Lead Yourself to Find Support

[Workplace Habits] Series➋

Text and photos provided by / Jacky Chen

Regardless of the industry, when first entering the workplace, everyone should want better development. How to gradually achieve success, become a leader, and pass on the mission? This issue's article focuses on three key points: developing habits; finding passion; and understanding others. We hope to encourage people in the workplace—to lead themselves and find support.

Find Your Internal Positioning and Let Passion Become Your Power

Tesla CEO Elon Musk once said he slept on the factory floor for three years! So does that mean if you are determined to endure hardship and hard work, you will succeed?

In fact, the work habits that truly lead to success stem from internal positioning—"who I am"—and the willingness to persistently give and strive for this positioning. The key to time management and habit formation lies in managing priorities, and priorities depend on inner values and understanding of life's meaning. When values are clear, choices are made; even if there is pain and struggle in the process of choosing, and a price must be paid, because it aligns with one's values, one is still willing to persist, the heart has the capacity to take action, and continuously adjust work habits and time management methods. (See Figure 1)

When the required actions align with our innermost highest values, we will be willing and motivated to pay the price; whether happy or in pain, we will take action. Conversely, if the required actions do not align with our highest values, many times we are only willing to act when we feel happy. And as Stanford University professor Nir Eyal points out in his book "Indistractable," we must first set goals and clarify priorities and values in order to avoid being distracted by things outside our objectives.

If one desires self-growth, one will develop habits of reading or continuing education, and persistently do the exercises. If the value is merely hoping for more income from work, one would be less willing to pay such a high price.

For this reason, every person who takes life and career seriously needs to think clearly: What price am I willing to pay for future goals and the ideal life? Values → habit formation → time management "three points form a line." If external actions and inner values are not aligned, no matter how much determination is made or how many exercises are done, the heart will always feel unsatisfied, and even the best habits will be difficult to sustain.

When we become people with genuine passion, our work has power. When we discover the meaning of work and feel a sense of fulfillment, we know it's worth the effort. When our hearts are filled with love and full of hope, we will be willing to give to the world and the clients we serve, and receive recognition. Work thus gains meaning.

Why does it say love is patient and enduring? Because one needs to pay a price for the people one loves, for one's career, and for one's service.

I am a computer engineer, a cloud architect, and also a volunteer teaching teenagers, continuously investing time and energy in teenagers and their families outside of work. All of this giving comes from love.

The word "passion" originally means "suffering, endurance" in Latin; it implies willingness to pay a price, to persist for what one loves, and to endure hardship.

Only after determining "who I am" and clarifying one's values and goals can one have a direction for action and the motivation to pay the price of learning and growth, to courageously practice, and not give up even in failure and pain, because passion brings endurance!

I recommend that readers discover their core life values and meaning through tests from different methods and perspectives, and by seeking feedback from multiple sources. On this foundation, cultivate and establish good habits that are consistent with one's identity.

I hope readers can discover through exploration that: efforts in the workplace are not only for oneself, but also for family and friends, to shine light on others, and to make the world a better place.

Find Your Passion and Practice Deliberately

Many people work for the purpose of meeting basic living needs. How can Christians shift from a purely income-focused perspective to seeing the meaning and value of their own lives, finding their connection with society, and leveraging their strengths? How can they transform from a materially-centered value system to Kingdom values that can create meaning for society and for life?

The best situation in the workplace, of course, is when work is something you love. Unfortunately, many workplace professionals, including my former self, feel that their current work is mundane, but they have no better options. Or they see others' work as very good and also want to change fields, specialties, or environments. At such times, should one resign to find work that fills the heart with passion and motivation? Or find passion in existing work?

"Passion" means willingness to pay a price, endure suffering, and persevere to achieve goals. Are you willing to pay the price to pursue excellence for what you love? And where should you find passion?

In the previous article introducing the four dimensions of discovering life's meaning, "passion" is the intersection of "what you like" and "what you're good at." Start by finding what you're good at from your own strengths, and gradually expand your work options from there.

There are some professional tests for discovering strengths, such as the Gallup StrengthsFinder 2.0, which can help identify key personal strengths.

My own strengths are: strong sense of responsibility; love of learning; desire for achievement; good at interpersonal communication; enjoy collecting information. Then I used AI tools to generate work options based on these: project manager; research analyst; human resources specialist; educator; operations manager—among these are jobs I like and jobs I'm good at. These options inspire and help me further clarify my thinking. If among the options generated based on strengths, I discover work that moves my heart, it's very likely where my passion lies—the intersection of what I'm good at and what I love is often "passion."

If there is no obvious intersection between expertise and profession, you can change perspective and start from "what you like."

Suppose today I don't want to work at a computer company, nor do I want to be a career consultant or life coach, but instead want to be a YouTuber—where should I start? Ask AI different questions: How can I use my strengths to become a successful YouTuber? Of course, AI's guidance comes from key points summarized from big data, with the purpose of inspiring and understanding how to achieve desired career goals based on strengths.

This path starts from "what you like," combines professional analysis, uses the abilities you're "good at" to do well in the work you like, and thereby finds inner "passion." This is also making good use of the gifts and talents bestowed by God.

If values and actions are inconsistent, we easily become slack and give up. Therefore, after finding inner passion, we need to establish good habits that are consistent with it.

Taking myself as an example, the professional roles generated by the intersection of "what I'm good at" and "what I like" are: teacher; training consultant; technical expert. I really enjoy being a teacher, and through continuous learning and practice, I'm becoming increasingly skilled at it. I have consistently provided training for colleagues, subordinates, and clients, while also providing training for students. Technical expert has been my main profession for many years, and I have always persisted in improving my professional skills.

