by Julie Gebauer, Towers Perrin
Accept the job you’re in – even if it’s not perfect – and do it really well. That’s the advice Macy’s CEO, Terry Lundgren, is giving today’s workers. It worked well for him and he thinks it is one of the keys to building a successful career. He believes that doing good work will simply lead to more opportunities.
At first blush, this advice for employees appears outdated, especially for the Gen X and Y workforce. Why wait around in a job that’s not as challenging as you’d like? Why not let your boss know you’re ready to do more? There are actually some good reasons to follow Mr. Lundgren’s advice. In fact, managers and leaders should actively consider how this advice applies to their employees – especially given today’s economic crisis. Here’s why:
- From a practical perspective, the perfect job – or even a better job – may not exist. The global economic crisis is certainly impacting job availability in the short-term and may do so for the longer-term as people who were otherwise intending to retire are rethinking their plans. If there’s not a way to make the current job engaging, companies are likely to have suboptimal performance.
- There are ways to do things better in almost every job. Taking a job beyond it’s stated boundaries can be demanding and rewarding. Employees who are in a job that doesn’t seem challenging enough on the surface can look for ways to streamline processes, improve products, or develop new business models.
- Considering the longer-term, employees with a strong and broad foundation in their business are often better equipped to move to more senior levels in an organization. With a weak foundation, the career ladder will become wobbly at some point, limiting an employee’s ability to move past a certain rung.
- Employees who have first-hand experience in a variety of areas within a business can often develop win-win solutions for all stakeholders impacted by an issue. For example, a Regional Sales Director who also spent time in entry-level R&D and marketing roles is better equipped to establish and sustain an important market feedback process to inform new product development and marketing campaigns.
Given the continued importance of learning and development as an engagement driver in today’s economic situation, managers will be well-served to recognize these concepts.
Based on the opinions of the millions of people we survey each year, we know that an increasing percentage of people have a positive view about their long-term career prospects (up to 68% favorable in Q1 2009 from 60% favorable in Q1 2008). However, fewer people believe their company provides the information and resources to help them manage their careers (down to 58% favorable in Q1 2009 from 65% favorable in Q1 2008).
Managers should be clear with employees about their development opportunities in their current role, and even set relevant goals in this area. Managers should reiterate the long-term benefits to employees of blooming where they’re planted and be transparent about the path for moving ahead.
