Tonight I was reading an article that I marked on my reading list several months ago. It was basically a summary of how Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs, and the majority of those reasons are based upon dissatisfaction with their boss.
Upon my initially reading and immediate emotional reactions, I was overwhelmingly grateful to be in a job and in an environment where I actually don’t feel that way; I truly love my job, and I thought I would share why.
– I am trusted. This is huge. I have been in several jobs over my middle aged lifetime. And quite honestly, the first began with my dad on the family farm and went on to include a teaching job in a school district, a pastor in local ministry, and a coach and consultant for church leaders. I have never felt more trusted by my team leader and my associates than I have here at Church Community Builder. Why is that? It’s all about the security in the leader, and that my a friend, is for another post.
– I am valued. I am not perfect. I am still learning and growing and developing. And I would consider that to be happening literally everyday. Everyday I am learning. And everyday I am growing. You see my value is not in what I know and how well I can coach a church through change management. My value to my team comes from who I am as a person – who I am in all of my imperfections and idiosyncrasies. My character is more valuable than my capability.
– I am free. I am free to grow. I am free to learn. And here’s the big one – I’m free to make mistakes. Actually, my team leader encourages me to make mistakes. Who wouldn’t love to be told, “Hey, go out there and make some mistakes today.” You never quite learn as much by doing it all right. You learn significantly more if you fail and have to pull it back together and make another attempt.
So, I’m happily not in the 64 percent of Americans unhappy with their job. I am grateful to be in the 36 percent thanks to some great leaders. Are you a member of the 36 or the 64? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.
I agree being trusted is a large part of what has changed my attitude about my job. I also love my job because it gives me the opportunity to learn and grow without constraints. Thanks for this post.
Again, you got me thinking. There are good character traits and bad ones. I went on line and googled character traits. Long list for sure. I read through thinking about the ones I tend to steer towards and those I try to uncover when I’m interviewing for a position at TIH. I also thought of myself as I looked over the list. And that made me thank God for his amazing grace. I find a blessing in being in an environment where iron can truly sharpen iron. Creating that is very challenging but very exciting. Great character is capable of a lot! And the environment is everything in seeing great character achieve and accomplish great things. Do you agree?
@Amy,
I completely agree! Greater character is capable of a lot. That’s why our company is often more concerned about finding a person of great character. A lot of skills can be taught, but it’s much tougher to teach character. People with great character that are gathered together accomplish amazing things!
Thanks for sharing!
Jon