Being the best
Do you want to be the best employee at work? Why do you try to be? My coach jabbed these irritating questions into me early in our relationship. My answers were no and like, cuz I don’t want to be bad at it. My reason being that if I was not the best at my job, I was also bad at it.
There were periods of work where I embraced the idea of being first in and last out. Each day ended with no email left behind. If someone needed something, I’d have the answer ready. I was overprepared and very particular. Even then, I knew I wasn’t “the best” at my job. There were plenty of people who knew a lot more than me, communicated more articulately than me, and were more vigilant with their inbox.
Some of the coolest perspectives I’ve received from other coaches is the idea that I don’t have to be the best or perfect at my job, if that’s not what I really want.
When that pressure fell off and I invested energy into the things that really mattered for me, I found all my boats lifted. I discovered more personal time, felt less stress, and — believe it or not — actually became more effective in my professional role.
Sometimes we view “goals” only through the lenses of work, finances, and the first two weeks of January, but they can be a lot broader. We have goals in our relationships, in our insides, in achieving dreams — it can be just a matter of articulation. I walked into coaching not knowing exactly what I wanted, but as my coach got to know who I was and what I cared about, she reflected back to me so that I could see them for the first time. Wait, I didn’t really want to be the best at my job so I didn’t need to act like it. I could take a B on this one, close up shop at a decent time, take that vacation.
My guess is you, too, are a more well-rounded person than just how you make money. This is why I like to work with people on professional AND personal goals.
There are things about ourselves we’re blind to but others can see. My first thought was that those are bad things, but why can’t they also be good or neutral things? Wouldn’t it be cool to find out more good things or more facts about yourself? What would you do if you were more aware of what’s really valuable to you? Would you take a walk instead of spending another hour on that email? Would you sign off at a normal time instead of delivering the report early? Would you delegate a task so you can focus on something more truly important to you?
These are most of the things you’ll find in a coaching relationship, because a skillful coach is one that wants to know you are and can help guide you to the choices that align with who you are. Go ahead and schedule a consultation with me so we can discuss what this looks like. Otherwise, keep learning about coaching on my site.
Go get ’em this week.
