In this blog, we come to the 5^th step on the road to success, the fun step. You may recall the first four were:

Step 1: become a learning machine,

Step 2: work smart,

Step 3: work hard, and

Step 4: work in a team.

Let me start by pointing out that the degree to which you are enjoying your work is the degree to which you are making the right work choices. If you are not having fun at work, it’s your best indicator that you may not be in the right job. And you are not on the right track to high performance and subsequent personal growth and success. So let’s unpack this together.

We all enjoy what we are good at! If you have the talent to sing, then you may consider being a singer. Now if your mom complains about your singing, as mine did, you may want to restrict your singing to the shower:). We all need to be aware that what we like to do is not always what we are good at! Although you like to sing you may not be good at it. The good news is, even if it’s not clear to us, we all have talent. If you are not sure where your talents lie, I suggest you explore areas of work that you enjoy doing, since we all enjoy what we are good at. Of course, the Internet has many professional tools to help you identify your talent and become more self-aware. Go to the Internet, select a few tools and learn about yourself. The key point is that you should aim to work within your area of inherent talent. And that will make your work more enjoyable.

Irrespective of the above, enjoying your work rarely comes without an investment on your part. Often there is a minimum threshold of knowledge and competence that needs to be achieved before you can truly enjoy your work. It takes months of effort and learning for a lawyer to be ready to stand before a judge and even more effort to become a wise judge. But, as a supreme court judge once told me, once he learns all aspects of the case that’s when the fun begins. Remember your first golf outing!!! It was probably not impressive, was it?

There is a right time to start: right now! Find what is positive about what you do and focus on it, and start making the environment fun for you and all those around you. Make your personal brand a fun one… Remember, fun and performance go together, especially in the long term. I dare say, show me a miserable employee and I will show you an unproductive one, and inversely show me a happy employee and I will show you a more productive employee.

When you enjoy your work, you end up spending more time at it. You’ll achieve more and subsequently will enjoy it more and spread the fun around. By doing this you feed the cycle of positivity, productivity and enjoyment in the workplace. People around you see this positive energy, they will want to join in, and they will want to help you achieve even more of what you are trying to achieve. It’s a winning formula for all.

Being creative, productive and having fun in your working life will not only advance your career, but it will generally make your life all the more positive and meaningful. So, have fun at the office! It’s one of the secrets of being successful. Enjoy!

Six Pack of Success – Step 4: Work in a team

Continuing on with the theme originating from a student’s request described on my earlier blog, “The Six Pack of Success”, here’s the 4^th step:

Work in a team – There is so much written about team work that I will keep this blog brief but this area is so important and a key step on the road to success that I will share few words with you. Team work is about working together as a cohesive unit to achieve a goal. I’d like to expand a little by taking a slightly different angle and focus mainly on one’s role in a team and what it means to be a team player.

Your role is to fully understand the overall goal of the team and then put your shoulder to the wheel and do your part. Help other members of the team do theirs and then if you can do more – do more. Help your team all the time, especially when it seems that other members do less work than you. This is your opportunity to shine and grow your personal brand. As you do more than others, your team will recognize it and eventually externalize it, appreciate it, and help you grow!

A good team player is the one that goes out of her/his way to make the other members of the team look good, even if they are not “good”. A family working together is a great example of teamwork. When a member of the family falls behind for whatever reason, the resources of the family come together to support that failing member and once that family member is able to contribute, the whole family rejoices in the success! As we all know families never give up on any member of their children and send them away to live next door … So rather than try to ship a perceived weak member of the team onto another team (which, in rare cases, is a good option) you need to judge less, support more and let values guide you in your supporting effort. You’ll be energized by this positive energy and that will spill over onto the team. If you think the whole team is not working well, it could be time to revisit the mission, be crisp and clear on what needs to be done and what each team member’s role is in advancing it. Maintain your focus all the time and don’t wander around relying on the project leader… Each member of the team has a leadership role including you…

So, if you want to advance, help your team, remember, although one person can make a decisive difference, it is the collective force of a team that moves organizations forward and you along with it. Bonne chance:)

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