A Sound Advice to Ensure Your Career Growth

Careergrowth is what everyone is aspiring for and you may not be an exception. But do you have one of the key traits that can help you have the growth that you are aiming at? We are talking about what is known as "active listening." If you think that the process of active listening is to just pay attention to what the speakers and more particularly, your boss, peers, co-workers and subordinates are uttering, you are terribly wrong. In fact, the process of active listening mainly consists of being very alert while listening. This is much more than just paying attention to what others speak. The process actually involves showing verbal as well as non-verbal signs so the speakers know that you are not only paying attention but digesting and assimilating whatever they are uttering.

Researches have proved that on an average, a person can talk 225 words a minute. But all of us have capabilities of listening up to 500 words a minute. This means we allow 275 words from various other sources to fill our minds. This is what distraction is. If you want to actively listen, you must make purposeful efforts to avoid succumbing to such distractions.

Of course, there may be another reason that may be preventing you from listening actively to others and the reason is our "ego." Many of us want that we should be in the spotlight and hence, we try to speak more than we listen. In this process, we do not allow others to speak. But how can active listening help you? Let us have a look. 

1.When you are actively listening, you will be able to come out with apt responses to what others speak. Speakers and especially, your boss, may appreciate you for your feedback. In fact, your feedback will prove to the speakers that you are able to understand and assimilate what they speak. So, they may think that you are smart.

2. In addition to being considered a smart person, you may earn the reputation of being a charismatic person as well. As the saying goes, “The irony of being a good conversationalist is that talking isn’t the most important piece; listening is what makes you memorable.”

3. Sometimes, peers and subordinates may approach you with their issues. Though not all of them may want you to provide solutions, some of them may expect that you should be empathetic towards the issues they face. You can lend your empathetic ears only if you actively listen to them and understand their issues in the right perspective.

But how can you become an actively listener? Here are a few tips.

1. Once your boss, peers or subordinates finish talking, you can paraphrase whatever they have spoken and repeat it. Your summary need not be elaborate. It is enough if it is brief. Experts point out that when you attempt this, the creative part of your brain gets triggered and so, you may be able to come out with new ideas and suggestions. There is another advantage as well. Your boss and others will come to know that you have understood their points in the right manner.

2. Another approach is to ask relevant questions about the topics about which people speak. This will also show your enthusiasm and interest. It may help you in getting clarity about the topics as well. More particularly, your boss will appreciate that you have understood the importance of the tasks that are being assigned.

In this context, it is pertinent to imagine a particular scenario. Let us assume that your boss assigns a few tasks to you and while discussing about the tasks, he appears to lay emphasis on a couple of tasks by repeatedly mentioning about them. By asking your boss if you have to accord priority to those specific tasks, you can clearly show to your boss that your line of thinking is in tune with what he thinks. Apart from helping you in strengthening your relationship with him, this may pave way for a quicker career growth also. 

3. In addition to the above verbal responses, you should have natural eye contact when your boss or others speak. Other non-verbal responses are keeping an appropriate posture, nodding, smiling, etc. These responses should show to the speakers that you agree with the views or points put forth by them.

In a nutshell, active listening is certain to help you in your efforts to impress your boss and so, you can rest assured that it will accelerate your career growth.

How Resilience Plays a Key Role in One's Career Growth

"Don't react instantly because chances of your life getting ruined are high" is the sage advice of philosophers. How you react or respond to situations depends upon the emotional state you are in. This is all the more true in career-related situations. In other words, career growth or career development has an emotional side as well. 

You may have come across many career counsellors who may advise you that if you want to have the career growth you are aiming at, you must acquire new skills, volunteer to take up challenges in your workplace, refine your communication skills, have a good mentor to guide you, and so on. But only a few career experts recognize the fact that career development has an emotional side also. 

In fact, this emotional side is as important, if not more, as successfully climbing the career ladder because it may help you overcome the setbacks that unexpectedly confront you. Remember that your long-term success depends upon how you persevere even when you face such setbacks and obstacles. It is in this context you are advised to cultivate resilience so you will find it easy to surmount these road-blocks.

What is resilience?

Before knowing the value of resilience in helping you in your long-term growth, you must first know what the word means. It is nothing but the inner strength that is needed for responding suitably to stress-causing situations and obstacles. In other words, it is a healthy behavior and attitude that will help you in adapting even when tough circumstances and challenges stare in your face.

How resilience can help you in your career development

1. Resilience helps you persevere even when you face tough circumstances. Remember that everything may not happen according to your wish. You may be expecting a promotion but the management may promote another employee or may recruit a new employee for the post. You may certainly be upset over this but you must be resilient enough to accept the reality. 

