Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Tracking the missing link: Why should you distinguish yourself?

“Being part of the commodity crowd erodes your value.” Rajesh Setty

Last week I had the opportunity of attending an interview with an upcoming media firm. However without divulging much of it, I learnt some valuable lesson that I thought are worthy blogging about.

The world of work is endowed with a constant pressure to give more, be more effective, be more efficient and be more productive. In such a demanding and competitive environment one needs to think differently and be different. It is with that in mind that I set on a pursuit to distinguish myself and move above the commodity crowd of graduates.

In order to distinguish oneself it is important to embark on a continuous expedition of self improvement. This involves working on short term skills that provides short term results as well as developing competency in technical skills which are necessary for success in the competitive world of work.

One thing I have learnt on my present-day journey to success is “sometimes you win and sometimes you lose”. However what determines whether you are one of the statistics or stand out above the commodity crowd is not the failing down but how fast you recover from a failure and start marching on.

There are many limitations in life nevertheless in order to live our dreams we do not have to extend these limitations to our imagination. We need to be creative and innovative so as to live our dreams. Setting the right expectations is of paramount of importance. The application of the philosophy ‘under promise and over deliver’, of customer relation management to setting realistic expectations is of value in minimizing dissatisfaction.

In the quest for personal growth and success one has to seek ways of improving relationships with friends, family and also work on how to get or keep a dream job. In order to do so, certain personality factors which are sometimes technically referred to as ‘Likeability factors’ are indispensable.

In his book titled “How to boost your L factor and achieve your life’s dreams”, Tim Sanders highlighted four critical factors of individual personality that should be boosted.

•Friendliness: your ability to communicate liking and openness to others
•Relevance: your capacity to connect with others' interests, wants, and needs
•Empathy: your ability to recognize, acknowledge, and experience other people's feelings
•Realness: the integrity that stands behind your likeability and guarantees its authenticity

The improvement of these areas goes beyond boosting your likeability factor, to bring out the best in others and give a hand in surviving the life’s challenges whilst enabling you to outperform your daily responsibilities.

8 comments:

Valentin said...

Maxwell, a veru truthful description of how one needs to improve himself (herself) in order to succeed at the workplace.
Definitely, those areas that you mention (fiendliness, empathy, realness, relevenace) should be subjects to constant improvement at the work-place (and in life, in general).
In fact, every interview is an experience: it teaches you what you are missing out and yet what you need to build up or improve (such as skills, behaviour, attitudes, values etc.).
And certainly the good chance will come sooner or later(finding a good job)! I believe-to all of us indeed!
I also like your style and language in this particular blog. It is very well-written (in a good and appropriate style) and yet very accessible to understand. Well done!

Ijeoma Uche-Okeke said...

Hello Maxwell,
What have you been up to? I do hope you've bagged an internship opportunity. You've been quite silent. Well, we can't allow that. You must keep in touch!! Good luck!!

Ijeoma Uche-Okeke said...

Hello Maxwell,
Thank you so much for sharing your interview experience with us. I like what you say about constantly improving and developing yourself and your potential. It's not about success alone but again, about the relationships we build as we climb the so-called corporate ladder. Thank you again for your quiet introspection and observation. You are not very talkative but you have some very solid qualities. Wishing you all the best as you continue on this journey to self-actualisation.

Thomas Michael Blaser said...

A very useful post. Thanks for sharing your insights. The likable factor is so important. Successful people are widely liked. I mean people still go crazy about Bill Clinton! At times I put honest criticism above likability as I felt its better to be honest than liked. But now I know that to be liked is equally important. People listen better to people they like, after all.

Susan Arthur said...

Thanks Maxwell. Do you have the book "the L factor" to add to our book club? It sounds very interesting. Thinking back to Fiona's talk about leadership and followership, I think a good leader who is liked will be followed. (although they also sometimes have to make tough choices, and not necesarilly ones that everyone will like). But definitely, thinking of Mandela, his charisma factor is one of the big things that influences his image.

It's also important to remember as interns to be likeable - it's about "relationship capital", and not just networking. (from the video that Mbigi showed us)

Please let us know about any updates with internships for you, and also others in the group!

Adam N. Mukendi said...

How far you recover from your fall? That is verywell said Maxwell. As says Ijeoma, failure shoudn't be an option. Me fall down but we should get up says the Bible. How many interviews did you fail to? 5 or 10. You should stay positive and belive in yourself no matter what. You can make it as I will make it. God bless.

Susan Mwangi said...

It has been two weeks since I started my internship and it is plain that relationships play a crucial role at the work place. Having the qualities you discuss: friendliness, relevance, empathy and realness helps to make the work place a lively and creative place to be. This blog post reminds me of the “Is it better to be liked or to be respected” debate. I think the two do not have to be mutually exclusive.

So, smile some, and make someone’s day today!

Maxwell Nyamajiwa said...

Thank you guys for your comments they are so encouraging.