Jim McCarthy's Blog, page 2
April 9, 2018
Screw Your “Job.” Define Your “Calling.”
Are you employed?
What do you work on?
And WHY do you do this work?
Are you there just to get paid, and for no other reason?
Are you seeking to achieve and advance?
Or does your work fill you with purpose?
You can think of your work as any of these three scenarios, according to Dr. Amy Wrzesniewski, a professor of organizational behavior at the Yale School of Management.
In this interview, she describes the three types of “work orientation”:
“A Job” – you just want the paycheck,
“A Career” – you are invested in your work, and you want to succeed, and
“A Calling” – you feel your work contributes to the greater good, draws on your strengths, and gives you meaning.
All of us can relate to having a job. And many of us can relate to having a career. But how many of us really feel like we have a “calling”? And if we are not yet working on “our calling”, what can we do about it?
Dr. Wrzesniewski’s amazing finding was this: Your work orientation is INDEPENDENT of the sort of work you do. She notes that “I’ve studied surgeons who have a ‘job’ orientation – the work is a paycheck and not much else. I’ve studied people who scrub toilets for whom it is a ‘Calling’ and they feel the work is an end in itself and that it makes the world a better place in tangible ways.”
Think about that! Just imagine surgeons – well-educated, well-paid, high social status. Yet some of them view their work as only for the money. Then you have janitors – usually not well-educated. Not well-paid. Low social status. But some of them still view their endeavors as a “calling.” Who do you think enjoys their work more? Who do you think is happier?
Consistent with these findings, Shawn Achor notes in his outstanding book The Happiness Advantage (page 79) that in one study of 24 administrative assistants performing the same role, roughly 1/3rd viewed their work as a job, 1/3rd as a career, and 1/3rd as a calling. He concludes “a calling orientation can have just as much to do with mindset as it does with the actual work being done…unhappy employees can find ways to improve their work life that don’t involve quitting, changing jobs or careers, or going off to find themselves.”
Why is this such good news for you and me? Because it means that “how” you think about your work is more important than “what” work you do. It means that you can BRING MEANING to your work, as long as you think about it the right way.
For example, I have spent most of my career in Silicon Valley working in ecommerce and online advertising. Some people would say “advertising is nonsense” or “I hate banner ads because they interrupt my user experience” or “it’s creepy how online advertising stalks people.” Honestly, none of those objections ever bothered me. The way I looked at it, products and services need to be sold. Marketing and advertising is part of that sales process. Most online companies could only exist through an advertising revenue model. And it was really challenging, fun, and innovative to figure out how to deliver increasingly effective online ad campaigns. Those reasons were good enough for me to really love the work I did on the internet, and define great purpose and meaning in that work.
As another example, a close friend of mine manages budgets and financial grants for a group of medical researchers and scientists at the University of California, San Francisco. I tend to view her job as “bean counting.” Honestly, it’s not work that I would personally enjoy doing.
But my friend does not view it as “bean counting.” Instead, she defines her role as enabling world-class scientists to focus on their research, so they can help UCSF in their mission “advancing health worldwide” (as they advertise on busses you can see throughout San Francisco!) My friend might sometimes complain about small aspects of her work, but she ALWAYS finds meaning in how her work supports her organization’s main goal.
Product managers, software developers, designers, marketers, and sales people all play an essential role in their companies, building and selling products and services which help others and create jobs. In those same organizations, there are accountants, recruiters, administrative assistants, trainers, infrastructure and facilities people who keep the business running. Similarly, a bus driver can think that they are helping public transportation and reducing greenhouse gases. Teachers, parents, and home care providers play a vital role in our society.
Every one of these people can define their work as a job. Or a career. Or a calling. It’s up to them.
What work have you done which has been just a “job” for you? Were you able to re-define it as your “career”, or even as your “calling?” If so, how did you get there?
Thanks for sharing your experiences in the comments section below. I’d love to hear your story.
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March 27, 2018
Are You Ready to Do What Only You Can Do? Start Now!
“International Happiness Day” is March 20 every year. Which made me think about what makes people happy, and inspired me to create this 58-second video, entitled “Are You Ready To Do What Only You Can Do? Start Now!” Let me know what you think in the Comments section.
“The mental piece is the biggest challenge.”
Business people can learn a lot from sports! This article is full of powerful, practical lessons on how to prepare, exhale slowly, be mindful, focus on the task (not the results), and compete against yourself (and nobody else.) Find out “How to Manage Stress Like an Olympic Biathlete.”
Word of Mouth
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How to be Resilient
“What doesn’t kill me, makes me strong.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
“If everything was perfect, you would never learn and you would never grow.”
Beyoncé
For more videos on how to lead on how to be happy and lead peak performance teams, just check out my YouTube channel!
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March 26, 2018
Latest Innovation Secrets from California
I grew up in Omaha, but have lived in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1991. When I first arrived here, the biggest Silicon Valley companies were probably Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Oracle…and Apple Computer. Since then, something called “the Internet” has happened, and Bay Area companies (Yahoo, eBay, Google, LinkedIn, Facebook, Salesforce, Netflix, Uber, Airbnb…and Apple again!) have led those innovations, too.
But what makes Silicon Valley “innovative”? Here are a few articles which illustrate that California in general, and Silicon Valley in particular, continue to creatively push boundaries, in our endless quest for better, faster, cheaper — and happier.
Compassion as a key leadership skill
I remember when yoga was considered weird and funky. Heck, I remember when jogging was considered strange! So I should not be surprised that many people think meditation is silly — until everyone starts doing it, as a way to make their lives better. I’m delighted to see my alma mater being innovative by teaching the importance of mindfulness for leaders. Learn about “Chief Kindness Officers?”
