Sameera was a hard-working MNC employee. But one, day even after all the effort and consistency, her manager did not give her good feedback. She was told that her work was not up to mark; she had to be more visible and interactive with other colleagues. She was hurt by what she was told, but then instead of staying with that feeling, she began working hard, trying to interact with her teammates who would usually converse in their mother tongue, and she even started taking initiative to participate in extra- curricular activities at work. She started networking more frequently with her boss to inform him about her achievements and areas where she needed more training.
We all want to grow in life and do well. You may look and plan ahead in your work and career. However, there are those challenging moments where you may feel fed up and ready to just leave everything and run away! What do you think helps you to face those tough moments and get you through?
As Winston Churchill said, it is the little things that makes a big difference. For instance, your attitude. Did you know that your attitude plays a powerful role as it could impact your point of view, interpretations, decisions, actions and the results you get at the end? Your productivity at work is also dependent on this.
Gordon Allport, a famous psychologist, described attitude as a learned predisposition to think, feel and behave towards a person/object/event in a particular way. Some of the time we have a positive predisposition to the person/object/event, while sometimes we have a negative predisposition.
A positive attitude at work includes the following:
1) Discipline - being interested, open minded and focused on the work.
2) Optimism - looking at the bright side about being in the company and having a job, which is any day more relaxing than the time when you may have been unsure about whether and when you would start working!
3) Acceptance - recognizing the areas for improvement at work.
4) Courage - to take criticism favourably and plan how to work towards achieving growth in your career.
5) Determination - the faith in yourself to face, be consistent and overcome the challenges and negatives at work.
In the case example above, though Sameera was hurt by the feedback, she recognized that it was not a criticism of her as a person. She was a valuable employee, however, there were areas of improvement just like other employees would have. Instead of taking it personally, she used the feedback to make some changes in her behavior and as a result she grew as a person and as a professional. Her attitude was optimistic, open-minded and courageous.
When you step into the working world and have to interact with numerous people, work in teams, take responsibilities, initiatives and be on your feet at all times, your positive attitude can help you go far. Remember, only you can control what you think. Attitudes can change over time and your attitude affects others as well. You can read more about this in our article "Transform your attitude".
If you would like to discuss this further or need some help or support in this or any other area, our counsellors would be happy to help.
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