Why is it that in today’s economy people are more afraid than ever of losing their jobs? People have a big fear that if they lose their job, they will be out of work and won’t be able to find a new job. If that happens, they fear they won’t be able to support their family. They fear they won’t have enough money to take care of their family. From there, the fear is that the whole world will come down. This is a very real fear because the current economy is still recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression.
Do you create value for society?
So how do you overcome this fear? What is your answer to the following question, “Do you create value for society?” Overcoming your fear starts with knowing your own value. You must know that you create value for your employer, your family, and society as a whole. If you find yourself in the situation mentioned above, you must think of it as the company’s loss and not yours if you know that you create value. Just because the company doesn’t value you enough to keep you employed doesn’t mean you are not a valuable employee. As a leader, you possess unique talents. You probably have the ability to take a struggling team and make them productive. Or, you have the ability to get the most out of each individual on your team. Think of how you create value by what you bring to the table as you move on. Focus on that value and leverage it for your benefit and the benefit of others.
If you find yourself unemployed, ask yourself the following questions:
- What skills and abilities do I possess that everyone else lacks?
- How can I leverage my strengths to benefit the organization? (Many times one of your biggest strengths is your experiences and personality.)
- What potential lies within me that has not been developed yet?
- What are my competitive advantages?
- How do I stand out?
- How do I create value?
I have a friend that has been unemployed a number of times since the recession hit. At the start of the recession, she held an upper management position within a good organization. They took very good care of her until one day when their budget ran out. As a result, they let her go. From there, she didn’t waste much time. She got right to work looking for a new job. She knew that could create value because she had a wide variety of talents, so she felt confident she could get a new job. Previously, she had held a variety of positions during her career. She felt she could be a great asset wherever she went. It didn’t take long and she got another job. After a few months in that position, the company ended up losing some of their funding and she was laid off again. From there she got another job and was laid off again. Since that time she experienced one additional layoff, but once again got a new job.
She has had roughly four positions during the last four years, but each time she was able to get a new job. She knew her value and was able to leverage her talents, so she did not fear layoffs. She also knew she would make each organization better when she worked for it, so she did not fear. If you create value, you have no reason to fear a layoff because you will be able to find a new job.
How do you create value? How do maintain confidence through leadership challenges? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Leave a Reply