Learning Opportunities
I cited Scott Savor for his contribution to yesterday’s post. Scott is headed to the University of Tennessee to work with Pat Summitt, but he had mentioned those two questions to our daughter in his role as a human performance specialist in Tampa. Scott told Carla to ask her coach, what can I do better? and what am I doing well? Scott said that if she did this on a routine basis it would blow her coach away. He said hardly any athletes take this direct approach with their coach and in addition to improving her game, it would make her stand out.
I was actually with Scott when he told her this. When I heard those two questions, the little guy in white who sits on my shoulder practically kicked me in the ear: David! Technicians need to ask their managers these questions!
The point is learning moments in one area of life often pertain to learning opportunities in another. The key is to pay attention and keep your radar up at all times. Do this a little bit and you’ll want to do it alot.
David;
Excellent advice!
When you are proactive you have just a little more control over the outcome.
When you ask the two questions “What can I do better? What am I doing well?” you do two huge things for yourself (and your manager).
First – you reduce or eliminate the chance for surprises, both short term and on official reviews. No one likes surprises during their review, but managers are notorious for this, holding off on bad news for fear of… well, frankly lots of things, like not wanting to deliver bad news, or hoping you will ‘get better’ even though you may not know you need to. Also, paradoxically, managers often fail to tell their people that they ARE doing good. For some reason it is not as important to them, but they lose a great chance to motivate.
Second – When you find out what you are doing good you become more motivated. I am not talking about asking for praise here. Praise is an external motivation. Asking for specifics on your techniques and what you do well at work is an opportunity to see if these areas fit your values and when they do, you become more self-motivated.
When you receive the answers to these questions write them down in a journal. Keeping the record helps you to see your progress, and is a reminder to yourself, and if it comes down to it your boss, on areas that you continually discuss.
Bart Gragg | Blue Collar U´s last blog ..What Does A Manager Do?