Finding the right "fit"

Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you have not found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” - Steve Jobs

Few things can be more unpleasant in this life than holding a job that is not suited to you. People spend so much time at work every day and those jobs take so much of their time and energy. If you have a job that is simply not in line with your interests, passions, and skills, it can make one miserable.

I mentioned in my last blog that I was not sure I was in the right role. I worked for a great healthcare organization, but the role itself did not bring me joy. I loved the people, but the work was very task-oriented and did not use my strengths. I did not feel like I was contributing value to something bigger, which is something I crave.

I was not sure that making a move was the right decision or what that would look like for me, so I gave it a lot of thought. I took my time and read some insightful books and created a list of questions to weigh roles and offers against. It was a long journey as I was involved in numerous interviews, and when offers did start coming in I felt prepared to look at the opportunities objectively. I hope my process might be of some help if you are in a similar situation.

Many of the books I had read in the past, but we forget what we know many times and need a gentle reminder. One of those books for me was The Leader Who Had No Title by Robin Sharma. Contrary to the popular belief that leadership is meant for a few chosen people, this book pitches the idea: everyone is a leader, regardless of what their job role is in an organization. In this business fable, a retired veteran, who is trying to search for a purpose in his life and work; talks to four people, who are not considered to be in leadership positions as per the norm. But they are happy with their work, and they believe that they play an important role in their respective organizations. It reminded me that when people are good at their jobs, they automatically become a support person in an organization and success flows through them. Reminding myself that I can be a leader in any role, helped me evaluate my options.

The questions listed below are the ones that I felt were important to ask and answer. I tried my best to answer my questions thoughtfully and honestly so that once I was in the interview and search process my head would not be turned by the salary, the title, etc.

Will the role draw on the best of me?

• Have you ever been in the presence of a leader who draws you in, engages you, and helps pull your talents and skills out, inspiring you to continue growing? Someone who seems magnetic, pulling people forward with them, rather than pushing them? A pull leader is one who attracts people to them, inspiring growth, dedication, and results. I have been led by such a person and I hope to be again. I asked a lot of questions about leaders, and I was fortunate to talk to many as I narrowed down where I wanted to land.

Will I have a voice?

• I honestly believe voicing your opinions, objections, and questions is an important part of being a valuable employee. But it also has an enormous impact on the fulfillment you get from your work. Feeling stifled and unheard is frustrating, no matter how much you tell yourself you “don’t care.” You have a brain and valuable experience and knowledge to share. You were not hired to just go through the motions. You deserve a voice and, once you start using it, others will come to respect you more for it.

Will I feel valued?

• Smart leadership realizes that to increase employee engagement and productivity across their workforce you must look beyond salary, benefits, and an occasional free pizza. Today’s employees want to feel valued.

• Feeling valued is not just recognition and reward. It includes being empowered to make a difference, being an important member of a team, or giving someone the opportunity to mentor another.

Will it focus on my strengths? Will I be working in an area around work I am good at, or want to develop in, or is it going to rely on me working outside of the skills I enjoy?

• There is little doubt that job satisfaction is in large part influenced by how much you enjoy what you do daily — in other words, the day in and day out tasks that make up your job determine whether you like your job.

• If these daily responsibilities align well with the skills that come naturally to you and that you enjoy – chances are, you will like your role.

• I made a list of the skills that I bring to the table, and I circled the ones that made me smile. When I reviewed job postings, or spoke with others in roles of potential interest, I evaluated how well the job matched up with the skills I circled.

Who will I be working with? What are they like?

• How does your ideal manager act and speak? Are they hands-on or detached? Do they make decisions from the gut or based on data?

• It is a good idea to ask the prospective manager point blank about this and verify with potential peers. If the manager’s leadership style does not sync well with your own – then job dissatisfaction will likely follow. Their responses gave me a solid sense for each business owner’s leadership style.

What is the company culture and structure like? Does it fit with me and my values?

• For many, job happiness is closely tied to a company’s culture and corporate values. With regards to values – it’s important to do a bit of soul searching to see if the stance a company takes on certain issues aligns with your own. These may range from corporate social responsibility to workforce diversity and even environmental sustainability.

• Culture can take on many forms – from dress code (suits or business casual?) to office layout (offices and cubes, open workspaces or remote?) to decision-making (top to bottom or more democratic?) and work/life balance (is 40, 50 or 60 hours the norm?)

• I successfully uncovered this through responses to earlier questions. Furthermore, a quick LinkedIn search allowed me to find out who worked where. I even reached out to one or two people who graciously shared culture-related intel.

Where will I be able to go from here? Where do I want to go from here?

• Many choose to move up the ladder by job hopping. If your preference is to ascend within a company, then it is critical you uncover the potential for internal progression before making any leap.

• For others, moving up the ladder is not a deal breaker, but job security is. Factors to evaluate then must include whether the company is on the rise, or if the industry is in decline.

• My situation was a bit unique in that rather than career progression I was looking for skill progression and the opportunity to use what I have learned over the past many years. I have grown-up in healthcare, and I understand the Hospital, Provider, and IT areas and how they marry. I want to use that knowledge to make workflows more efficient and effective.

The Bottom Line

The truth is, one of the keys to success is to love what you do. This does not mean that you must love every aspect of your job all the time, of course. There will be days when you do not look forward to work and projects that will test your patience and aptitude. Every working professional experiences similar ups and downs, but here is the difference: when you love what you do, these hurdles are just temporary setbacks to overcome that will push you to grow as a leader. But if you do not enjoy what you do, these hurdles gradually accumulate and weigh heavily on your shoulders, eventually squeezing you of all your happiness.

Whether we realize it or not, we all have a natural desire to find fulfillment in our lives. When you do what you love, you will be more energized, maintain a more positive outlook, be more productive at work, and just be all-around happier. This is what pushes us to grow, which makes us more successful; when you care about what you do, you work harder to be the best.

There are many ways to evaluate your level of “fit” in a role, if it is time to make a change, and what that change might look like. If you have determined it is indeed time, then you need to consider the factors that are important to you and ensure the pros outweigh the cons – and make your next move. I am excited about mine!

Until next time…..-Leigh