2-3-4 Friday

‘Seeking to spark the most potential within you per word of any online newsletter’

1 thought

How do you know whether the organization you’re working at is going to serve, or harm you? One way to tell, is through the health of the organisation.

Often you can’t tell when you first interview with the job. But there must be some way to, so that you avoid the long-drawn out pain of being in an organisation you hate, and which hurts you longer than it does help you.

The question is,

is that truly possible?

I think it is. It starts with the interview.

Let me tell you a tale. A tale of 2 organisations, and 2 interviews.

A few weeks ago, I spoke about an organisation where I was sacked with immediate notice. Walk into that organisation, and you will hear some common phrases.

Cannot one, I tried already.

Don’t you think we should do it …

I will tell you what happened at the interview.

Some indicators that got alarm bells ringing.

1. My salary expectations were constantly pressed down by HR, as I was a fish being haggled for in the market, despite it being similar to what the industry was getting, at $3800, or what the salary guidelines were from the sector governor.
2. Manager asking me how I got such big names to write endorsements for my book, which at that time seemed strange because it had nothing to do with the interview.
   1. I later found out that manager wanted to use what I knew for the purpose of writing her own book.

At another interview, it took no more than 10 minutes. The manager asked if I could do the job. How much I wanted. If I was okay with the pay that was offered.

Game, set, and match.

The company? Google.

One might say, okay, charity vs commercial, what else would you expect?

But what is also the origin of these questions is the health of these organisations. In particular, you can tell the health of these organisations based on their preoccupation. When you hear your leaders, managers and supervisors speak, what seems to be their primary focus?

Here I will introduce this concept from Tong Yee, which I think is great at explaining.

In your interview, listen for some commonalities.

1. Resources
   1. What is your pay, why is it so high, can I press you down?
2. Spatial
   1. In the work that you do with us, here are what the limits are.
3. Power
   1. Here are who your supervisors are going to be.
4. Relational
   1. Who are your stakeholders? Your primary partners?

Listen for scarcity.

Because scarcity shows that the leaders and the organisation are struggling in terms of being able to keep the workers safe.

As I look back on previous organisations, I see how worse organisations struggled to help workers there to feel safe. Where I was sacked, the persistent complaints (behind the manager’s back) were:

1. I don’t see why she’s asking for this.
2. She is wasting our time.
3. She’s super particular about the small things.

The core question?

Why does she have the say?

Or this whole idea of power, and why power is accorded to her, when she seemed like such a bad manager.

In organisations, who we give, and don’t give power to, has a ripple effect on the rest of the organisation. When you first enter a company, and you start thinking,

gosh, how did this person become a manager?

Check this feeling with your colleagues. If others concur, you’re probably right. Your company doesn’t choose its leaders well.

And when that happens, you’d be sure that somewhere down the line, your organisation has a problem.

Now now, this seems like an oversimplification, but I can tell you for sure that whatever you feel instinctively, is not too far off.

1 talk

Do you feel safe, in the places you are in?

1 tip

Now this seems conceptual and hard to get.

But here’s something you can do. Listen to your gut.

What does your gut say about how safe, or unsafe you feel? When you walk into the interview, are these people you want to see on a daily basis, and whom you think you would enjoy being with?

We often think with our head, feel with our heart, and instinctively tell with our gut.

But we often don’t place that much attention on our gut, instead trying to tell with our head and our heart.

Your gut instinct matters.

Give more space to it.

John

Live Young, Live Well - Work Your Love

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