Universal Truths of the Working World

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…”

That quote (from Charles Dickens in “A Tale of Two Cities”) seems to reflect the sentiment of many people right now in the world.?And yet that quote has been around since 1859 and has been used to reflect the times people were living in over and over again.?This might lead us to believe that some things in life continually repeat themselves, even though at a particular time it might feel very new to us.

In my 32 years of organizational life I have advised, trained, and mentored hundreds of smart/successful people.?And in that span of time I started to see patterns of how organizations behave.?I started writing at a time in my life when I began to look at my organization as a single living breathing/thing, comprised of individuals - yet working as a whole.?If you can see your organization in this way - the patterns become clearer.

You may be feeling that we are living in a time of incredible uncertainty, and I would not disagree with you.?And yet I can also say that every generation has probably experienced similar feelings.?It’s not popular by the way to express this where you work.?People feel discounted if you tell them that this has happened before.

After some careful reflection, I wanted to share with you what I feel are some of the most universal truths of organizational (work) life.?This is not in any way meant to discount your current reality.?On the contrary, I want to share these with you as if we were having a conversation together - and I was trying to be helpful.

Truth:?There is always money if the right person deems something important.

How many times have you been told by someone that there’s no money for your project? And how many times have you seen other projects funded at the same time? This shows up as much in politics as it does in organizations.?I know there are budgets, and I know budgets need to be adhered to.?I have also seen money/attention/resources mysteriously appear – seemingly out of vapor – when someone in a position of power deems something critical.

Wisdom to live by:?If you believe in something strongly enough, it’s just a matter of being patient, persistent, and getting to the right person to influence.

Truth:?The workplace is not a democracy.

We all have situations where an injustice in our minds has occurred, especially when it comes to raises and promotions.?We’ve all scratched our heads and wondered “Why in the world did he/she get promoted??You’ve got to be kidding me!”?The simple truth is that our sense of fair play doesn’t always manifest itself where we work.?As I am fond of telling my mentees:?“The organization likes who they like, and their criteria may be quite different from yours or mine.”

Wisdom to live by:?Make a choice (every day) to show up and do your best work.?If you feel an injustice has been done to you personally, sleep on it… and then decide if you want to stay.?Otherwise – let it go.

Truth:?Sometimes you need to allow the organization to fail.

This universal truth sounds harsh, but sometimes it will be necessary.?Let’s say you can see that a project is truly going off the rails on a particular initiative (for whatever reason).?Short of standing on a chair and waving your arms, you feel like you’ve voiced your concerns to your leader more than once.?Unless the consequences of failure are truly catastrophic (and they rarely are), allow the organization to learn from falling down. ?

Wisdom to live by:?Let the situation play out without intervening.?Document your concerns (that you have already shared to the right people) and keep them in a safe place.?Patience (and a closed mouth) is a virtue.

Truth:?A great career = being deliberate in your choices.

Career management sometimes is like getting into an inner tube and floating down a river.?If you’re open to new experiences, that approach can advance your career quickly.?And yet I have mentored people who have had regrets that they gave their life to their job and lost their family/friends in the process.

Wisdom to live by:?Pick future roles (and how you show up in your current role) by what you truly value as well as what you’re good at.

Truth:?Human beings don’t do the middle very well.

Human beings by nature love to swing the pendulum.?We say we want the middle, but when we’re trying to solve a big problem, we often fixate on a single solution too much.?Cutting expenses is a great example of this.?A thriving company suddenly takes a downturn and is forced to look at how fat and happy they’ve become.?The focus on expense reduction is so strong that people start making bad long term choices.

Wisdom to live by:?Be intentional, but not obsessive.?If you can be the voice of the middle, espouse it (but be solutions-focused when you do).

Truth:?It isn’t about you.

One of my favorite quotes is from Stanford professor John Gardner:?“People are neither for you or against you.?They are thinking about themselves.”?This may be one of the most important things to remember in your career.?It will be hard not to think that a boss, a senior leader, or even a colleague is intentionally blocking something you’re trying to get done.??That assumes motive, and you never really know what is going on in someone’s head.

Depersonalizing a situation is one of the greatest skills you can hone in your career.?It sounds hard to do, but it all comes back to a very simple question:?“Is the person doing this thing (that you don’t like) specifically to you, or are they just doing it?”?A wise colleague asked me this question about thirty years ago… and it’s still the biggest anger relief valve that I know of.

Wisdom to live by:?Always have a devil’s advocate in your life to challenge the assumptions that you are carrying about a situation where you are frustrated.

What to Do with this List

This list is not exhaustive by any means.?I would love for you to add your own universal truths in the comments section below this posting.?This list may have made you laugh, or you may have been nodding in agreement.?But I can pretty much guarantee that an hour from now you may not remember any of it.

So then… what to do??Save this list somewhere (if you’re old school like me, you might print it).?Save it in a spot where you will remember where it is.?The next time you find yourself at work:

• Angry
• Frustrated
• Disillusioned
• Stressed out
• Wanting to quit

Pull out this list and see if any of the universal truths apply.?If they do, reflect on whether or not the situation is truly worthy of the energy you are expending right now.?If yes, talk about it with someone who can engage in a dialogue on solutions.?If not - smile, take a deep breath, and savor the freedom from realizing that you have a choice in how you react to organizational life.?

It may just shift your attitude today from “the worst of times” to “the best of times”.