Work and Strategic Goal Alignment
The UI has many remarkable people that can help continue to inspire you. Stories of how others make a difference can encourage and support outstanding performance.
Richard Dodson of Lee Hecht Harrison, a career services company, suggests some ways to keep you thinking about how you make a difference:
“When asked what you do, don't just share your job title. Instead, state the outcomes you produce for the company… I'm a database manager who makes sure leaders can quickly get the information they need to make good decisions”
“When someone asks, "How are you doing?" don't respond with "Fine," or worse, a complaint about being overworked. Instead, share an accomplishment or something you just learned… I'm great -- I just resolved a bug in the system that should save everyone a lot of headaches."
Consider that your accomplishments, or the accomplishments of others, may be eligible for recognition and celebration. For a list of campus award and recognition opportunities, visit the Reward and Recognition website.
Performance Expectations
Celebrate achieving 6 months of learning and growing in your new job. Learning and improving does not stop here, though, so continue to look for ways to enhance your performance. In today's changing workplace, tasks, goals, and expectations are constantly changing. You may have inherited new projects or assignments that weren't a part of your previous job description. Continuing to ask for development, feedback and coaching from your supervisor regularly and throughout the year means there should be no unwelcome surprises when it comes time for your performance review.
New responsibilities may require additional proficiency or competencies. Learn about the UI's Universal Competencies for performance. You can get more details about the Key Areas of Responsibility (KARs) for your position by going to Employee Self Service|My Career|Career and Performance|My ePersonnel File and selecting your title.
Two of the video resources below, and many others, are available in LinkedIn Learning - a resource available to all faculty, staff, and students. The third video from the Harvard Business Review.
Work Life and Wellness
Research has shown that we need to take care of ourselves to provide our best to others. If you have not already used UI Wellness services, now is the time.
At times we may feel stressed trying to get our work done. One technique advocated in Harvard Business Review is to plan the night before what is the most important thing to get done the next day and then devote 90 minutes of uninterrupted work time to it as your first task of the work day. Turn off email, phones, and other distractions to make this work for you. After 90 minutes, take a refresher break and return to your usual activities. You can read more about this practice, as well as some other useful behaviors, in the links below.
- A 90-Minute Plan for Personal Effectiveness, Harvard Business Review
- Blog: Tony Schwartz: The Energy Project blog
- Take Back Your Attention, Harvard Business Review
Development
The work we do is constantly changing to respond to changes in the needs of those we serve, the available technology, etc. Staying current with work changes is a performance expectation of all staff. The University has many resources to assist you in many facets of your professional development. Visit UI Learning and Development for more information about professional development opportunities and resources. There are also several just-in-time online resources available to support your development, including LinkedIn Learning and ICON, visit the E-learning Programs website.