in today’s world that means stepping backwards.  Star performers demonstrate passion and drive themselves and others to new opportunities.  Step forward to seize your opportunity and don’t look back. 

Leader v. leader
“Large L” leaders often use their titles to drive results.  They have studied leadership concepts but don’t always connect with their people.  “Small L” leaders use humility and passion to attract others to follow them, inspiring others at all levels of the organization.  Remember, you have people who follow you – regardless of your title.  You should know why they follow you. 

As the quote from James D. Watson reminds us, being slightly underemployed guards against complacency and inspires us to pursue greater goals.  Keep the focus on yourself, demonstrate initiative, and be a small L leader.  You will move from where you are to where you need to be.

Needs a Friend? Get a Dog.

“You win a few; you lose a few; but you keep on fighting. And if you need a friend, get a dog.  It’s trench warfare out there, pal.” --Gordon Gekko (aka Michael Douglas) Wall Street

Our success in life is dependent on others, particularly our family and friends.  Friends have earned our trust and they stand by us through good times and bad – our unconditional supporters.  This works well in our personal lives but what about our workplace relationships?  Do leaders have unconditional friendships at work?

We think of our work “friends” as people we know pretty well, have lunch with, and who appear interested in our success.  The summer 2005 edition of the MIT Sloan Management Review featured the article, “Friend, Foe, Ally, … or Something Else?"  The authors' conclusion really surprised me – “the corporate world is much better suited for making enemies not friends”.  Their research found workplace relationships to be very unpredictable and often focused on win/lose outcomes, a difficult environment to develop trusting relationships.

The reality is our relationship with friends does not change based on the situation.  Our attention at work should be on our conditional relationships, building allies who will generally support us and converting adversaries to allies.

I misclassified an ally as a friend years ago and the result was a career setback.  A senior corporate executive was scheduled to visit our office and I had already committed to a meeting in another location.  I reached out to a peer--someone I had considered a friend--and he said not to worry.  The executive visited our office and was very disappointed I was not in town.  He called our local senior executive to share his observation that perhaps my status as a “high potential” leader required a second look.  Following a humbling meeting with our local senior executive, I realized and learned from my mistake.  However, the most disappointing result was I learned my friend told the visiting executive he could not believe my poor judgment to miss his visit.  Betrayed by someone I trusted, I redefined that relationship.

Three keys to building allies:

Intentional Personal Time
Spend dedicated time with your allies.  For example, set up recurring calendar visits to learn about their world and look for opportunities to collaborate.  These relationship deposits build trust, the bedrock of sustaining friends and allies.

Spend Your Political Capital
You have established political capital based on your positive reputation.  Be willing to use this critical resource by promoting your allies – rally behind them when their reputation is facing a moment of truth.

Honor the Gatekeepers
Pay special attention to those who provide access to decision makers.  Administrative assistants have information and calendar control – take the time to recognize and appreciate their role.  My experience has been they are great allies if you care.

The bottom line - a few friends and many allies are the network you need to achieve success.  Allocate intentional time on your calendar to nurture your allies, spend your political capital, and honor the gatekeepers.

Don’t get a dog – build strong alliances.