Principle 2: Give honest and sincere appreciation.
"Sigmund Freud said that everything you and I do springs from two motives: the sex urge and the desire to be great."
In the first part of chapter 2 Carnegie reminds us of the importance of the ego in personal communications. Each person around us is trying his hardest to feel that he has done something of importance. Some people have huge aspirations and others have more modest ones, but ultimately we are all seeking that confirmation.
For this reason, we should be careful when we interact with others. We should let people know that they're doing a good job, and we should be sincere about it.
At the end of the chapter, Carnegie quotes Emerson saying, "Every man I meet is my superior in some way." Imagine if we all lived this example, if we embraced the great lessons that every single person in our lives has to teach us.
Here's my challenge to you and me: the next time you are working with someone who you really don't like, reflect on what that person has to teach you. When it's appropriate show them your appreciation, sincerely.
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Showing posts with label work. Show all posts
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
What Do You Need From Your Job?
I am currently reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell, which explains Gladwell's theory of how people become extremely successful (think Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, John D. Rockefeller, etc.). The crux of Gladwell's theory is people must be innately talented to be highly successful, but they must also have the good fortune of a certain set of circumstances that will enable them to capitalize on their skills. The book is a fascinating read, and I highly recommend it.
However, this post is about something that I read last night. Gladwell says in the book:
"Those three things--autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward--are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money that we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether our work fulfills us."
I continued to think about this in the context of my side job editing papers. Overall, I enjoy that job very much. However, I sometimes find myself exasperated when I am working long hours on a challenging, poorly-written edit just to make the same amount of money as I would on a quick, engaging, well-written edit. The reward does not always match the effort.
On the other hand, my editing job is sufficiently complex and gives me complete autonomy to decide when and where I want to work. Those two factors prevent me from becoming completely exasperated by the lack of sufficient reward that I sometimes experience.
For now, I need to continue this job to make extra money. Perhaps I can find a way to reward myself for the tough work to help me get through it when I'm frustrated.
Using these three criteria, how does your job measure up? Are you satisfied with your work? Is there something else that you need from a job to be happy? Can you think of ways to give yourself more autonomy or complexity if your job doesn't provide these qualities? If you are a boss, how can you provide your employees with jobs that have these three characteristics?
However, this post is about something that I read last night. Gladwell says in the book:
"Those three things--autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward--are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money that we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It's whether our work fulfills us."
I continued to think about this in the context of my side job editing papers. Overall, I enjoy that job very much. However, I sometimes find myself exasperated when I am working long hours on a challenging, poorly-written edit just to make the same amount of money as I would on a quick, engaging, well-written edit. The reward does not always match the effort.
On the other hand, my editing job is sufficiently complex and gives me complete autonomy to decide when and where I want to work. Those two factors prevent me from becoming completely exasperated by the lack of sufficient reward that I sometimes experience.
For now, I need to continue this job to make extra money. Perhaps I can find a way to reward myself for the tough work to help me get through it when I'm frustrated.
Using these three criteria, how does your job measure up? Are you satisfied with your work? Is there something else that you need from a job to be happy? Can you think of ways to give yourself more autonomy or complexity if your job doesn't provide these qualities? If you are a boss, how can you provide your employees with jobs that have these three characteristics?
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
How to Win Friends and Influence People: Chapter 1
I recently picked up the old classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie at the library. I thought that it would be good to read before I start my job since I will be interacting with all kinds of people in various roles. I decided to blog about the book as I read to reflect on the book a little more.
Chapter 1: "If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive"
Principle 1: Don't criticize, condemn, or complain
This chapter starts with a look at human nature. We all like to believe that we are good people, and Carnegie explains that even career criminals like Al Capone believe that the things they do are well-intentioned. Ultimately we do all that we can to preserve our pride, even if it means overlooking the mounds of evidence that show us that we have made a mistake.
Obviously because of this pride, we do not like to be criticized, especially in a way that ridicules us. I can think of several times where I was publicly humiliated by someone. Even if that person was correct in his criticism, the manner by which I was called out made me overlook my error and only feel resentment towards him.
Carnegie says, “Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? Good! I am all in favor of it. But why not begin on yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint, that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others-yes, and a lot less dangerous.”
Withholding criticism is a challenge for me, especially with the people that I am closest to (my husband, family, and closest friends). Most often, the things that I criticize others for are weaknesses of my own. For example, I will criticize my husband for making a mess, but I am just as often making messes.
In the hospital I will be working with nursing and ancillary staff, my resident colleagues (in my own department and in other departments), and my attendings. Under stress, it will be very easy to be critical of my coworkers. It will be harder, but more productive, to be critical of myself and improve my own actions.
As I read this, I thought about giving feedback. In many workplaces, giving and receiving feedback is an important tool used to improve the overall functions of the organization. I will be receiving feedback from lots of different sources, and I will also be expected to give feedback. How can I give useful feedback that is not critical? I think that providing feedback about specific actions and expectations is helpful. It is also important to set somebody up to succeed the next time if they have not met your expectations initially.
What do you think? Do you have any advice for giving and/or receiving feedback?
Chapter 1: "If you want to gather honey, don't kick over the beehive"
Principle 1: Don't criticize, condemn, or complain
This chapter starts with a look at human nature. We all like to believe that we are good people, and Carnegie explains that even career criminals like Al Capone believe that the things they do are well-intentioned. Ultimately we do all that we can to preserve our pride, even if it means overlooking the mounds of evidence that show us that we have made a mistake.
