FRUSTRATION AT WORK PART TWO-
Before we step up to the plate and discuss how to deal with the selectively deaf boss, colleague, direct report or client, let’s first review the root cause of frustration at work.
WHY? Because, in order to create an actionable, effective strategy we need to understand the root of the problem at hand.
The ability to overcome frustration at work starts when we decide to become the victor and not the victim. The leader who will take whatever is wrong, and find a way to use it to achieve our true intention. And, more often than not, when we are held hostage by a dark and powerful emotion like anger, fear, jealously, envy, hatred, our primary intention flies out the window and sales away in a invisible cloud of smoke and fire.
What is our true primary intention? Love is not only “The Killer App”, to quote the title of that ingenious business best seller; after our basic need for food and shelter are met, we all share the same primary intention- to be loved. We find love through our relationships, and we find love through doing good work that makes us feel that we have something worthwhile and valuable to contribute. And, some of us try to find love by amassing money, collecting trophies of accomplishment that validate us. But, when we really stand naked with our truth, we all know that the BMW is not coming with us when we leave this world. When we are buying the car, we are buying what it means to us. When we seek to achieve success in our relationships and in our careers we are really searching for is the meaning behind our accomplishments. That meaning is love.
What happens to our primary intention when we cannot find it in our work, in the arena where we spend the bulk of our hours? What happens when we feel invalidated by the culture in which we work, invalidated by our boss, our colleagues or clients? What happens when we are wedged into a corporate culture that is out of alignment with our values? What happens when we are stuck in a job that does not allow us to express our true potential? What happens when we begin to live to work, only to find out that there is no passion, no drop of that illusive spirit of living life to the fullest in our working hours? We feel a plethora of negative emotions that wind the noose of frustration tighter and tighter around our neck because our primary intention appears impossible to achieve.
Where is the love? So how can we make gold from tin? How can we use what is to create what we want to be when dealing with a selectively deaf boss, colleague, direct report or client? Next posting! Stay tuned!!