The Key Question for You to Ask:
Why
are you on the payroll? This is one of the most important questions you ever
ask and answer, over and over again, throughout your career.
As it happens, most people are not sure exactly why they are on the payroll.
But if you are not crystal clear about why it is that you are on the payroll
and what results you have been hired to accomplish, it is very hard for you to
perform at your best and get paid more and promoted faster.
Determine the Results
Expected of You:
In
its simplest terms, you have been hired to get specific results. A wage or a
salary is a payment for a specific quality and quantity of work that can be
combined with the work of others to create a product or service that customers
are willing to pay for.
Define Your Key Result
Areas:
Each
job can be broken down into about five to seven key result areas, seldom more.
These are the results that you absolutely, positively have to get to fulfil
your responsibilities and make your maximum contribution to your organization.
Your failure to perform in a critical result area of your work can lead to
failure at your job. There is essential knowledge and skill that you must have
for your job. These demands are constantly changing. There are core competencies that you have developed that make it
possible for you to do your job in the first place. But there are always key
results that are central to your work and which determine your success or
failure in your job.
Responsible:
A
key result area is defined as something for which you are completely
responsible. This means that if you don’t do it, it doesn’t get done. A key
result area is an activity that is under your control. It is an output of your
work that becomes an input or a contributing factor to the work of others. Give Yourself A Grade:
Once
you have determined your key result areas, the second step is for you to grade
yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each of those areas. Where are you strong and
where are you weak? Where are you getting excellent results and where are you
under performing?
Here’s the rule: Your weakest key result area sets the height at which you can
use all your other skills and abilities.
This rule says that you could be exceptional in six out of seven key result
areas but really poor in the seventh. And your poor performance in the seventh
area will hold you back and determine how much you achieve with all your other
skills. This weakness will act as a drag on your effectiveness and be a constant
source of friction and frustration.
First,
identify the key result areas of your work. What are they? Write down the key
results you have to get to do your job in an excellent fashion. Give yourself a
grade from 1-10 on each one. And then determine the one key skill that, if you
did it in an excellent manner, would help you the most in your work.
Second, make a habit of doing this analysis regularly for the rest of your
career. Never stop improving. This decision alone can change your life.
The Training Place of Excellence Limited