day 1400: Are We Really Listening?

While I am on a pilgrimage walk on the Camino de Santiago (St. James Way) in Spain, I have asked some of the most committed and courageous faith-driven business leaders I know to guest contribute to Purposed worKING.  Enjoy! - Rusty
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“A wise man will hear and increase learning, And a man of understanding will attain wise counsel.”

There is one thing that seems to be a common thread for me this year – “hear all sides before creating an opinion.”  Throughout all areas of my life, whether it’s in my day-job in executive recruiting, as a board member, or as a parent, I have seen how easy it is to form an opinion or pass judgment.  In today’s world of connectivity and loud chatter there is no shortage of opinions. Just read your Twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn feeds. Read the WSJ, NY Times, the forbidden People Magazine or listen to the office gossip. We are bombarded with messages and assumptions… “I can’t believe they let her go?” “Why was she promoted instead of him?”  “That’s an awful yelp or glassdoor review!” “We should retain XYZ firm, they rocked the presentation.” “The Board of Directors’ decision was ridiculous – why would they ever pursue that path.”  Personally and professionally we develop opinions and make assumptions as fast as Drew Brees can throw a touchdown pass (couldn’t help but mention my ‘who dat’ team!) If we make key decisions without hearing both sides or digging deeper for clarification, we risk making unwise decisions. We are striving to be wise leaders, leaders that people can trust. Alan Alda once said, "Listening is being able to be changed by the other person."

Catch yourself now! As you hear or see something or if you are close to “jumping on the band-wagon” -- seek counsel, ask clarifying questions, seek references just to confirm your initial assessment. Acquiring wisdom and knowledge through wise counsel takes a bit of extra time. Having the courage to ask tough questions can’t be underestimated when you have significant decisions to make. As His Word tells us in James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”  This pushes us to partner closer to God as we listen first and then take His direction. Before passing judgment by only hearing one-side-of-the-story, take heed to the Word to listen, remain teachable and have a receptive attitude.  With all the messages being sent to us every day, filter out what the Lord is telling you.  We need to allow His word to develop us to be the wise leaders Christ calls us to be.

Reference: Proverbs 1:5(NKJV)

Cecelia Gonzalez

day 1087: Job Satisfaction

"Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives."

It's hard to identify something that is more top of mind than how satisfied someone is in their job. Job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction can be big drivers for influence and impact in the rest of our lives. Consider the high that we feel and carry home on the days when we are most satisfied with our jobs.  It could be driven by a promotion, salary increase, positive performance rating, recognition or just the knowledge of accomplishing something that was hard and seemed unattainable until we got it done.  These are great mountain high days.  Conversely, there are the valley low days too when all the above have a flips-side, or as simple as the wrong word being said to us that can make us feel like we have been dropped emotionally like a rock.  What really impacts job satisfaction is in itself a mystery. Recently there was an article in the Wall Street Journal where writer Sue Shellenberger referenced a 2011 study from the Journal of Applied Psychology that stated "that inherited traits may be responsible for about 27% of the variance in people's job satisfaction."   She goes on to say that these traits can be things like the type of dopamine receptor gene we have that is "tied to risk-taking, weak impulse control and attention deficit disorder, and thus tend to be less satisfied with their jobs",  Shellenberger referenced from a study from the National University of Singapore.  I am not surprised with these findings as I have watched the variable high highs and low lows of so many people who all work in the same place, sometimes doing the same jobs. Job satisfaction is tricky and complex and any of us who have any responsibility for someone else being satisfied in their jobs should be thinking holistically about the factors and how to manage this critical area of business.

As believers we can approach each day with the King giving us all we need to receive to find satisfaction.  God's love is waiting us when we wake, when we leave the house, when we clock-in, when we get to that first email or meeting. The challenge is to keep that first and foremost as the driver of our satisfaction on and off the job and to not let any other swaying words, influences, or reactions to take us off the satisfaction track.  If we are truly working to bring glory to God in all that we do, how can we really not be satisfied?

Reference: Psalm 90:14 (New Living Translation)