August, 2008
by Denise P. Kalm, DPK Coaching and CA, Inc.
Denise Kalm has 30 years experience in IT including application programming, enterprise systems management and performance management/capacity planning at Pacific Telephone and Bank of America. She moved to vendor land in 2000, spending 5 ½ years with BMC on the EPA product line, then recently became the senior product marketing manager for enterprise job scheduling products at CA, Inc., formerly Cybermation. She is a regional officer of CMG, has held many volunteer positions within that organization and is a frequent contributing author. Prior to entering the IT profession, she was a biochemical geneticist. Her hobbies include flying, Jazzercise, writing and scuba diving. Her book, Lifestorm, on the Oakland Hills fire, is available on Amazon. She is an executive and personal coach as well, offering phone and in-person coaching.
About the Author
Denise P. Kalm, CA, Inc. formerly Cybermation
Is every day at work a bad day? Are you suffering from burnout at work? Do you even know what it looks like? Burnout can present as feelings of:
- powerlessness
- hopelessness
- exhaustion
- detachment
- irritability
- frustration
- failure
- despair
- cynicism
- apathy
Or perhaps you are just bored. Or you have been promoted from a job you loved into one you don't love so much. What now?
Burnout can hurt your health and also have a negative impact on people around you, even dragging down those you love. The basic choices you have in this situation are:
- stay the course
- change jobs
- change the job you have
Staying the course will solve nothing, but it also takes the least effort. You could leave, but for many, however, there are countless reasons favoring staying with your current employer. You might be close to retirement, golden handcuffs might be holding you there, or the job market may just not look good right now. You have to weigh the benefits of staying versus going, factoring in your willingness to take a good hard look at yourself. The good news is that if you do the work, it won't matter if you stay or go. In both cases, you will be better armed to get what you want.
So let's get started. The goal is to become an "Intrapreneur," a term I created. An Intrapreneur is someone who invents a job within their current company or recreates their current job into a better one. If you want to do this, you need to bring your passion, be willing to figure out what you are best at and have a little patience, so you can seize the opportunities as they arise.
"Entrepreneurs are simply those who understand that there is little difference between obstacle and opportunity and are able to turn both to their advantage."
- Niccolo Machiavelli
Examples can help. When I became clear that I loved and was good at writing and public speaking, I was ready to seize any opportunity to demonstrate these talents. At the same time, I would tell anyone who would listen how much I loved doing those things. I offered to help write things for others or edit their work. I submitted abstracts to every venue to garner speaking opportunities. In short, I acted as if this was my job already. And so it became.
But you will say, "I'm overloaded now. How can I take on more?" That is true for all of us, so you need to try a few things so you can clear the decks. Automate anything you can. Look at your process - how much time is really wasted? Offer to swap a hated task for one you like better - one person's poison is another's chocolate. Talk to your manager about your goal and how it would help the company if they supported you in moving in that direction. When you get an assignment that is close to what you love, pour your heart into it. Up the stakes - make it an inspired project.
But the first step is figuring out what you excel at AND like to do. One simple coaching technique is to create a list of your skills - everything you feel you do really well. Don't judge and don't limit your list to just work-related items. List everything. Next, go back and highlight all the things you really like to do. Remember - we may be good at a large number of things that we don't actually enjoy. Cross out those you don't like anymore (or may never have) even if you know you really do them well. Then, highlight those you love. Now you have a list of your best stuff.
Copy these items to a new sheet - just the best of the best. Review the list a few times over the next few weeks. Often, you can see that these items grouped together (or at least a majority of them) start looking like a job. Can you transform your job by emphasizing some of these skills and de-emphasizing others? It does help to be clear on what you don't like, but for most people, this part is easy. It can be more difficult to identify where you should be; this technique can work. (There are other exercises to help get clearer, if you need them). Be cautious as you consider things that you might love, but actually don't do well - even with real effort, the best you can hope for is to be average in those areas.
Remember, even positive changes are hard. They have a profound effect on you physically and mentally - change hurts. But in the long run, it will be worth it, if you can move from the enervation of burnout to being energized by the job your were meant to do.
"They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself."
- Andy Warhol
Intrapreneurship isn't necessarily a 180º in your life. Often, a few simple changes can make Monday morning a day you dream about instead of dread. We all work too many hours to be miserable. Go out and be extraordinary!
Stay tuned next month for another edition of "Your Career Coach". If you would like additional information or personal coaching for your life and your career, contact me at or see my web site: www.DPKCoaching.com.