PERFORMANCE/VALUE IS DEFINITELY IT!!

I listened to another youth unemployment dirge on BBC last night. Of course, unemployment is shocking, and really a disgrace to a civilized conscience. In the Arab world, for example, the primary concern, according to the BBC, is the availability of jobs. As Albert Hourani pointed out in his great History of the Arabs, the Middle East - I'm thinking Egypt particularly - has experienced a phenomenal youth "bulge".... However, I must say I am nonplussed by young peoples' understanding of what makes a 'good' employee. Putting your head down makes sense, IN CONTEXT... I am always dismayed nonetheless by the failure to address the concept of Value. Your primary mission, as an employee (I conceive), is to generate VALUE for your organisation in alignment with whatever it is YOUR EMPLOYER WANTS TO ACHIEVE. Naturally, that includes young people, temporary or otherwise, entering into or further negotiating the workforce.... Hence, I feel young employees and/or job hunters should be encouraged to expand their roles to seek new perspective for their employers and themselves. Try to DO THINGS UNASKED. THINK BEYOND YOUR CURRENT ROLE, WHILE PERFORMING. BROADEN THE QUESTION AND OVERDELIVER to GIVE YOUR BOSS NEW INSIGHTS. Don't just hop on the employment version of the Hedonic Treadmill. Show how you can deliver for the employer's mission by finding better ways for the organisation to win. Very frequently, I hear variations on the narrow theme, "I did this degree. I'm smart. I went to a good school. Sorry to break it to young people: although relevant, this is NOT WHAT REALLY MATTERS.. Instead, make yourself indispensable as Booker T Washington knew from his incredible rise from slavery and poverty to notoriety as an honest, heartfelt leader.... What does this mean? Not just doing the same-old. No bailouts. No tenure. No keeping your head down at all times. No ageism. No discrimination. No Machivellian shenanigans. Moreover, your degree and general background is only tangentially relevant. Better, I think, to ask these questions: ARE YOU ANY GOOD? DO YOU PERFORM OUTSIDE THE NORM? ARE YOU GENUINELY PASSIONATE ABOUT WHAT YOU DO AND DO YOU WISH TO CONTRIBUTE MORE? DO YOU GET A KICK OUT OF YOUR COLLEAGUES' SUCCESS? IS IT MORE ABOUT YOU OR THEM?.... The worst offenders, I am afraid, are managers. Too often I have read about and have seen firsthand managers, with 'skimpy characteristics', who hold back on praise, are lavish with blame and have no idea or intention when it comes to motivating their teams. Without "intentional" leadership, managers too often assume the team to be 'THEIR'team. All too often, these supervisors, though a burden on the organisation and its mission, skirt valuable criticism by deflecting it to direct reports. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE. THESE MANAGERS ARE THE PROBLEM. So yes, differentiation is in order (even though pratice may differ).... As a young person and through my own trials and tribulations (none as serious perhaps as those youth encounter in the Middle East), I have learned that you get nothing anymore for free. You have to EARN IT.. Performance and value with integrity are more and more "IT"... (sorry no paragraphs, figuring out blog layout change lol!)