Growth

As someone who values GROWTH in their work life, you’re inclined toward new opportunities and possibilities. While you may be a life-long learner or someone who values GROWTH overall in multiple areas of your life, this motive often connects specifically with desired advancement in your career. Growing in meaningful ways will help you reach your goals and desired milestones. You enjoy when your work life provides you with general feelings of development and with opportunities to grow professionally, and perhaps even personally. You dislike complacency and a sense of stagnation. You are attracted to the expansion garnered from new or challenging experiences, and you enjoy the process and result of that expansion. Acquiring new skills and knowledge proves you’re making progress, not just in the short-term, but in your long-term sense of professional self-development. You tend to have a strong sense of your own potential (which, under demotivated circumstances, you can lose), and you are ready to pursue it. This can translate into having a similar insight into your organization or team’s potential: you like to see those you work with improve and grow too. You want to learn new things and may even desire becoming an expert or leader in a particular area. When GROWTH is a primary motive, one threat you may face is boredom or monotony. You can struggle when your position lacks space for expansion or room to pursue your goals. When this motive is engaged, it can make your job one of your favorite places to grow.

You feel this motive being met when…

+ Your work expands your abilities in ways that are meaningful to you.

+ Your job routinely provides you with new experiences or chances to develop, learn, and grow.

+ Professionally, you are not in the same place you were one or two years ago (whether in terms of skill, position, responsibility, knowledge, experience, confidence, or proficiency), and you can feel content when you look back on the progress you’ve made.

This motive is at risk when…

– You no longer feel like you’re growing or learning in your work life.

– You feel like you have potential but no space in which to expand or grow.

– Your job does provide new training, experiences, and opportunities, but they are not training, experiences, or opportunities that matter to you.

A Work Wellness Check-In for GROWTH

1. What have I accomplished this past year at work that I’m proud of? What goals do I envision meeting a year from now?
2. Is my job bringing out the best in me to help me grow or does it feel like it brings out the worst in me? 
3. On a scale of 1-10, what does my GROWTH potential look like at work? (1 = I feel professionally stagnant; 10 = I’m growing in my profession so quickly I can barely keep up) If I were working in an ideal situation, what would my answer be? Can I get there? How?

4. Objectively, have I grown in my knowledge and skills at work? Can I see the difference between now and when I started? How do I feel about the level of GROWTH I’ve achieved and the progress I’ve made?
5. What is one new experience I want in my professional life this year? Is it possible? Why or why not?
6. In my current professional environment, do my opportunities seem to be expanding or shrinking?
7. Do I feel I am growing on purpose and actively seek GROWTH opportunities in my work life? Are there ways I limit myself or don’t capitalize on opportunities? 
8. Do I consider myself a life-long learner? Do I have the desire to become an expert in my field or at a skill?
9. In the last year, where I have grown the most professionally and the least?
10. Can I learn from any of my colleagues, peers or work connections? To what extent have I pursued relationships with others that would aid my GROWTH and learning opportunities?
11. What is one new experience I want in my professional life this year? Is it possible? Why or why not?

12. Objectively, have I grown in my knowledge and skills at work? Can I see the difference between now and when I started? How do I feel about the level of GROWTH I’ve achieved and the progress I’ve made?
13. If I were to look at my current situation from the perspective of a future self, having taken every opportunity to grow… what did I pursue to get there from here? Am I currently taking action on that insight? If not, can I?
14. In my current professional environment, do my opportunities seem to be expanding or shrinking?
15. Do I feel I am growing on purpose and actively seek GROWTH opportunities in my work life? Are there ways I limit myself or don’t capitalize on opportunities? 
16. Do I consider myself a life-long learner? Do I have the desire to become an expert in my field or at a skill?
17. In the last year, where I have grown the most professionally and the least?
18. Can I learn from any of my colleagues, peers or work connections? To what extent have I pursued relationships with others that would aid my GROWTH and learning opportunities?
19. Do I feel my ability to grow at work is stifled in any way by others or myself? (e.g. fear of failure, not enough time, rigid roles etc.) What can I do to overcome these obstacles?
20. To what degree do I feel I am willing to go out of my comfort zone to grow? Is this something I need to work on?
21. In what areas do I feel weak, insecure, or behind? Where can I grow in knowledge or skill? In areas or subjects where I feel competent, would I like to become an expert or a leader?
22. Are my manager or colleagues invested in my career and in me reaching my full potential?
23. What are 2-3 areas that I specifically want to expand at work? (e.g. reach a new level in my career; expand my business; grow my influence or client base; innovate more effectively; learn or sharpen specific skills; gain experiences with new people or places…) Does my current work trajectory support these goals for GROWTH?