My favorite place in the world
My wife and I recently did a personal retreat at the Esalen Institute, located in gorgeous Big Sur, California. I’ve done seven retreats there over the past decade, ranging in topics from ecstatic Brazilian dance to interpersonal relationships to meditation. All of them have been transformative for me. Some people say the entire “New Age” movement started there. Although it’s easy to laugh at Esalen’s previous nudist hippie setting, a lot of great thinking and breakthrough practices have been developed there, and are still taking place today. Read about “Where Silicon Valley Is Going to Get in Touch With Its Soul.”
Incredibly fierce competitors…thanks to mindfulness
Many people admire the amazing talent and athleticism of the NBA’s reigning champions. But it’s especially cool to see that one key to their success seems very Californian, as well! Learn how the Golden State Warriors are a lesson in mindfulness, empathy, and cooperation.
Innovations in building happy, peak performance teams
Recently Philip Inghelbrecht, CEO and Co-founder of Tatari, asked me to do a workshop as a team-building exercise for his organization. (Philip was a co-founder of Shazam, a wonderfully innovative media engagement app.)
Afterwards, Philip wrote “Jim’s workshop taught the Tatari team simple, practical ways to reduce our stress, increase our focus, and enjoy our lives more. This was a great use of our time, and highly impactful team building experience.”
Please contact me if you’d like to learn how I could bring any of my workshops to your organization.
Inspiration
“If you take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves.”
Tibetan Saying
Be well,
Jim
[ I sent this post as my regular email newsletter on January 25, 2018.]
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My Workshop for Amazon’s Alexa Team
I was honored when Joe Walowski, VP of Alexa at Amazon, recently asked me to conduct a workshop for his global leadership team. Amazon is one of the most intense and successful organizations in the world, so I knew their expectations would be very high for my presentation.
Joe requested that I create a 90-minute talk with the theme of “Ownership,” which is one of Amazon’s Leadership Principles. I came up with the title “Taking Ownership: How to Keep Calm, Be Courageous, and Enjoy the Journey.” It was a highly interactive, practical workshop, in which we went over science-based daily practices to lower your stress, train your brain for success, and boost your gratitude.
After the workshop, Joe wrote:
“Jim’s session turned out to be a high point of our 2-day event. The team deeply appreciated this focus on their well-being, and many folks commented to me on the power of Jim’s personal story. I’m very happy we did it and I would recommend it to others.”
Would you like me to customize a workshop for your team, as well? Just send me an email and let me know when we can talk about you next team meetings, off-sites, or conferences.
You can see workshop descriptions, testimonials, and videos here.
The Basics of Great Teams
The New York Times has an excellent overview for managers, with lots of practical advice on goals, company culture, and communication. Check out “How to Build a Successful Team.”
Reducing Your Stress During the Holidays
People tend to find the holidays either stressful…or VERY stressful! ; – )
Here are a variety of simple, effective tips to help you maintain your happiness, from Psychology Today and The Mayo Clinic.
Inspiration
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart. Wishing you happiness.”
Helen Keller
Be well,
Jim
[ I sent this post as my regular email newsletter on December 7, 2017.]
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Secrets to Happy, Impactful Teams
Would you like to be happier at work?
Would you like to boost the performance of your team at work – whether you’re a manager, or an individual contributor?
I hope you find this post useful in addressing those questions…
1). Motivate your team. Do NOT demotivate them ; – )
Sometimes the best thing is knowing what NOT to do…and then focusing on the opposite of that. Here is practical advice on “7 Ways Managers Motivate and Demotivate Employees.”
2). Change your attitude and boost your happiness at work
This is an insightful piece from Harvard Business Review. Quote: “Three of the most common happiness traps—ambition, doing what’s expected of us, and working too hard—seem productive on the surface but are harmful when taken to the extreme.” Read the full story on “Happiness Traps.”
3). Get enough sleep, if you want to be healthier and smarter
I’m a big fan of UC Berkeley’s Dr. Matthew Walker. He notes: “Human beings are the only species that deliberately deprive themselves of sleep for no apparent gain.”
Listen to the entire fascinating interview.
And if you need more convincing of the importance of sleep, please check out this insightful and well-researched article, “The 21 Health Benefits For Sleeping”.
4). Learn secrets of Silicon Valley teams
I recently conducted a newer, 3-hour version of my workshop “Secrets of Silicon Valley Teams: From Dysfunction to Peak Performance.”
Some of the written feedback:
“We covered a lot of what it means to create a great team.”
“Smart and clear framework. (Also concise)”
“Better than expected. Thought it would be more ‘motivating speaking’ – was actually more relaxed, easy to implement, practical.”
“Nice coherence between life and work.”
Learn more about this workshop.
5). Inspiration
“I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers.”
Ralph Nader
American political activist
Take care,
Jim
[ I sent this post as my regular newsletter email on November 2, 2017.]
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I was asked how to build great teams. Here’s what I said.
Mark Kelly is an awesome young business leader, based in Ireland. He asked me for my best advice on how to build peak performance teams, because I’ve been working in Silicon Valley for 20 years. We did a video recording for his blog, called “What I Know Now.”
Watch the entire 20-minute video here. Or, you can skip forward to specific parts of the video, so you can get my thoughts on..
2:50 – what makes teams effective
3:40 – the three main reasons why people are successful on teams
5:40 – how to turn teams around and work in tough cultures
8:30 – how to give and receive feedback in weekly one on ones
11:00 – dealing with my cancer diagnosis
12:48 – how happiness is a skill you can develop
14:49 – what advice would I give to my 18-year old self
To find out how my new workshops and keynotes could help your organization, please click here. Or just email me!
I look forward to hearing from you,
Jim
[ I sent this post as my regular email newsletter on October 5, 2017.]
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