See What Sticks: From Love, to Hate

See What Sticks: “I Hate My Job” Does Not Exist Hi everyone, Amma Marfo here. Two quick things about me that you’ll need to know before we begin:

(1) I am a reader. I am a library-loving, constant tome-carrying, unapologetic bibliophile. (2) If there’s anyone you will meet who can connect what she’s reading to the world around her, it’s me.

As such, I want to dedicate my time in this space to sharing with you what I’m reading, and how it could inform a budding professional’s daily life. 

This month’s post covers one of my more offbeat reads of the year to date. In a book that aims to tear asunder our conventional wisdom about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Dr. Richard Saul’s ADHD Does Not Exist examines a variety of other ailments that could account for the hallmark behaviors of ADHD- inability to focus, impulsivity, and decreased lack of achievement in the classroom or workplace. I’ll be honest when I say that I didn’t like this book, and had a hard time completing it. Many elements of it frustrated me, but I knew there was something to learn so I pressed on. Although I struggled with the methods Saul used to arrive at his conclusions, I did agree with much of his central argument: ADHD, as we understand it, is a symptom of an actual ailment, not an ailment in itself.

As I talk to friends and peers struggling in their workplaces, a similar thread emerges among the unhappier members of that cohort. Have you ever heard someone say, “I hate my job”? Have you ever said it? In my estimation, saying “I hate my job” is akin to Dr. Saul’s struggle with the diagnosis of ADHD- chances are, you don’t hate your job; something else is causing that final conclusion. My goal is to examine some of those symptoms and dig deeper into what might be causing them, just as Saul did in his book.

Definition of Terms

First, let’s dig into the terms that are being used to define our predicament. Dr. Saul’s primary argument is based in how ADHD is defined in the DSM-V, the seminal document that classifies and describes mental illnesses. He claims that its definition of ADHD is an incomplete and inaccurate one, one that sets those seeking diagnosis up for failure in the first place.

When you think about it, couldn’t our definition of “a job I’d love” (especially early on in our careers) be the same way?

Lots of factors contribute to how we might believe our early career experiences should be: expectations from parents and other family members; media and pop culture depictions of outrageously successful people that seem to be years younger and impossibly brighter; and even social comparison of what our friends are doing and how their lives appear as a result. Sifting through all of these factors, I urge you to dig deep in your heart and think: what’s important to me? What do I want? What do I need? These considerations can and should be made with loved ones in mind, but only you know what factors in a job are important to help you succeed in it. Honor those factors as much as you can.

So let’s say you have your definitive list of what your important factors are…and you’re still unhappy. What might be causing that unhappiness? Let’s dive in and see.

I Hate My Job Might Mean…I’m Having Issues With A Supervisor

We see excellent examples of bad bosses in daily life all the time. The clueless and misguided Michael Scott on The Office, the tortured and enigmatic Don Draper on Mad Men, the trio of ill-fated supervisors in the film Horrible Bosses. When looking for examples of what we don’t want in someone guiding us through our early professional experiences, we have an embarrassment of riches. However, it’s harder to know what will work for you professionally until you’re in it. A supervisor’s ability to meet your needs is particularly difficult to discern in an interview scenario, when a need to make a good first impression may (intentionally or otherwise) mask traits or shortcomings that could affect your comfort and success in the office.

If you find yourself in a situation where you and your boss aren’t meshing well, don’t pull a Half-Baked or Jerry Maguire and storm out of the office just yet. First, see if you can identify specifically where the concerns lie, and find a way to express your issues to your boss. The list I referred to earlier about your non-negotiables and essential needs can inform this conversation, so keep them on hand! None of us have (to my knowledge) cultivated the ability to read minds; it’s entirely possible that the needs you have could be addressed or fulfilled if your supervisor is simply aware of how you’re feeling and what you need. Be as diplomatic and specific in your approach as possible, ensuring that associated emotions don’t overpower your central message. Emails, letter, face-to-face…pick an approach that works for you and speak up for your needs.

Should you express your concerns, and see no change (or if your boss outright refuses to accommodate your needs), then you may need to either adjust your expectations and approach (more on that in a bit), or explore other professional options, ones that can provide the support and environment that you need to thrive.

