Three surprising questions to figure out what you want

What pisses you off?

I’ll make sure to clarify first at the start of this insight. I’m just asking this question about the work you do.

I’m not asking you about things in your personal life that piss you off. So if your spouse never cleans out the dishwasher, sorry for you, but that’s not the stuff I’m interested in.

What pisses me off is bad leadership.

You get to lead a team of people, and you suck at it. You never really prepared yourself for the job. You don’t know how to inspire and motivate. You don’t know how to have a proper feedback conversation. You’re not open to feedback from others. And you’re more interested in people higher up in the hierarchy than your own team.

Those people exist. And I’m sure you know someone because there are lots of them. 

They’re actually not leaders. They’re managers, and even that they don’t do well. 

I hope you see why I’m asking this first question. 

Because it helps you to identify an area of interest in your working life that may help you get closer to doing the work you like.

I took this question from the book “You’re the brand” by Mike Kim. Good book for those interested in being a solopreneur.

The second question is, what breaks your heart?

What breaks my heart is people doing jobs they don’t enjoy. For years.

It’s public knowledge that I left a role last year after seventy days. The money wasn’t bad, but not great either. The culture wasn’t mine. The commute was worse than expected. And the conversations were the same as before. 

So I left. 

And I didn’t regret my decision for a second.

Don’t tell me you don’t have a choice. You always have a choice. And you have only one life. 

If you’re not happy at work, leave. If your boss is someone like the manager I described above, leave. If the team you’re part of is not really a team, leave.

Life is too short to waste it.

Erikjan Lantink

The market is hot at the moment. Good people are needed, so make yourself visible and get out there. Or start your own business.

The last question is, what’s the big problem you’re trying to solve. 

The big problem I’m trying to solve is that many companies are consistently operating under their potential. Because their teams have so much more potential.

Often, bad leaders are managing those companies. 

Perhaps not intentionally bad, but they were never taught the soft skills properly. This is why, and I repeat myself, the soft skills are the real hard skills.

Because they’re not investing time in team development and team effectiveness. “No time” is BS. It’s just not a priority to them. 

Because they have people employed, who are not happy what they’re doing. And that’s a problem for those people, but also for the company. People who are not engaged are less productive. 

The three questions I answered in this insight are a good reminder I’m on the right track. 

Helping leaders, teams, and people be better at what they do. So everybody gains.

Now it’s your turn:

1. “What pisses you off?
    
2. What breaks your heart? 
    
3. What’s the big problem you are trying to solve?”

Do more of what makes you happy!

Erikjan