It must be emphasized that a professional profile, no matter how complete it may seem, does not guarantee achievements, and that the distance, the terra incognita, which separates the required competence from the pursued success, becomes an intricate, unexplored jungle of stimuli, interests, dilemmas, obstacles, feelings, temptations and circumstances, of individual and organizational origin. Among other meta-competencies and in different professional groups, intuition, commitment, and confidence in what is done seem to contribute to solving the gap between the treasured capacity and the high performance sought.
We know that managers - let's start with this group -, driven by intentions and circumstances, have in recent years been dedicating their efforts to alternative and diverse purposes: to manage their company, or to manage its value in the market; to secure the future, or to generate quick successes; to generate attractive products for your customers, or to stimulate their purchasing decisions; to grow their companies, or to reduce staff…
Fortunately, in most cases we have been working more on the first than on the second, and reaping successes and failures that, as we have commented, were not always explained by the competence or incompetence of the protagonists, and that, apart from the exogenous elements seem more related to some endogenous elements such as commitment, trust in what we do, integrity or intuition.
Commitment, if authentic, if referred to unadulterated business goals and healthy means to achieve them, unleashes the will, takes the form of motivation, courage or commitment, and is materialized in attitudes and actions such as the following:
- Carry out our tasks with diligence and care. Ensure your contribution to collective results. Neutralize any circumstance or event that puts the goals at risk. Guide, where appropriate, the actions of our collaborators. Ensure their alignment with common goals. Follow the rules and methods established in the professional community. Subordinate own interests to the groups. Cultivate corporate values. Collaborate with others. Exercise constructive criticism, intelligently formulated. Make the information and knowledge we have flow. Be loyal, upright and consistent. Be proactive or proactive, away from passivity. Combine the perception of reality with optimism. Persevere in the face of difficulties. Surpass ourselves every day. Pursue continuous improvement and innovation.Represent our organization with dignity before third parties. Balancing the personal relationship with the execution of tasks. Contribute to the quality of life at work.
These actions are typically assisted by intuition as a complement to intelligence, and many managers benefit from this; But there are also - let's not forget - various obstacles in the unexplored jungle that we had referred to on the road to success. Among some possible endogenous and still thinking mainly of managerial personnel:
- The excessive cult of the ego. The presumption of infallibility. The greed for money or power. The rule of authority over rationality. Clinging to strategic or tactical mistakes. The adulteration of goals. Disconnection from inner and outer reality.
The inner voice, if we give it the chance, could help us to see how ridiculous we are sometimes in defense of the ego; to detect our mistakes; to feel that we are lowering our guard; to perceive our stubbornness; to see hidden realities…
If we are characterized by some of these deadly sins and we do not listen to this inner voice, we can get caught up in the journey to achievement; But if we listen to it honestly, it can assist us in making the right decisions and in the authentic solution of problems and conflicts.
Let us now turn to the technical research and innovation work, or to the modest and everyday creative tasks of technical professionals: it is common to find ourselves with intimate convictions regarding the possibilities to be explored. We couldn't be so persistent if we weren't sure we're doing well. But something can also tell us that not there; something guides us, and we perceive it especially in states of intuitive flow, when we are focused on the task. Let's make room for trust in what we do and for intuition.
Einstein said it: “In all these years, I have had a sense of direction, of going straight towards something concrete; It is difficult to describe this feeling, but I was experiencing it around me ”. Our activity, that of all of us, managers and workers, is surely more modest; But as professionals in our technical areas, we must contribute to their development, and to this end we guide efforts.
We feel loyal professionals to our profession, and consequently we pursue technical or functional achievements of which we are proud. In short, it seems difficult to achieve professional success without having confidence in what we do, with intuition as a guide and watchdog; with the commitment that energizes us.