I Hate My Job Might Mean…Issues With A Coworker

For so many of us, work is not done in an isolated environment. The people we work with and around are essential to our success, and we are integral to theirs. So when problems arise with coworkers, it has a significant impact on our ability to successfully complete and enjoy our work. Perhaps you are having a hard time coping with different personalities in your workplace- people who are territorial, overly political, or just plain mean. Or perhaps you are having a bigger issue, such as outright bullying or victimization in the workplace. In either case, there are ways to attempt to navigate these challenges without throwing in the towel altogether.

If you don’t get your coworkers, take some time to learn more about different personality types, and think about how you might be able to work alongside people who differ from you stylistically. Finding common ground with different people can be a great way to put personal dissimilarities aside. A great book for this is Pat Lencioni’s Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars- a quick read with a lot of helpful information on how to understand and collaborate in an environment with many personalities. Further, remember that everyone involved is a real, live, human being! Get to know these people- see if you can initiate opportunities to spend time together as a staff, talk to them about their families and interests, create an image of them that supports their status as a human rather than an adversary.

If you are being bullied, know that these circumstances are not normal and must be addressed. I am far from an expert in this area and don’t wish to give ill-informed advice in this realm, but there are a few resources I’d like to direct you to. First, the Workplace Bullying Institute has a series of resources that can help you cope with a bullying scenario. Karlyn Borysenko is a leadership professional doing great work in the area of diagnosing and confronting bullying in the workplace. I encourage you to read her article on the characteristics of workplace bullying, and explore her website (Zen Workplace) to learn more about how to cope with these concerns.

I Hate My Job Might Mean…I Expected This To Be Different

In a prior piece I wrote about Questlove’s Mo Meta Blues, he talks about the danger of expectations and how they can sometimes contribute to disappointment and frustration. At the end of the day, we all have expectations for what we’d like our present circumstances and future aspirations to look like. And those expectations can color how we see our current station. Maybe you feel like you should be making more for the work you’re doing, or are convinced that you deserve a promotion, or can’t believe that you’re being asked to do that task. When these feelings consume you, I return to the counsel I provided in the Questlove piece: the only competition you should ever be in is with yourself, with the person you were yesterday.

If you end each day a little better professionally, a little stronger as a person, and a little more experienced than the day before, you’re doing fine. And if you are in a sustained situation where this is not the case, look closely at that. How did you get there? Where would you like to be? And what can you realistically do to get yourself there?

A Final Note On That Job You Hate

It was important to me to write this piece because I’ve been in jobs I “hated” and want to help others avoid that experience. However, I should also say that this is a fairly long piece…based on a book I did not enjoy. I point that out because it’s important to recognize that something good can come from everything. Even the jobs that challenged my ability to stay at the office all day, left me crying under my desk, and caused stress that made my hair fall out (all true, by the way), I use lessons and skills from those jobs every single day. You may be frustrated, feel beat down, and suspect that you’re wasting your time in a role you’re not happy in. This is not an okay state to be in for long periods, and you’re right to get angry about it. But I promise you you’re learning. You’re growing. You’re getting better. And when you get where you’re headed next, you’ll find that the time in those jobs you hate is the reason you can find, appreciate, and excel in those jobs you love.

How A Coffee Table Changed My Life

After spending 3 years in college and changing my major more times than I care to admit, I still had no idea the direction in which I wanted to take my career. I was sitting in the living room of my apartment with my roommates late one night and as I uncrossed my legs to stand up, I hit my foot on the coffee table, shattering the bones. An injury that eventually left me bedridden with a metal pin sticking out of the top of my foot for three months, and forced me to drop out of college. I didn't realize it then, but the circumstance I thought would be detrimental to my future actually ended up being the beginning of it.I had always been discouraged from majoring in the things I enjoyed because they “didn't make enough money” and the things that did make “enough money” bored me to the point of tears. So for 3 years, I wandered the campus feeling lost, just trying to make it past the next exam with no real sense of security concerning what my future might hold. The truth was, I didn't want to be in college. I didn't feel like it was for me, but my high school guidance counselors seemed to have conspired with my mother to convince me that it was the only option after high school.

