It sounds simple, but one of the best ways to take control of your happiness at work is to take control of your career. Seek out opportunities to improve your performance, take on new responsibilities, or otherwise engage in work that is rewarding and fulfilling. Investing time and energy into your career growth and development can result in greater workplace happiness.
Take Control of Your Professional Development
Set goals for yourself:new skills to master, new roles to try, or new positions to work toward. Seek out opportunities for new training or education, and enlist your manager’s support. Create a professional development plan for the next year or even five years, and actively seek ways to implement it.
Seek Frequent Feedback
Seeking frequent feedback is another way to take control of your career happiness. Being aware of what we are doing well and what we can improve helps us as we set professional goals. Draw on your support team to seek out feedback regularly. Rather than relying on yearly or quarterly reviews or waiting for a supervisor or colleague to come to you with feedback, ask for feedback on the completion of projects, after presentations, or when collaborating with others. Make an agreement with members of your support team that you will regularly ask for their feedback and that you will listen carefully to what they have to say. When you receive feedback, listen respectfully rather than preparing to respond. Then decide how best to act on feedback, both developmental and positive.
Practice Professional Courage
Professional courage involves directly and productively addressing conflicts, advocating for yourself and others on your team, and dealing directly and proactively with potential problems. Professional courage helps to promote open communication in the workplace. It also assures that resentments and grudges do not fester. Learning to practice professional courage is a leadership skill which can help prepare you for more responsibility. It helps you stand out as a leader who wants to promote successful workplace.
Seek Mentoring, and Seek to Mentor Others
Mentoring is a key aspect of professional development. When taking charge of your own professional development, seek mentoring. You might choose one mentor or several, depending on your development needs and your goals. Spending time with a mentor and getting their feedback can increase your professional growth and demonstrates that you take your professional development seriously. Having a mentor to help guide your professional development also helps create a positive, beneficial relationship. Seeking out opportunities to mentor others is also a way to take charge of your professional development, build leadership skills, and share your knowledge and development. Mentors and mentees can be valuable parts of a support team and can create personal connections in the workplace.
Until next time ...
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