About Your Work

I like Simon, one of three judges on American Idol. I find his feedback refreshingly honest. And while his words startle me with their ego wounding potential, the traditional feel-good, let-you-down-easy, sugar-coated feedback is not much of a gift. It's hard to tell someone they're not good enough and their dreams are not going to happen, at least in this venue. But not telling them is no gift either. Some contestants rise to the challenges he throws at them. Some don't. And, some can't. Which one are you?

The people who influenced me most in my career were those who gave me the hardest critiques. Stricken with a bruised-ego for days, or on occasion for months, inevitably their feedback helped me make the right life choices to improve, change direction, or stay the course with intensity. In fact, the boss who was the hardest on me is the one I thank the most. Good was not good enough if I was capable of better, and she was quick to point out when that was. No sugar coating from her. And the funny thing? When I was honest with myself, I knew she was right.

Being honest with yourself is one of the challenges to winning at working. We all have talents and abilities, but they're not always in the areas we pursue at work. Too many people I've run across in my career have American Idol Syndrome (AIS). Like Idol contestants auditioning with little or no singing ability, these people believe they are good at what they do. They can't understand why they don't get the promotion, the outstanding review, or the highest increases. They view themselves as varsity team material, but they play with junior varsity skills.

When I was a freshman at Stanford, I got a D in biology. Stanford graded on a bell-curve, so an 84% that might traditionally put me in a B category, was near the class bottom. Accustomed to A's, first quarter grades woke me up. At first, I rationalized a D at Stanford was an A or a B at most any other school. But, reality prevailed. I wasn't at another school. If I was going to compete at the school I was at, it was time to use more than high school skills to bring results.

Are you applying yourself? Are you as good as you could be to get the raise, the promotion, or the more interesting work? If these are things you want, don't suffer from AIS. Give yourself some Simon-esk feedback. Ego aside. A Simon-esk answer to the questions, "how good are you?" and "are you in the right field?" offers you a chance at becoming happier and more successful at working. The answers give you choices: you can stay the course; find a playing field at your skill level; improve your skills to compete where you are; or change directions.

(c) 2004 Nan S. Russell. All rights reserved.

Sign up to receive Nan's free biweekly eColumn at http://www.winningatworking.com. Nan Russell has spent over twenty years in management, most recently with QVC as a Vice President. She has held leadership positions in Human Resource Development, Communication, Marketing and line Management. Nan has a B.A. from Stanford University and M.A. from the University of Michigan. Currently working on her first book, Winning at Working: 10 Lessons Shared, Nan is a writer, columnist, small business owner, and on-line instructor. Visit http://www.nanrussell.com or contact Nan at info@nanrussell.com.

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Google News Updated : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:49:09 GMT Eagles' Westbrook out for Sunday's game - Sports Network Sports-Odds.com Eagles' Westbrook out for Sunday's game Sports Network - 28 minutes ago Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Philadelphia Eagles running back Brian Westbrook will not play on Sunday at San Francisco. Westbrook, who has been hampered by a sprained ankle he suffered in the Week 3 victory over Pittsburgh, fractured his ribs in ... Brian Westbrook: Ruled Out Rotowire Les Bowen: Eagles vs. 49ers: The pick Philadelphia Daily News WILM News Radio - NFL News - Kansas City Star - The Associated Press all 642 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:20:18 GMT NATO agrees on Afghan drug role for military - The Associated Press Boston Globe NATO agrees on Afghan drug role for military The Associated Press - 1 hour ago BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) - NATO defense ministers Friday authorized their troops in Afghanistan to attack drug barons blamed for pumping up to US$100 million (euro74 million) a year into the coffers of resurgent Taliban fighters. NATO Joins Drug War in Afghanistan Voice of America NATO to Hit Drug Trade in Afghanistan New York Times AFP - Bloomberg - International Herald Tribune - Times Online all 1,309 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:11:48 GMT Help Support Breast Cancer Awareness With Lifespring Health - MarketWatch ChattahBox Help Support Breast Cancer Awareness With Lifespring Health MarketWatch - 1 hour ago Lifespring Health will be Donating $5 to the Susan G. Komen Foundation Each Time you Shop Online This Month SUNNYVALE, Calif., Oct 10, 2008 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- October is breast cancer awareness month! Go "Passionately Pink for the Cure" on Oct. 17 Atlantic News Telegraph Panera Bread to sell pink bagels Times Herald-Record SkinInc.com - BurlingtonFreePress.com - Chambersburg Public Opinion - Penn State Worthington Scranton all 68 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:05:31 GMT States probe possible voter registration fraud - Chicago Tribune ABC News States probe possible voter registration fraud Chicago Tribune - 1 hour ago Questions about possible cases of fraudulent voter registrations were being raised this week as officials in several states investigated hundreds of questionable or duplicate registration forms submitted by an advocacy group. Carnahan statement on ACORN registration mess Kansas City Star Republicans try to tie Obama to vote fraud cases Boston Globe ABC News - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Inter Press Service - MyFox Tampa Bay all 1,193 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:48:10 GMT UPDATE 1-Bush says US moving quickly to solve market crisis - Forbes Canada.com UPDATE 1-Bush says US moving quickly to solve market crisis Forbes - 1 hour ago WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Friday the US government was moving aggressively to address the financial markets crisis, but he acknowledged that anxiety was feeding on itself as stocks continued to plunge. Bush appeals for confidence CNNMoney.com Bush Says Markets Must Remain Calm Despite Challenges Washington Post Reuters - The Associated Press - TheStreet.com - CNN all 1,456 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 16:33:45 GMT Coleman calls off negative ads - Minneapolis Star Tribune MinnPost.com Coleman calls off negative ads Minneapolis Star Tribune - 24 minutes ago By Patricia Lopez, Star Tribune ...and it has nothing at all to do with several outlets (including one of Franken's ads) letting us know that a Coleman ad that wants us to … read more see Franken looking out of control/angry, is actually video of ... Coleman: I'll remove negative ads and urge others to do same Pioneer Press Coleman says he'll pull negative ads to focus on economy Minnesota Public Radio KAALtv.com - The Hill - The Associated Press - OpEdNews all 460 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:25:04 GMT A Cautious Approach to Gardasil Shot - U.S. News & World Report Canada.com A Cautious Approach to Gardasil Shot U.S. News & World Report - 34 minutes ago News today cheering the fact that 1 in 4 teen girls has received the Gardasil vaccine sounds to me like some serious spin from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the government agency pushing girls as young as 9 to get the shot. Cancer Vaccine Used by 25% of Girls 13 to 17 New York Times Quarter of adolescent US girls received HPV vaccine Reuters WebMD - dBTechno - Wall Street Journal - eFluxMedia all 463 news articles Publ.Date : Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:14:13 GMT Clickbank Datafeed Work At Home

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