Of course, you have the option of quitting the company and looking for a better opportunity elsewhere. But the job market is still tough because the global economy is yet to fully recover from the economic down-turn that struck it not long ago. You may face rejections and may have to pass through a prolonged period of uncertainty. But if you stick with your company with perseverance and prove your worth with increased vigor and enthusiasm, you will soon be recognized and rewarded.

2. Nowadays, employers expect that job aspirants should possess 'softskills.' Resilience is one of the main ingredients of these so-called soft skills. Employers firmly believe that resilient employees will be more flexible, optimistic, curious, and engaged. Not only that, these employees will have a macro-view of things and hence, they will bring about a positive change to the workplace environment. This will boost productivity and help in solving issues that may crop up at the workplace.

3. Resilience will help you remain confident even when you face tough situations. Only if you are confident, you can plan your work in an organized manner and work your plan with discipline. In short, you can show better performance if you are resilient. 

On the contrary, if you are not resilient despite being highly talented, you may start questioning or challenging the decisions of the management. You may purposely change the way you work and this may cause friction in the workplace. As they say, "talent and trouble always go hand in hand." In short, you will earn the reputation of being a maverick individual. Remember that not all managements will be flexible and be prepared to put up with the pain of handling such employees.

4. Resilience can empower you to overcome even challenging situations and adversities. Since you will have confidence and an optimistic outlook, you will be able to manage your team easily, can negotiate business deals skilfully, be ready to shoulder new risks and come out with solutions for the issues the company faces and so on. 

5. Very importantly, you will be able to handle criticism in the right manner. Instead of viewing criticisms with a negative perspective, you will view them as a constructive feedback. This will help you in improving yourself and advancing more quickly. Remember that when you go up the career ladder, you will be subject to increased scrutiny.

6. Resilience will help you put forth your efforts with a growth mindset. This means when obstacles or unexpected setbacks confront you, you may not consider them as 'dead ends' but as opportunities that indirectly suggest to you that you should learn and grow. Therefore, you must begin learning from the mistakes you commit and from those others commit also. 

Remember that a number of factors may work against you and many of them may not be under your control. So, you must stop worrying about the outcomes and work with confidence. Also remember that resilience is not a trait that is passed on genetically. You should strengthen your character in such a manner that you acquire this trait so you can smoothly handle any situation in your career path.

What Should Employers Do to Retain Competent Employees

In the present-day context, employee attrition has become a major problem. Companies are finding it difficult to retain their employees. Especially, when employees, who belong to the creamy layer and who have demonstrated and proved their competence, quit a company, it may be a huge set-back for the company. They may find it difficult to recruit a suitable replacement. 

Companies should realize that this problem can worsen because the number of employees who are hopping jobs is on the increase. This also means that companies should take suitable measures for retaining competent employees. One of the vital measures they must take is to help these employees in their career growth efforts. Let us see how they can do this.

1. Increased monetary benefits may not help always 

As an employer, you must understand that increased remuneration alone will not prevent employees from quitting. Nowadays, many employees want to learn and grow. A study reveals that 75% of those employees who are enthusiastic about their career growth look for learning opportunities. The only caveat is they want to learn at their own pace.

If you do not make such opportunities available to them, they may be reluctant to engage themselves fully in your company's affairs. If this disenchantment is allowed to grow, they may decide to quit your company soon. So, you should constantly keep reviewing the learning opportunities available in your company so these employees will understand that you value their aspirations and are ready to help them in achieving their goals. 

2. Creating a two-way path

Many organizations commit the mistake of discussing the career goals of their employees only when the annual ritual of reviewing their performance is conducted. In fact, many employers do not discuss the career goals of their employees at all but they just assess their performance during these annual sessions. In other words, employers are oblivious of the fact that circumstances keep changing constantly and not just once a year. This means the goals of the employees may also undergo changes often. That is the reason you, as an employer, should create a two-way path so you can have ongoing discussions with your employees. Such an ongoing arrangement for communication will help you keep track of their career goals and also in checking their progress.

You must also guide your employees suitably so their career goals are in complete synergy with the goals of the company. This means when an employee achieves his career goal, your company will benefit also. 

3. Be ready to invest in inclusive and holistic development

This means you must not only help in the professional development of your employees but in their personal development as well. For example, some of your employees may be interested in reading and updating their knowledge. You can create a budget for setting up a library so you can fulfill the desire of such employees. Similarly, there may be employees who may be interested in fitness and so, you can put in place a well-equipped gym for fulfilling their desire. This approach may also help in retaining employees.

4. Recognize and motivate

Never fail to acknowledge and recognize the unique achievements of your employees. Remember that no achievement is trivial. Recognition at the workplace will go a long way in motivating them. Apart from appreciating them verbally, you must make it a point to offer perks they are interested in.

When employees realize that you are interested in helping them grow intheir career, they may willingly stay with your company for a long, long time.