Workplace Poker: Are You Playing the Game, or Just Getting Played?

So when you are trying to understand a person’s strongest motivations, ask yourself what it is they seem to want that is just not quite achievable right now.

You have to be a dispassionate observer of workplace behavior. Think of yourself as a corporate Jane Goodall, observing the office chimpanzees in their natural habitat.

We want to do and be and experience many different things, and generally our strongest motivations at any given moment focus on what we are lacking or feel unlikely to achieve.

TAKE THE HIT AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE Acknowledge Your Failings: You don’t have to shout them from the rooftops, but you have to at least be honest with yourself. When you haven’t lived up to your full potential, “take the hit” and admit your failing. Don’t beat yourself up, just admit your error, learn from it, and make a commitment to do better

When it comes to employment there is no luck, good or bad. There are no accidental circumstances. There are no victims. Everything happens for a reason. And just because you are surprised, or are treated unfairly, does not mean that you can abdicate your own responsibility for the situation. You have made choices. And even when you felt that you we

If you don’t read people well, you’re climbing up a wobbly career ladder. Blindfolded.

Shouldn’t doing an exceptional job be enough? Unfortunately it’s not. The hard truth is that you must learn to do a great job AND navigate the complex human dynamics.

If you fail to understand the business culture within which you work, or within a prospective employer, this can put a brake on your career progress. In Bobbie’s case she eventually went back to work at Sprouts, was much happier, but had to accept a cashier’s position until an assistant manager position opened up a year later. There is no question

At work there are no friends or enemies, just imperfect people trying to do their jobs well.