The Owners' Manual | Issue 24 | Spring 2022

How to build Mastery • Before you check-in with your manager, ask: “How am I doing personally and professionally? What does my manager need to know to support me?” • Inventory what is going well and where you are getting “small wins.” • Notice any recent experiences at work where you felt energized, productive, and engaged. What was happening? Talk to your manager about doing work like that. • Describe work challenges where you experience frustration, lack of progress, or discouragement. No need to overexplain or blame. Just describe the facts as you see them.

• Clarify with your manager what work challenges are within or outside your personal control. Focus first on what is in your control. Then ask your manager about your authority to make decisions and take more responsibility for things that help you get work done. • What’s your current appetite for growth? Some want variety and new responsibilities. Some want consistency and opportunities to increase the impact of what they do. BL needs both. How can your manager match opportunities to your current goals?

How to build Focus • Consider how you might be able to protect time on your calendar to focus on a project you need to complete soon. • If you’re working remotely, think about how you can create boundaries between work time and personal time. • Be sure to take breaks during the day – get up from your desk, go for a walk, get outside, etc. • What goals seem most relevant to you right now? • Which of your goals might benefit from new approaches? • Are there things you haven’t been able to get done that you think are important? What are they? Is there a way for you to make time for them? • What work could you get done with extended, focused, and uninterrupted effort? • Ask for what you need: e.g., resources your manager can provide – such as uninterrupted time, help from others, permission to say “no,” more frequent check-ins, or feedback.

How to build Purpose • Think about the work you do and how it impacts others. • Reflect on why you took your job and why you stay. Beyond a paycheck, most people want their work to matter. What can you share with your manager about what matters most to you in your work? • Is there work you’d like to do either instead of, or in addition to, the work you do now because it is more meaningful to you or uses more of your skills? If so, talk to your manager about opportunities. • Notice good things that happen to you – write them down and spend time appreciating/ being grateful for them. • Celebrate your accomplishments – small or large, at work or at home.

• Consider how the work you do now builds experience that can help with whatever your interest is in career advancement • Teamwork relies on sharing resources and making connections. Teams can work together in the same space and virtually. Reflect on how and when you prefer to connect with your colleagues? • Reach out to let people know that you appreciate them. • Volunteer to work on an issue you care about or offer to help someone else. • Try Negative Visioning: for a brief time imagine what life would be like without things you have – your job, friends, family, etc. – and then appreciate that you have those things.

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