The Man In The Mirror

I have a friend who is trying to figure out if she should quit her job or stay. She messes up every day at some point during the course of a day. This is not necessarily my assessment of her, but it is definitely how she sees it. How does she decide if it’s time to leave her job? Is it up to her boss? My friend knows that she frustrates her boss on a regular basis. She tries to do the things that need to be done, but inevitably something else happens. Should she quit? What do you think?

Self awareness is actually an important part of growing. Just being aware of how you impact people, and your environment is a good bit of information to know. Unfortunately, not everyone knows their impact on people and environment. My friend is aware of how she is impacting her boss, and yet she hasn’t really done anything differently to change the situation. So, in this case, she is aware of her impact, but her ability to problem solve and make what I call minor course corrections, continues to elude my friend.

If you find yourself in a similar situation at work or you know someone, here’s my point and what I have said to my friend: You get to decide the outcome. Don’t let someone else determine your future. If you want to be in the job, make the changes and move forward. Feeling sorry for yourself is not a solution, and refusing to change is not a solution either. Too many times, people stay in a job out of convenience or fear or habit. None of those things will help you survive in a job today. If things aren’t working, take some time and decide if you really want to be doing what you are doing. Be honest with yourself. Don’t look at your boss and his/her issues. Don’t blame the organization, the culture, the climate or the people. Look at the man in the mirror. YOU!

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