Preparing yourself effectively for today's workplace
Preparing yourself effectively for today's workplace
Pri Notowidigdo, Amrop Hever, Global Executive Search, Jakarta
New trends have affected our lives in the workplace. Key
trends include a shift from hierarchies to networks in
organizations. Markets have become increasingly global.
What worked in the past may not necessarily work in these
times of rapid change requiring us to shift to continuous
learning.
Where the individual would excel in the past, business success
today is a function of effective teamwork. A sense of job
security is being increasingly challenged by the need for
personal growth. Human capital has become competitive advantage.
These ongoing work trends mean that you have to make some
changes yourself to manage this change and find fulfillment. What
are these changes?
* Being more information-oriented. Knowing how to access
information through developing networks and developing research
skills will give you independence;
* Developing your people skills. With the trend toward working
in teams, learning what it takes to work well on a team becomes
critical. People skills will also mean enhancing your network,
helping your leadership potential, your ability to work in a
culturally diverse global environment and success with customers.
* Being more responsible for yourself. If companies are not
offering security any more, your objective has to include a
desire to learn continuously whether formally or informally.
How will all this affect you?
You may find yourself with not one but several careers.
Moreover, your career may move sideways not steadily upwards.
You will have to accept the fact that there is no job security.
Your motivation will be less measured by status and ambition but
more by freedom, health and satisfaction.
Education will be an ongoing process. If you thought about
retiring at 55, this may never happen. Or retirement may mean new
forms of work or new adventures. The bottom line will be to find
spiritual and community fulfillment through discovering who you
are.
You may feel that all this will not happen to you. And so you
decide not to make a decision.
However, remember that not making a decision is a decision.
And if you decide not to decide, think about what may happen to
you. If you let someone else decide on your career, it will
affect your life. If you don't define your future, then someone
else will. And how much can you trust them? If you decide not to
change with the changing workplace, then you will be left behind.
Most importantly, by not changing for the better, you will lose
your passion for developing what you do and who you are.
Oliver Wendell Holmes said that "The human mind, once
stretched to a new idea, never goes back to its original
dimensions."
What are you waiting for?
(The writer can be reached at jakarta@amrophever.com)