Obviously because of this pride, we do not like to be criticized, especially in a way that ridicules us. I can think of several times where I was publicly humiliated by someone. Even if that person was correct in his criticism, the manner by which I was called out made me overlook my error and only feel resentment towards him.
Carnegie says, “Do you know someone you would like to change and regulate and improve? Good! I am all in favor of it. But why not begin on yourself? From a purely selfish standpoint, that is a lot more profitable than trying to improve others-yes, and a lot less dangerous.”
Withholding criticism is a challenge for me, especially with the people that I am closest to (my husband, family, and closest friends). Most often, the things that I criticize others for are weaknesses of my own. For example, I will criticize my husband for making a mess, but I am just as often making messes.
In the hospital I will be working with nursing and ancillary staff, my resident colleagues (in my own department and in other departments), and my attendings. Under stress, it will be very easy to be critical of my coworkers. It will be harder, but more productive, to be critical of myself and improve my own actions.
As I read this, I thought about giving feedback. In many workplaces, giving and receiving feedback is an important tool used to improve the overall functions of the organization. I will be receiving feedback from lots of different sources, and I will also be expected to give feedback. How can I give useful feedback that is not critical? I think that providing feedback about specific actions and expectations is helpful. It is also important to set somebody up to succeed the next time if they have not met your expectations initially.
What do you think? Do you have any advice for giving and/or receiving feedback?
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The Best Work Advice You'll Ever Get
Okay, that's probably a stretch, but anyway....
This week I had the pleasure of grabbing dinner with a friend/mentor in the department that I am about to join. This particular mentor has completed her residency and is now in the process of establishing her career as an attending. We became friends because we had similar interests, and over the years I have found her advice to always be spot on. I wanted to post some of the great advice that she gave me. Even though she was clearly thinking about the hospital work environment, this advice is generalizable to lots of different workplaces.
1. Do the basics well. Unfortunately medical training places a huge emphasis on the obscure, and sometimes trainees lose the forest for the trees. It is better to perform the daily functions of your job well than to know every single random tidbit about your field. Knowing that very rare complication of drug X is not very important if you can't actually order drug X correctly. This year I am going to strive to write excellent notes, place accurate orders, and give good presentations. All of the medical knowledge will come with time.
2. Triage every single day. Be proactive and imagine the worst possible things that could go wrong. Then specifically address those things first to keep them from happening. In medicine this often means identifying the sickest patients and keeping a close watch on them.
3. Always get the full story. It's very hard to make a management plan if you don't have the full history. If things don't make sense, slow down or start over. This hearkens back to #1.
4. Spend more time on the front end to save time later. Spend time every morning planning the day. Get a good history now so that you're not trying to chase it down later. Establish good personal organization systems.
5. Don't get sucked into drama. Patients will lie to you and ignore your advice. Colleagues will inevitably screw up. Once it has happened, move on and get work done. When others complain don't get pulled down into the fray. Surround yourself with positive people.
6. Establish a healthy routine for dealing with immediate stress. This routine should provide a physical practice to associate with relief of the stressor. For example, when something bad happened one physician would wash his hands, figuratively removing the problem and allowing it to run down the drain. It is better to spend some time dealing with your anger or stress in a way that works for you than to take it out on someone else.
I thought that all of this was really excellent advice, and I am excited to implement it into my routine.
This week I had the pleasure of grabbing dinner with a friend/mentor in the department that I am about to join. This particular mentor has completed her residency and is now in the process of establishing her career as an attending. We became friends because we had similar interests, and over the years I have found her advice to always be spot on. I wanted to post some of the great advice that she gave me. Even though she was clearly thinking about the hospital work environment, this advice is generalizable to lots of different workplaces.
1. Do the basics well. Unfortunately medical training places a huge emphasis on the obscure, and sometimes trainees lose the forest for the trees. It is better to perform the daily functions of your job well than to know every single random tidbit about your field. Knowing that very rare complication of drug X is not very important if you can't actually order drug X correctly. This year I am going to strive to write excellent notes, place accurate orders, and give good presentations. All of the medical knowledge will come with time.
2. Triage every single day. Be proactive and imagine the worst possible things that could go wrong. Then specifically address those things first to keep them from happening. In medicine this often means identifying the sickest patients and keeping a close watch on them.
3. Always get the full story. It's very hard to make a management plan if you don't have the full history. If things don't make sense, slow down or start over. This hearkens back to #1.
4. Spend more time on the front end to save time later. Spend time every morning planning the day. Get a good history now so that you're not trying to chase it down later. Establish good personal organization systems.
5. Don't get sucked into drama. Patients will lie to you and ignore your advice. Colleagues will inevitably screw up. Once it has happened, move on and get work done. When others complain don't get pulled down into the fray. Surround yourself with positive people.
6. Establish a healthy routine for dealing with immediate stress. This routine should provide a physical practice to associate with relief of the stressor. For example, when something bad happened one physician would wash his hands, figuratively removing the problem and allowing it to run down the drain. It is better to spend some time dealing with your anger or stress in a way that works for you than to take it out on someone else.
I thought that all of this was really excellent advice, and I am excited to implement it into my routine.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)