Workplace Currents and Getting To The Other Side
Do you find navigating workplace currents a challenge? Are you fighting upstream, going with the flow, or simply trying to get to the other side?
What strategy for navigating workplace currents would you recommend?
Survivalists Message
Survivalists claim that the best way to cross a stream in waist deep water is to face directly across the stream. They suggest you shouldn’t face upstream, or downstream, but you should stay focused on an exit point on the other side.
The logic seems to be that facing upstream could cause you to slip, lose your balance, and topple backwards, possibly drowning. Facing downstream may get you across but not where you need to be as you would slowly be drifting away from your exit.
Is this similar to navigating workplace currents?
Workplace Currents
Certainly, confidence and approaching obstacles head on has its value. Yet, going with the flow feels like the easier route.
Perhaps it depends on the goal. For many, career growth is very important, yet it may feel like a catastrophic failure will seal your fate.
Sometimes surviving the workplace current is the most important aspect. You still want to thrive, but first you have to get through the current.
Much of what happens next depends on how you choose to navigate. Our belief systems and what we tell ourselves will have a significant impact on the outcomes.
So will the idea of keeping your eye on the prize.
Sometimes the hardest part is not the obstacle itself, it is the concentration and focus required to stick with your goal.
-DEG
Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSPTM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.
