Articulating Value
What is your role in the big scheme of things? Who is your work for? What is your work for? How are you contributing to the overall objectives of the team and organisation? What value are you adding?
If you look at your work from the perspective of the value you provide in relation to the core business of the organisation you work for, it is easier for you to articulate and understand the value you bring to the team, making it easier to do your work well.
Answering these questions will help you learn to love what you do by bringing more meaning and understanding to your work.
For example, If you are a receptionist at a health clinic, is it your job to simply answer the phone, take payments and book patients in/out? Or is it your job to create a connection between the clinic and the patient that goes beyond a simple transaction, and to interact with patients in a way that makes them feel safe and understood, all whilst managing their appointments and queries?
If you are an accountant in an organisation, is it your job to simply compile budgets, punch in numbers and balance chequebooks? Or is it your job to create a bridge between the leadership, commercial, technical and operational teams so they are all privy to the financial health of the organisation? To ensure the most important information is communicated to the decision-makers so they can put the company's resources to effective use?
If you are a mechanic, is it your job to simply service and repair vehicles? Or is it your job to proactively and effectively maintain an organisation’s fleet of assets so they are operating as efficiently as possible, to ensure the maximum life of the asset is achieved and the company gets a good return on investment?
The list goes on...
Have you heard the story of the three bricklayers?
After the great London fire of 1666, an Architect by the name of Christopher Wren was commissioned to rebuild St Paul's Cathedral.
Five years into the project, he was on-site observing three bricklayers and stopped to pose one simple question, "What are you doing?" to which the bricklayer replied, "I'm laying bricks, working hard to feed my family." The second bricklayer replied, "I'm a builder, I'm building a wall". The third bricklayer, the most productive and enthusiastic of them all, when asked the question, "What are you doing?" stopped what he was doing to look at Christopher, and smiled. "I'm building a great Cathedral."
There are a million and one versions on the internet, but they all tell the story of the same three bricklayers, working on the same wall, doing the same work, but with totally different perspectives.
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