The twenties are often a self-centered time. Not in a bad way per se. You are going through a lot of learning and separating from home and becoming independent. It is a me time. However, in the process of becoming independent, understanding others can help you become smarter about yourself and help the larger cause, particularly in the workplace. Sometimes you get so caught up in worrying about whether you are doing a good job and what you need that don’t see opportunities to succeed. This woman has some good insight on how considering others can help you help yourself…
Help yourself to become a better manager…
“This could sound a little corny, but if I could go back and teach myself something, it would’ve been to genuinely see things from other people’s point of view. I think I was really self-centered in my twenties in a way that I wish I hadn’t been. I worried a lot more about me than other people. Thinking about the day to day in your life, you have to consider other people. Not just because you want them to do things for you, but because it will help you do more for the organization or the community. The more you understand what people need and what people’s anxieties and worries are, the better you are at working with people, the better manager you are, the less you get worked up about little stuff and the more you focus on what needs to get done and building some kind of community that will get it done.”
Help yourself overcome fear…
“Don’t be intimated. Everybody is human. No matter how confident or important someone seems, they have flaws and they make mistakes. They just have trouble admitting they make mistakes. You grow up and you realize this. It’s the same as when you’re a kid and think your parents have everything figured out. Then you grow up and you get to know them and you realize no, they are human beings with flaws and insecurities. The sooner you can see this at work the less your fear and insecurity will hold you back.”
Help yourself avoid stupid mistakes and email bombshells…
‘Try to think about how things that you say or write sound to others. Read your emails from somebody else’s perspective. Don’t speak hastily. Don’t assume that everybody has the same sense of humor as you do. Really think carefully how what you say sounds through somebody else’s eyes even to the point of re-reading the email out loud before you hit send. It’s possible to have the best of intentions and still make a mistake that is harmful to you or to hurt someone’s feelings.
– 40-something, married, working mom, PhD, Los Angeles, CA
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