How to find your sweet(est) spot and win at work
At Laika, we always want to make sure that employees feel well taken care of and satisfied. For example, we introduced a mindfulness day when employees are asked to rest and refill their resources, conduct a bi-weekly retro meeting to discuss our activities together besides daily business and offer monthly internal and external training formats to further develop our careers and personalities. But no matter how you spin it - to be able to get and keep an employee, it's not just about the bosses and the company who have to come up with clever approaches and great opportunities, it's also the employee who has to be clear about what he/she/they really want/s in order to be able to find and create the environment together that makes both sides happy. In short: It's about creating clarity.
Clarity?, some may ask and throw their hands up in horror. There are so many options - and temptations - these days.... where to start? So how do you make the right decision? How do you know what you really want, or what would really do you good? Whether flow state, Ikigai or passion search - all concepts have one thing in common: To find something that fulfills us. If we can also earn money with it, all the better!
I can get no satisfaction … can I?
Let’s face facts: According to the Gallup Engagement Index 2021 68% of workers in Germany are not engaged with their job (not emotionally attached to their employer, not putting energy or passion into their work). 15% of them are actively disengaged, which costs the German economy between 96.1 to 113.9 billion euros per year. Gallup points out that it all starts with the manager. But that's only half the truth. The Great Resignation shows us that it's also about questioning ourselves if we do a fulfilling job.
In order to get the best out of yourself and to be (almost) completely satisfied with your job, it is important to be aware of your own values, wishes and abilities in order to be able to shape your working life in a way that satisfies you – and at the same time you also bring added value to the company.
But when are we satisfied with our job? Spoiler alert: Money is not a good motivator - at least not when you’ve reached a certain level of income. According to Martin Schröder, Professor of Sociology at the University of Marburg, and the results of his satisfaction research more salary than 2,200€ net per month does not make people more satisfied. At all, a survey of over 1,500 employees conducted by EY shows that a high salary is only fourth place, behind a good relationship with colleagues and an exciting job when it comes to job motivation.
Motivation is also closely related to meaning. But when or through what do we experience our work as meaningful? In an interview with psychology today, psychologist and professor Tatjana Schnell names four factors that contribute:
The feeling the job fits to us (personal circumstances, skills, values, personality, etc.).
The feeling that the professional activity has an impact
The feeling of belonging to the team/company
Being aware of - and in agreement with - the direction and values of the company
And what about passion, you might ask? The story about finding your passion and making it your career, then you'll never have to work again is – well – a bit of a fairy tale. Imagine you looooooove singing. But when you sing, the glasses in the cupboard shatter and your family members offer you money to stop. In short: You have passion but no talent. Or imagine every time you play tennis, your heart opens up and your coach sees you as the new Serena Williams. The idea delights you and you start your professional tennis career - but with all the training, strict diet and pressure to succeed, you start to hate your once beloved hobby. In short: It's not just about doing what you like to do and what is your favorite pastime, but also about thinking outside the box and finding out what you're good at. But what am I excellent at except eating a bucket of Ben and Jerry's cookie dough in one sitting or quoting all of Barnie Stinson's lines from “How I Met Your Mother”?
Separating the wheat from the chaff: How do I find my unique skill set?
First, let's make sure we are all on the same page and mean the same thing when we talk about the unique skill set. It‘s not some magical mystical thing reserved for a small circle - no, everyone has a unique skill set, because no two people are the same, not even monozygotic twins: Our genes and our environment shape us, and so each of us has different talents and different experiences and learns various things, which in turn lead to a unique mix of abilities. So how do I find out what skills this skill set consists of, you might ask? There are several ideas and questionnaires online, but before you quit reading and search for it on the whole wide world of the internet, I‘ll give you something to take away: Ask 5-10 people you know well and think they would give you useful and honest feedback about
what they appreciate about you
what your three strongest skills are and
what issues they trust your expertise on.
After you have collected all the answers, cluster them so that you have about five topic areas. You can now shape these topic areas into one umbrella term each with a little grinding and fine-tuning – the five umbrella terms in combination then make up your – congratulations! – unique skill set.
The whole picture: Including the remaining factors
Your unique skill set is only part of the whole picture – when it‘s about you, we also need to have a look at your personal circumstances, your personality and your values. You know your circumstances best. Do you have children? Then you have more responsibility and probably can't change your lifestyle on a whim than someone who lives alone, for example. So giving up a well-paid job to learn how to make pasta in Italy and then open a pasta place is going to be a bit difficult (difficult, but not impossible - if it's your absolute dream, I'm sure you'll find ways to make it happen). So you have to be clear about your circumstances and how they frame your life. Second your personality influences for example what kind of working style you like and what kind of activities. You are creative, principled and passionate, but also kind of perfectionistic and sensitive to criticism? And success doesn´t come from status or money but from being a force for the good in the world and fulfillment? Congrats, you must be an advocate. Advo-what? To find out more about what makes you tick you could have a look at the personality type test here.
Last but not least ask yourself about your values: What is fundamentally important to you? Or what is non-negotiable and drives you to do what you do? Can you think of anything? Good! Because now it's time to get down to the nitty gritty.
Connecting the dots: Your sweet spot
In the sweet spot formula there is you, the company/environment and the result of this exchange - the output aka the impact you make.
Sweet spot = You + company/environment + impact
Let‘s start with you and the feeling that the job fits you. For this you need to combine your unique skill set, personal circumstances, your personality, your values – and yes – also your passion (we always need something fairytale-like in our lives ;) ):
Sweet spot = (Your unique skill set + personal circumstances + personality + values + passion) + company/environment + impact
After this, we insert the company/environment and impact aspects to get the full formula:
Sweet spot = (Your unique skill set + personal circumstances + personality + values + passion) + (the feeling of belonging to the team/company + being aware of and in agreement with the direction and values of the company) + the feeling that the professional activity has an impact
Put your enlightenment into action
This formula looks like a long sausage at first – but once you have formulated the individual components for yourself, they make a pretty good compass that points you in the direction of your sweet spot.
What I would like to give you at the end: Often we think that the grass is greener somewhere else - in plain language: If you feel like your current job doesn't make you jump up and down with ecstasy, it doesn't mean that it's completely wrong. Look at the formula and ask yourself which component(s) of your job might not quite fit your nature and – if hopefully possible – design together with your team and your boss your job (#jobcrafting). So before you pull the ripcord, you should really think hard and look at all options, because even a small change can turn a (slightly) bitter spot into a sweet spot.