3 Work Attitudes That Can Support Your Personal Development Forever

What Harvard Business Research reveals about how we approach work.

When I was a teaching assistant (TA) in the Higher Education sector, we suddenly had to pivot to teaching online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I observed a lot of TAs and their approaches to teaching online.

I found that they typically follow one of three approaches.

The first group of TAs had the attitude of just getting the sessions delivered, regardless of the quality. “They do not pay us enough to do more than that”, they would justify.

The second group of TAs aimed to deliver good online sessions, and tick all the necessary boxes of quality.

The third group of TAs would research best practices for online teaching. They would try one new digital teaching tool each week to test it.

They were eager to learn more about this new online environment. They were constantly in a state of iteration to enhance their practice.

All TAs were surely not paid enough to research and test new digital learning tools. Yet, the way the third group of TAs approached their work is guaranteed to pay them more than any monetary compensation.

They were paid in terms of wider exposure and skill acquisition, which will serve them for years to come.

Adopting a development stance at work can compensate you in ways more valuable than money.

Which stance do you take at work?

Harvard business researchers found out that there are three stances that people approach their work with: completion, performance, or developmental stance.

• In a completion stance, people just focus on getting the job done as quickly as possible.
• In a performance stance, people focus on doing a good job while balancing quality and time.
• In a developmental stance, people research to find the best way to carry out the job now and the best lessons that will serve them in the future.

Why should you care?

The way you approach your work can significantly influence how much you learn, grow, and develop.

According to research by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), 70% of what we learn happens experientially on the job, while we perform our tasks.

This would mean that if you are not consciously adopting a learning attitude at work, you are messing up with your 70% of your chances to learn.

Imagine this happening every day. Over the years, this can derail your personal development and your entire career prospects.

70% of what we learn happens experientially on the job — The CCL

Adopting a development stance makes you look attractive and forward-minded. Look around you. Everyone pretends to be approaching their work as a development opportunity.

In a job interview, for example, people tend to answer most interview questions in a way that reflects growth, learning, or development.

Why did you apply for this job?

… because I want to learn and develop myself.

Why did you choose your field of work?

… because it allows me to grow.

Why did you volunteer for this project?

… because it helps me develop my skills.

Why did you apply for this post-graduate degree?

… because I want to explore new concepts.

…And on and on.

Nobody tells you I applied for this job because I was fired from the previous one.

I chose my field of work because it was the wish of my parents;

I volunteered in this organization in the hope that it will turn into a paid job;

or I applied for the post-graduate degree because there was no better alternative.

They almost always attach learning and development as a motive for every step in their career journey.

Why?

Because they know it will paint them in a positive light, especially these days.

Learning and unlearning are buzzwords, and continuous education is the currency of this age.

That is why it is very important to be mindful of whether or not you are approaching your work with a development stance.

In the example above, all the TAs performed the same task, but their learning outcomes were very different.

While the first group who rushed into completion hardly learned anything, the second group probably scored some occasional learning here and there.

Meanwhile, the third group was very intentional about their learning. They picked up way more lessons than the other two groups. They most likely outshined their peers in their career development.

The stance you approach your work with can significantly impact your personal development, hence your future career potential.

This can be the biggest factor influencing your stance at work

The stance that you take toward your work is not only influenced by your attitude. It can be strongly influenced by your work culture.

If you have been finding yourself lately approaching every task with a completion stance, you need to stop and consider your work culture.

A perpetual feeling that you want to get rid of any task in hand as quickly as possible can be a sign that you are in the wrong job or company or both.

To find out ask yourself the following questions about your organization:

• Is there a push to always get things done regardless of the quality?
• Are mistakes tolerated or penalized?
• Is continuous learning encouraged and rewarded or frowned upon?

I have found that continuous learning can be frowned upon in some cultures.

In the western culture, you might have seen experienced people proudly announcing that they are “still learning”. They know they will get credit if they come across as a learning machine that never stops.

In other cultures, if you go to an interview and say, “I am learning”, the interviewer will probably wonder why then did you apply for the job? Their unspoken philosophy is, “We are hiring people to perform not to learn”.

It is as if you need to be finished learning before you apply for a job with them. This is exactly the kind of culture you need to avoid.

In such a culture, you will be perpetually living in a stance of completion and would never have the chance to stop, reflect or grow.

Continuous education is frowned upon in some cultures.

The 3 Stances Can Be Productive

Approaching your job with a development stance may be the best thing you can do from a learning perspective. However, it is not necessarily the best stance always.

It requires time and whenever you are short on time, the other two stances may be more suitable to adopt.

Completion for example can be best if you are dealing with routine tasks such as making the bed, feeding the dog, or watering the plants. The quicker you get these tasks done, the more productive you will feel and become.

The production stance is useful if you need to do a good job now but you will probably not need to repeat that same task in the future.

For example, when you are buying a new car, you need to know enough about the different types of cars to allow you to make an informed decision now. But you do not need to be a car expert in the future.

Your time frame and how often you will likely need to re-perform the task in the future will dictate which stance to choose.

Just remember that the three stances can be productive if used correctly on the right occasion.

Parting Thought

If there is one message I would like you to take away from reading this article it is to be mindful of the stance you take when performing any task at home or work on any given day.

Make sure you choose the right stance for the task at hand or you will risk wasting time and resources.

Know that a development stance is the one that will maximize your learning and potential but it’s also the one that will require the most time and creativity.

What stance do you frequently catch yourself adopting when at work?