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Photo Credit: Antwuan Malone
Younger employees and newer managers often wonder when the “easy” days are coming. Before becoming a grizzled business veteran, it is natural to assume there are days without constant challenges and those times when one can “bask under the sun.” Wrong.
As more experience you attain, the more firmly – sometimes, painfully – you become aware, days without challenges, large or small, simply do not exist. Whether you’re managing in a super-hot or stagnant economy, the challenges, while often different, will continue unabated. Even when operating in a monopoly, which rarely, if ever exists, managers/employees face challenges.
In the constantly competitive business environment of the 21st century, the challenges facing in a workplace simply change, but never diminish. Should you be a new manager or contemplating entry to the management clan, dismiss any preconceived notion that the challenge level will ever diminish. It won’t.
Understanding this fact of business life is important to allow you to keep the “competitive edge” and commitment to excellence necessary to be a consistent success. Don’t waste valuable energy fighting this reality, trying to deny or change it, or attempting to invent a painless alternative. Many others have tried without success. Understand this fact, accept it, and learn to take these challenges and turn them into opportunities that can accelerate your career.
Crises occur in good times and bad. Some are corporate life-threatening while others are merely annoying. Yet, all must be managed and overcome to ensure your successful future. Treating these potential disasters as opportunities to enhance your career might make the difference between the future success and failure of your executive career. Here are some tips to morph these challenges into opportunities for success.
Turn a crisis into an opportunity. Much like the fate of venerable leader, you cannot create the proper stage to display your talent. Circumstances must exist that give you this opportunity. A company, industry, or general economic crisis hands you the opportunity to separate yourself from the “managerial crowd” and rise above the competition.
It is easier to succeed and achieve when you are challenged. So, when your boss hands you challenging work, don’t slap your forehead and say “Amar kopal, amar kopal!” This is your perfect chance to be noticed and recognized. When real challenges or crises arise, you have the opportunity to step up, handle the situation, and resolve the problem successfully. And trust me, when you set your mind to attain something, you will most definitely figure out a solution for it. Advice? Always keep calm and never freak out when facing a challenge. Because there is always a solution hidden inside every problems that we encounter in our lives. Therefore, embrace the chance of superstardom and standout.
Get into full attack mode when strongly challenged. Facing a challenge is not a time for timidity. Attack a crisis or challenge with enthusiasm, confidence, and the conviction that you will win. Try to put aside the psychological and career risks associated with challenge and crisis, much like the best doctors, athletes, and world leaders do, to see the opportunities offered and attack possible solutions with high energy.
Don’t be shy. Be daringly innovative and try out some new, creative techniques. When you face a challenge, you should fight the natural tendency to “pull back” and simply maintain a status quo. Unless you have addressed a similar crisis in the past and have a game plan that works, this is a time to express your creativity. Be innovative and willing to try new techniques. Your willingness to try innovative approaches to meet new challenges displays your internal strength as well as your management ability to safeguard the corporate ship during a threatening storm.
Challenges come in many shapes, sizes, and danger levels. Attitude often determines whether people and companies face these crises successfully or crumble under the pressure. No one wants to exist in crisis management mode forever. This attitude often generates the wrong results when no specific challenge is on the table. However, adopting the suggestions noted above can accelerate your career or jumpstart a stalled one. You will be noticed and be able to create some new-found respect for your management abilities. Challenges are the source of new opportunities to establish your professionalism, decision-making quality, and ability to focus on a problem and solve it. So, be the smart one, then embrace the challenges today with an ear-to-ear smile on your face and be the ‘Captain Planet’ at your workplace-because the Power is Yours!
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