Last year was the first time that I used a lawn mower. Coming from Singapore, I never had a garden before so it was a new experience.
It was hard for me having to kill all the flowers (yes I know they’re weeds) so I kept stopping and apologizing to them.
My boyfriend was puzzled as to the length of time I was taking to complete what’s perceived as a simple task. Till he asked me (unconditional positive regards at play).
We agreed that it was going to be the first and last time that I cut the grass. Instead, watering our plants and flowers plus replanting/ clearing will be my duties.
Job fit which includes alignment to preferences and values is important in ensuring sustainable employee engagement.
John was a super hands-on operational guy who always completes his job scope exceedingly well. To reward him for his excellent performance, his management decided to promote him to a leadership position. He was given a desk and now managed a team. He became increasingly unhappy and wasn’t performing as well.
Fortunately for him, his management noticed and had a conversation with him. He returned to being out there on an operational level and continued working happily for the company for many more years.
For us to flourish and be happy at our work places, it will be so useful to understand our core non-negotiables. It is awesome to stretch and learn new things. At the same time, there will be some roles that even if we are super great at it, it just depletes our energy. To me, that is a non-negotiable for example, having to do the same role every day will cause me to wither. I thrive with variety and I speak, consult, coach, write and facilitate in a fair balance.
Being open to understanding your team members’ preferences and exploring ways to redesign the role is one way to support growth and development.