Deliberate practice means continuously improving oneself through establishing habits, like making the "muscles of professional competence" stronger and stronger through exercise. The loftier the goal, the more one needs to be down-to-earth, striving for progress every day, every week, every month.

Management guru Peter Drucker once said: "If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." If you want to properly manage your career, you must have data, detailed plans, and quantifiable and concrete tracking and feedback. The self-management methods he listed are: observe; plan; predict; record; feedback; review.

Although many people lack passion for their work, it is undeniable that everyone has their own strengths and preferences. Starting from these two aspects, there is hope of finding where your passion lies!

After finding passion, you also need to make specific plans, persist in deliberate practice, and continuously accept feedback, follow up, and make corrections. Our self-evaluation is often subjective, so we need companions and mentors to help "correct deviations" and provide objective feedback.

Supporters at Different Stages of Life

So where do you find companions and mentors?

Many workplace newcomers ask: How can I find people in the workplace who can help, guide, and even open up new directions for me? In fact, besides learning to know and lead oneself, one also needs to understand the people around them; only then can one speak of striving upward, leading teams, and passing on the mission.

Let us explore together: How to view the roles, help, and influence that different people around us play in our careers, and make them part of a support system?

In all walks of life, there are four types of people who will have an important impact on us—teachers, coaches, mentors, and sponsors. (See Figure 2)

Teachers are the beginning of all kinds of learning, imparting knowledge and skills; the teacher speaks, the student listens.

Coaches usually guide those they lead to think deeply and find their own answers through asking questions.

Mentors include career mentors and life mentors. They are likely experts in a certain industry or field who can provide knowledge and experience beyond what we can access in our work and life scope, elevating our overall level.

Sponsors can help us open doors of opportunity and enter entirely new fields.

1. Learn What You Don't Know from Teachers

Most people, when first entering the workplace, possess basic industry knowledge; what they need to learn from "workplace teachers" are skills related to specific work.

When entering a new company or new field, it's often necessary to identify the knowledge you lack based on career development goals and engage in targeted learning. At this time, you can find senior professionals in the industry as teachers, or participate in online training courses. Websites like MOOC (Massive Open Online Courses) offer many courses from renowned universities, such as Yale, Duke, Cambridge, etc., and after passing exams, you can even obtain certificates or certified diplomas.

However, whether consulting colleagues or senior professionals, or receiving online training, learning must align with career development goals to avoid wasting time and energy.

2. Learn from Workplace Coaches What You Know but Need to Implement and Improve

Career coaches help improve skills that have already been mastered but need further refinement, or help put theoretical knowledge into action. Coaches do not directly provide knowledge or answers, but rather, through questioning in one-on-one conversations, stimulate the coachee to think actively, explore their inner self, find genuine internal motivation and goals, and formulate and implement plans.

On the right is the GROW growth framework proposed by the International Coaching Federation: (See Figure 3)

* Goal: Without goals, one loses direction for moving forward; workplace professionals must first clarify their goals within the company or industry.
* Reality: Through the coach's questions, reflect and understand your current state, conduct a reality analysis, and set goals for the coming years.
* Options: The coach guides the coachee to see clearly the career development path and list as many action plans as possible to choose from.
* Will: The coach will guide the formulation and execution of a specific action plan, helping the coachee break through the predicament of having the intention but lacking the strength to act.

3. Learn from Mentors to Discover Blind Spots and Transcend Your Current Situation

Whether you are a workplace newcomer or a manager with some experience, you need guidance from a mentor. Career mentors not only impart professional knowledge, but more importantly, help junior colleagues discover blind spots, break through bottlenecks, and elevate their careers to a new level.

If the workplace provides a mentor, that is the best option; if not, you should also seek a professional mentor within the industry through your network.

Mentors also help workplace professionals through one-on-one conversations.

We need to raise questions ourselves, and the mentor provides guidance. Their direction can often have the effect of clearing away clouds to see the sun, enabling us to take fewer detours.

Life mentors not only provide career advice but also offer guidance in life, comprehensively helping us discover and correct blind spots in our lives, focus on life goals, and propel advancement and improvement in all aspects.

4. Learn from Sponsors: From Understanding and Caring to Sponsorship

Sponsors are both teachers and friends, having an internal life connection with us, understanding our interests and future goals, and deeply caring about us. More critically, they are willing to spend time opening doors of opportunity for us.

I have encountered several sponsors who not only deeply understand and care about me, but also actively support me with actions, allowing me to gain more development opportunities. They guide me on how to become a better leader, teach me how to serve better, and I am very grateful!

Sponsors usually help those who share the same values as them. The Bible says it well: "Do to others as you would have them do to you." If we hope to receive help, care, and understanding from sponsors, we must also learn to proactively care for, get to know, and help people around us. When those potential sponsors see our contributions, they will be willing to get to know us and communicate with us.

CONCLUSION

Regardless of the industry, when first entering the workplace, there is certainly much to learn. Besides relevant skills and knowledge, what workplace professionals may need even more is to know and lead themselves to develop habits, find passion to become internal motivation, and seek support from others.

If after passing the inexperienced period, work still isn't going well, where is the problem? If you keep working hard but can't get satisfaction from work, what should you do?

The next article will continue to explore the next stage of the workplace—striving upward; how to move from efficiency to effectiveness; from self to team; from pain to joy. Stay tuned! Welcome to contact: de*********@***il.com.