After coming out of my post surgery haze, I realized I was faced with a very difficult decision. I could either return to college to please my mother or I could take the time to figure out what it is that I wanted to do and if i wanted to go back at all. Eventually I caved in to the pressure and began preparing to return to school. I applied for a job close to a campus at a local university where I planned to enroll and planned to work there while I went back to school. It was a live on position at an extended stay hotel. I got the job, and it took me two weeks to realize that this was exactly what I was meant to do. I enjoyed every aspect of the job and found myself missing work when I wasn’t working as opposed to watching the clock waiting to get off. This unexpected discovery invigorated me with a new sense of motivation and compelled me to take control of my own life. So for the first time in my life, I told my mother “no.” I was not going to go back to college. (At least for the time being.) I was not going to be a lawyer. I was not going to be a doctor. I was not going to resign my happiness for a dollar amount or a corner office. I was going to do what made me happy. June 1st will make two years since i’ve been with the company. I’ve worked very hard and been met with the same dedication from the company in return. Within my time here i've gotten promoted and been rewarded with some amazing opportunities. I've never, even for a second, regretted my decision and I couldn’t be more pleased with the career path that i've chosen. Now to be clear, I definitely do not recommend injuring yourself or dropping out of college on a quest to accidentally find a career. My story is odd to say the least, but there are some key elements that can be taken away and applied towards finding (or figuring out) your niche.

Make the best of the worst. Don't let a temporary set back permanently keep you from getting ahead. Many times it’s hard to see how you will make it through tough times, but as cliche as it sounds there is very often a silver lining. If there isn't a silver lining, create one. I don't know that I believe there’s a reason for everything, but I do believe you can achieve a positive outcome from anything. It’s all about your perspective and how you choose to react to whatever is thrown your way.

Disregard the traditions. For me, college just was not a good fit. I still wholeheartedly believe in education, I just choose to educate myself in other ways. I only stayed as long as I did because it was “what I was supposed to do.” There is no right way to do life. You have to figure out what’s right for you. Find whatever path to success is the one that you enjoy and stick with it.

Know when to say “no.” There’s nothing wrong with saying no when you mean it. Follow your intuition and stick your guns. Figure out what your priorities are and use those to guide our decisions. If you are being pushed towards something you do not want, be it by a family member or guidance counselor, push back. Be confident about what it is you want and work hard towards it.

Keep an open mind. You may not know what makes you happy until you try it. When opportunities arise, take advantage of them. Try new things and you just may be surprised what fits you. The future may not look the way you imagined, but it may pleasantly surprise you if you give it the chance.

Sometimes it's easy to forget how big the world is and once we forget that we tend to view our options as limited. If you keep in mind how big the world around you actually is, it makes sense that there are so many other ways to be successful and find your niche than the ones you have been taught. So stop whatever it is you are doing that is not serving your happiness or pushing you towards your goals. It may seem scary at first, but that one thing you try when everyone is telling you not to, just may be your niche.

Skip the 4.0

It is a hectic, stressful, hair-graying, frustrating, schedule-juggling, if-she-emails-me-one-more-time beautiful and life-changing experience. It is college and it is freakin’ awesome. They say that students nowadays are willing to pay ridiculous amounts of money to obtain a higher education that offers the “full college experience.” Let’s get one thing straight: I can tell you right now they don’t mean classes. Universities across the nation are raising tuition costs left and right because, among other expenses, they are competing with one another to offer all the different programs, services and opportunities young America is so desperately looking for.

Why, then, is so much emphasis put on academics? Although academic success is necessary, I mean, you are paying for it after all, the most important aspect of college is not killing yourself to get the best grade possible. It’s not pulling unhealthy all-nighters or being the first person to raise your hand after the professor’s every question. College life is about succeeding in the classroom while also participating in extracurricular activities that help to develop you as a student and as a potential employee. What matters is your ability to maintain that strong grade point average while also keeping up some sort of interactive, non-academic life. The ability to juggle your overall student experience - classes, work, clubs, fun - is what employers want to see because once college is over, you’ll need to juggle a whole lot more - work, bills, commute, life. And this is what you’re paying for.

