Can I really do another year of this?

Happy new year! As we brush the sand off our swimmers and slip back into work attire, many are asking themselves, "Can I really do another year of this?"

When it comes to work, my philosophy is that there are really only three options.  You can love it, change it or leave it.  There is not a fourth option to half-heartedly sit on the fence and whinge about your boss, your colleagues, your workplace, your customers, your salary, ...

Having a whinge about work is safe and costs you nothing.  You don't have to take a risk. You don't have to manage the disappointment of putting your heart into something to discover your efforts may fail.  You don't have to risk giving your manager feedback about what might work better for you.  But living in a whinging safe place can trap you into becoming that person at work who is negative, critical, unadventurous, lacks innovation and does just enough to stay under the radar. Over time the whinger can become become toxic. Is that really who you are?

So, before you take the train to whingeville.  How will you stay energised in 2017?

Love it

• What do you love about your workplace? colleagues? job? customers?
• How will you sustain and grow your energy and passion in 2017?

Not feeling the love? So, what do you need to change?

Change it

• What is within your power to change to enable you to feel more energised? Do you have a clear and shared vision for the change?
• Is the change inside you?
• Is the change outside you? How will you change the system?
• Who can help you? What is in it for them?

Not able to change what you need to? What is stopping you from leaving? Are those things really stopping you?

Leave it

• What have you learnt about what you need to be motivated? How will you ensure you have that in your next role?
• How will you leave well?

If you lead a team, why not kick off the year by asking the team what they love or what they need to change to grow their energy.  Instead of asking "why don't you leave?" (and risking a constructive dismissal claim), consider empathetic ways to ask if there are options other than loving it or changing it that are sustainable.

So, what will you choose in 2017?