Learning
is one of the most essential mental functions, we learn from our experience; in
school usually we learn then we test our knowledge with exams, in life it’s
different, we learn from situations and sometimes from our own mistakes. We
acquire diverse types of knowledge, which lead to the development of new
capabilities and improvement of current ones, change in behavior, values or
understanding.
When
I joined my current employer, I used to work day and night; I used to wear
multiple hats, it helped me to learn how to work under pressure in addition to
the technical knowledge that I have acquired. Like every organization, at the
end of each year w do performance appraisal, to evaluate the deliverables
against objectives, unfortunately I was evaluated as “I did my job”, although
for me I knew I did a lot more than only my job and I believed that the
management didn’t appreciate my work, I decided to work less (stick to working
hours) and do what I am supposed to do based on my job description. After a
couple of days doing so, a college of mine called me to his office and
explained to me that the decision was done, and my attitude will not fix it but
it will make it worse, he said a sentences that I will never forget, “You were
evaluated by the head of the department that you did your job only for one of
two reasons, either you really did your job and your self evaluation is not
accurate, or your manager didn’t notice your extra efforts and you should work
on that as this is also your fault”. The feedback I got from this colleague
made me change the way I think till this day, and that loosing a battle doesn’t
mean that the war is over, my reaction changed, I continued working in the same
rhyme (hard working, dedication, wearing multiple hats, and so forth) and in
addition to that I started to market my work, I learned that I have to improve
my communication skills to grow, and technical knowledge only is not the key
for success. After that, for two consecutive years my management gave me the
highest evaluation in the department, and it was only me who got it in the
entire department.
To
develop a training method, individuals should be open to feedback from others,
“we cannot learn without feedback” (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010). Feedback
from colleagues or managers will enlighten the individual to reassess his
behavior. “Both behaviorists ad cognitive psychologists agree that experience
affects behavior” (Buchanan & Huczynski, 2010). Our first reaction should
be well thought about and consider the consequences of our behaviors on the
long run. Never give up, losing a battle doesn’t mean that we lost the war, on
the contrary, it should motivate us to work harder and improve our behavior.
Reference:
Adrian Carr, (1997) "The learning organization: New lessons/thinking
for the management of change and management development?", Journal of
Management Development, Vol. 16 Iss: 4, pp.224 - 231, [Online], Available from:
http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/journals.htm?articleid=880266&show=abstract
(Accessed
on 14 May 2011)
Buchanan,
David A., & Huczynski, Andrzeg A. (2010). Organizational Behaviour.
Prentice Hall.
Paul Lyons, (2008) "Training for template creation: a
performance improvement method", Journal
of European Industrial Training, Vol. 32 Iss: 6, pp.472 – 489, [Online],
Available from: http://www.emeraldinsight.com.ezproxy.liv.ac.uk/journals.htm?articleid=1736706&show=abstract
(Accessed
on 14 May 2011)
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