What To Do After You've Done A Bad Job

So, you just did a bad job.

It's not that you don't care or don't have the skills, you just missed the mark and have been informed of this. You've had a tough feedback session where you found you had little to say and were served enough humble pie to sink the USS Alabama. You're probably not the proud owner of a flux capacitor or a Delorean with time travel capabilities, which means that the only thing you can apply yourself to now is your reaction. You need to demonstrate that you are in fact awesome, and then all this unpleasantness can be eclipsed by something more positive. So, where to now?

• Attitude. An obvious one, but humour me. This is my stance: let them point fingers at my skills and experience, because I'm still working on these. They're better every day. Let them point fingers at my knowledge because this is something I am continually investing in. But I won't give them a reason to point fingers at my attitude. This is because attitudes come from personalities and personalities seldom change, and people know this. It's a statement about the individual's approach and is the gatekeeper of potential. Poor attitude is a label which is difficult to rip off. Potential is held back by poor attitude. Choose to be the guy that has stuff to learn rather than the guy who won't, or doesn't want to, or the guy we don't want to ask because he's going to mope about it for a week. Recovery from tough feedback should be lead by an overt can-do response to everything, and positivity.
• Show Interest. It's easy to respond by hibernating for a bit: sitting in your corner, putting your earphones in and listening to Radiohead. But there's still stuff going on around you and business will not slow down to aid your recovery. Ask questions and involve yourself in the stuff that's going on around you. If you hear your boss or someone talking about something that you can contribute to, involve yourself. This thing is not about personalities, and hibernation will just amplify the awkwardness for you. Add value to things where you can. Choose to learn and be open about it. Thank people for their input. Courage.
• Maximum Attention. Be at work while you're at work. You may need to limit your distractions for yourself for the next little while, at least until you're flying again and being appreciated. Some maturity will be required here as you figure out what these are. Perhaps you should only be checking your Twitter at certain times, or getting into the office at a time when you can start strong. Focus on what is required for a convincing and effective recovery and push aside all that doesn't help you.

You can turn your toughest critics around. Your responsibilities and personal brand are yours to own.

The Trouble With Your Job Title

Job titles. People tend to either avoid mentioning them or they wear them like a badge, looking for opportunities to mention them while asking for the balsamic. It's often a case of social 'posturing' and people push the most impressive facts forward and avoid the rest. As soon as we reach a level which has 'senior' strapped to the front of it or 'manager' strapped to the back then our behaviour changes a bit. We may consider leaving our newly-printed business cards lying around conspicuously, next to the copier or the kettle, or updating our email signature and mailing people we hardly know or like. It's a big deal.

The trouble is that your title seldom illustrates what you do or are responsible for. It may just be me, but if I ask you what you do it's because I want to know what you do. I'm far more captivated by a picture of your average day and responsibilities than in a title which means 5 things in 5 places. But that's just me. Sometimes it takes some conviction to wade through the posturing which is sometimes the first response.

Our identities can get wrapped up in these things which is interesting because they are usually things which get assigned to us, like a desk, or a stapler. It's easy to be the person that is, but would we be willing to drop it to be known as the person who does, which is a little less socially economical? Unless it's something you've fought for then it's weird to get protective over it.

Corporates like titles because they keep things neat. It's easier to control what's going on when the names are in the right blocks. As long as the organogram is neat then people should know how to behave around each other and there should be less need for sombre discussions in the HR office, in theory. Titles are also handy managerial tools: "As an ABC we expect you to be able to.." or "you're unlikely to become an XYZ until you can..". They're also handy retention tools when necessary: "If you withdraw your letter we'll promote you to ABC..". And recruitment: firms can offer inflated titles to ordinary jobs in order to lure staff from competitors. Staff move and feel smart until they realise they're doing the same stupid work further from home. And so on.

One of the challenges in Corporates is staff responding to this neatness by sticking to their boxes with a "that's not really my job" reaction to things. So, while the employer is encouraging teamwork and collaboration, the Strategically Titled are letting that phone ring because, like, where the hell is that guy anyway?

