The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang have officially begun! Ninety four nations are participating in over 100 events across various sports, such as skiing, bobsleigh, curling, figure skating, ice hockey, luge, and snowboarding. Notably, the NHL and International Olympic Committee were not able to come to an agreement about insuring players and therefore, the NHL will not send players to compete for the first time since 1998. This leaves many popular stars out of the Olympics such as Sidney Crosby. On the other hand, some familiar faces will be participating. Skier Lindsey Vonn will be competing in her fifth Olympic Games and snowboarder Shaun White will be competing in his fourth. Those are just a couple examples of dedicated athletes who have spent countless hours of training and practice to get to this moment. While obtaining glory is a potential benefit, the real motivation driving these athletes is the pride they take in their country. We can all take that same attitude, but at work. Here are some ways you can take pride in your job:
➢ Create a reputation on impeccable work – You should strive to be known for giving your absolute best and be proud of that reputation. Pretend that your name is on whatever task you perform. When you keep producing good work, people will trust you, which will give you pride. You don’t want to be someone who is disengaged and gets by doing the minimum.
➢ Get better each and every day – Figure out your weaknesses and work to improve them. Read articles, attend conferences, teach yourself new skills, and learn from your peers. You can improve the processes in your day to day activities in addition to yourself. Take everything you produce and make it valuable. You don’t want to be someone who gets left behind as times change.
➢ Embrace your function – Regardless of how many years you’ve worked at your company or what your title is, you are a key cog in the engine. You don’t want to be someone who thinks their work doesn’t matter. Those people contribute nothing.
➢ Presentation is important – Give some attention to your appearance. Dress for success as they say. That means putting on a crisp shirt, polished shoes, and visiting your barbershop/hair salon. Just as important is the appearance of your work. Make sure emails, presentations, and reports are structured and clean. Also, keep your desk or office neat and organized. You don’t want to be someone who is known for being sloppy.
➢ Take part in progress, provide suggestions – If you think of an idea that can help the company, communicate them to management and your clients. Understand that you can make a difference and take pride in that. You don’t want to be a yes man who agrees with everything.
➢ Bring positivity – Surround yourself with positive people and steer clear of negative people. Take pride in your company’s history, culture and mission for the future. Celebrate new clients, contracts, campaigns and other significant achievements. You don’t want to be someone who puts a damper on everything.
At the 2018 Winter Olympics, athletes like Shaun White and Lindsey Vonn will certainly be trying for gold medals. Like Olympic athletes who are driven to success by the pride they have in their country, as employees we can adopt a similar mentality to achieve greatness in our careers.