PERFORM, DON’T OVERACHIEVE By Andrew Mwita Mohoni

I recently came across an article titled  'The surprising reason overachievers don’t get promoted' (see link below) that really challenged my perceptions and thoughts. The argument leveled...


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I recently came across an article titled  ‘The surprising reason overachievers don’t get promoted’ (see link below) that really challenged my perceptions and thoughts.

The argument leveled for this is that keen employees become top performers if they are focused on growing in their careers. After a long thought I dissuaded my conscience from my former allegiance and subscribed to this unknown fact.

First of all let’s assess a situation whereby one employee works hard and completes all the tasks on time and waits to be assigned other duties. Another employee also completes on time but goes an extra mile to assess the organization’s current problem and works out a clear way to solve the problem in a proactive manner. These two approaches are incomparable.

It is therefore good to be proactive when trying to outperform other employees in the workplace. Interestingly, the writer argues that “overachievers focus on completing as much as possible in a linear fashion, until there is nothing left to compete for” he takes it further and points out that people born in the 80s and 90s,commonly known as the millenials , hardly ever spot this difference. This is the reason I was challenged. In other words ,trying to bet on a promotion by doing ten times more work doesn’t simply work. For some,yes, it may work but  in most cases it may not. To get a strategic role you have to be strategic in your decisions and in the way you accomplish your tasks. The millennials, are referred to as the instant gratification generation. That too is interesting.

One Gonzalez once wrote that we should be careful not to confuse excellence with perfection. If you focus on perfection, one sure thing is that you are going to be disappointed in the end. Striving for excellence ,which in most cases falls short of perfection, gives us motivation to improve and innovate thereby humbling us and strengthening us at the same time.

Reading motivational writings is good for  career growth and should form part of our daily lives. Always work out your way knowing that you are fully in charge of your success. One last word: Our present has nothing to do with our future. Be yourself and remain focused on your long term goals. All the best.
http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20140911-overachiever-forget-a-promotion

 

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