Smaller firms such as agencies and start-ups have an opposite challenge. They often fumble around for titles because their focus is more on the important work at hand than where everyone fits in. They're just trying to get the work done. You can usually spot the new guy who came across from the corporate, other than by the chinos and nice hair. He'll spend a few weeks asking questions like "who do I report to?", and "is there a template for this?". For some small firms creating titles it's often a creative upwelling resulting in a resident Skull Grinder and an Awesomeness Master, which look cute on cards but may make your next job move challenging.

In most cases, you will be limited by your title. William Wallace said something about people following courage rather than titles, and while most of us don't aspire to lead with a broadsword we do need to be taken seriously. I'd suggest that if the suits down the passage won't consider your innovation because of your title then you may be working at the end of the wrong passage. And if you're not prepared to take your idea down the passage because of your title then you're just playing their game. Choose awesomeness, despite what the email signature says.

How Much Do You Pay To Work?

It may sound like a strange question but we all accept some expenses in order to stay employable & employed. Perhaps it's a trip to the hairdresser so that our bosses can see our eyes while we're talking to them, or a new pair of chinos which aren't frayed around the heel. They're often grudge expenses because we're spending money just so that we can earn some, in order to live. I guess that an extreme example would be someone who spends everything he/she earns (or more) on stuff which helps him keep his job. It's easy to imagine a minimum-wage cleaner who almost spends a day's wage on a day's transportation. It's a sad picture, but one which you'll spot in the middle and upper class of our society too. You would expect that people, generally, would do everything possible to reduce the costs of work so that the nett benefits of work are more obvious.

So, let's focus on one aspect. What do you pay to get to your job? If you live somewhere with a comprehensive public transport infrastructure, your cost of remaining employed will be your bus fare or your underground access. It's money you pay in order to work. If you own a car in such a city it may be because your car was more than a pragmatic decision. If you live in a big city without a comprehensive public transport system, your car is a necessity. You own it because you need to get to work. It's also handy for getting to Sunday lunch at the folks, but let's focus on work because that's presumably why you live in the city.

Almost daily, because I live in a city without a comprehensive public transport system and own a car as a result, I find myself in some level of gridlock. Sitting dead still. Sometimes it's alongside a purring sports car. I obviously appreciate it, usually switching off my radio and winding down my window just so that I can hear it. And then my brain kicks in, and I want to ask the driver "How much are you paying to be sitting dead still, right now?" The truth is that it's a fair question. There is a significant block of time, daily, where the sports car driver and myself are in near-identical situations. Imagine yourself & a small group of middle class professionals on that bus to work, just trying to get to work. And imagine one guy choosing an expensive, exclusive & slightly more comfortable seat at the back of the bus. Imagine he's paying ten times what you're paying as you both make your way to the office, on the same bus. I have no doubt that his ride is more comfortable and he is enjoying being alive more than you for that period, but he's basically working in order to finance his quiet yet conspicuous mirth.

We've all seen the young guy who gets the new job followed by the new car. You could almost feel sorry for the young guy because his trip to work just got more expensive, and he's hardly bringing home any more cash than he was when he drove a reliable rattle-trap, but then you realise he did it to himself. We're all just trying to get to the place which pays us, and as economically as possible, aren't we?

No, of course we're not. We've been talking about pragmatic purchase decisions and not emotional ones. We all value different stuff and are willing to throw money at that stuff. When I make a pragmatic transport decision, it just needs to get me there safely & efficiently. It's a means to an end. When I make an emotional transport decision, the fact that it gets me there is almost secondary. I am investing in my status and supporting an affinity of mine. We all make both kinds of decisions all the time. I may make pragmatic decisions when it comes to cars (or umbrellas), but may make affinity-based decisions on cameras or computers. All decisions sit on this continuum.

I guess the point is that we need to be aware of & comfortable with what we're throwing money at. There's something for everyone here. If you're a pragmatic A-to-Ber then you probably drive something sensible. Try to avoid coveting that which you see on your trip in everyday, and tell yourself that you've made financial calls which will benefit you more in the long term. Your time will come to splash out a bit. If you're driving a flash ride then don't get grumpy about what it's costing you, because it's probably not the fault of your job or employer.

At the end of the day we're all just trying to get to work, and back again.