Reality TV – Lessons to avoid
As reality television shows winnow down their contestant pools and begin their final stretch to finding a winner, the hosts often start asking the competitors the same question, “Why should you get picked to win?”
In most cases, the answers are the same. The contestants argue that they’ve worked hard, it’s always been their dream to sing, dance, or run a company, or they can’t think of doing anything else in life.
Recently I asked a group of leaders a similar question, “What value do you bring to the organization?” The answers were surprisingly similar in nature. The leaders talked about what they like to do and how hard the work at doing it.
I don’t doubt either group’s sincerity. They gave good honest answers. The problem is that the answers were inwardly focused.
Too often we focus on what we want or get out of an organization (or from a person) rather than what we have to offer.
If you want to be the next American Idol, America needs to know that you will have their interests at heart and will be the best person to meet those interests. If you want to run one of Donald Trump’s organizations, don’t tell him that it would be a great experience where you can learn a lot. Tell him that you’ll make him money.
If you want your boss to select you for the next high profile role, don’t tell her that you’ll work hard. Tell her that you will get the job done (or that you’ll make it so she can work less).
Somewhere along the line the personalized, “me” culture of consumerism has swept into the workplace. It’s time that we recalibrate.
You wouldn’t buy a product just because the manufacturer worked really hard to produce it or the store worked really hard to sell it. You’d only buy it if it created value for you.
It’s the same for the relationship between you and the organization for which you work. The only difference is, in that scenario, you are the producer and the organization and its customers are the consumers. You exist for them, not the other way around.
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Brad Kolar is the President of Kolar Associates, a leadership consulting and workforce productivity consulting firm. He can be reached at brad.kolar@kolarassociates.com.