 As a Rutgers student I was involved with the Student Life department since my college career began. I served on a few different student organizations and volunteer groups, both run by the Student Life department. Through my involvement with the department, I became an official member of the Student Life family, which at RU is a very highly recognized and respected group of talented, enthusiastic and innovative students. Along with Student Life, I was involved with Dining Services, Career Services and Athletics. Unfortunately, I had to graduate but – here’s the good news – unlike many post-grads, I graduated with a job offer.

My full-time job, however, was not earned from my degree or my course studies or my grades. I got this job because I had experience in programming, event-planning and leadership. Being involved in college can help you to learn many desired work-related skills such as time management, problem solving, and responsibility. But it can also do so much more, trust me. Becoming involved in organizations and clubs while in school can help you to build lifelong friendships, develop your leadership skills and most importantly build a strong, close-knit network of professionals for your job search. Isn’t that what it’s all about?

The first and easiest part about getting involved at school is that you get to make friends! It is highly likely that the groups you join will comprise students with similar interests, otherwise, why join the group? These settings are a great place to blow off some steam about school and have some fun while doing it. Not to mention, there is almost always free food at student events so you’ll even get a free meal every once in a while. Score! You can try new things like different cultural foods, recreational activities and explore new locations on campus. Although many organizations have obligations to meet and goals to accomplish, somehow it doesn’t seem so bad getting things done with friends.

Secondly, organizing different programs, meetings, and conferences can be very difficult even for professionals. Getting involved on campus will deliver you the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities required in the professional world. Even as an underclassman, you can find a plethora of leadership opportunities on campus from becoming a general member of an organization to starting your own club. These kinds of activities are huge resume boosters as they prove to potential employers that you are able to lead a group of students and act in a professional manner to complete a goal. As a student leader, other students will come to you for advice, suggestions and mentoring. Over the course of your years in school, you can move up the ladder and take on leadership responsibilities as you become more skilled. The progression in leadership will show employers that you are capable, reliable and dedicated.

Not only will you make friends and become a leader, you’ll have unlimited opportunities to network with the extremely talented professional staff at your school. As a student leader you can meet professionals from many offices including career services, academic advising, dining services and many, many more. The professional staff are excellent references and resources to have in your future as they will be the people you work very closely with to progress your student’s organization. These people will be able to vouch for your success as an involved student and employers will trust their expertise more so than, say, a professor who barely knows your name. Your place as an involved student will also get you to experience diversity, first hand. Interaction with other students, faculty, and staff, creates an opportunity to learn something about yourself, others and the world around you.

You may be thinking, “Why would I want to take on more work?” or “I don’t have time for anything else.” My argument is that when you’re doing something you love, work is not a job. Being involved at school shouldn’t be perceived as a chore. It is an amazing, life-changing opportunity to meet people who are both similar to and different than you. Your training and experiences will give you specific skills and abilities that employers are looking for. And you’ll significantly expand your network of references by interacting with professional staff members who care about you and your future. So I ask you today...please don’t be a 4.0 try-hard. Don’t be that kid. Be the kid who couldn’t ask for a better college experience.

10 Real World Tips for the Class of 2014

The class of 2014 is about to graduate. These students will leave campus with an abundance of skills and new perspectives from the many experiences they had in and outside the classroom. However, there are always a few things that don't necessarily "fit" into a workshop or make it into a classroom discussion. These concepts and tips are the things many of our students end up learning the hard way.

While I am all for the "live and learn" school of thought, I believe our students need a heads up on what lies ahead in TODAY'S "real world" as it relates to life and their career. So, I am sharing my 10 tips, and I hope they give the class of 2014 some new things to think about as they proceed on their journey of life "post-graduation."

1. Don't settle until you're happy. Especially in your careers, relationships, or a project your working on.

2. Become a linchpin within your organization. What happens when a linchpin is removed from a grenade? An explosion. On paper, anyone can do the work written in the job description. But if you want to be irreplaceable, you must understand you need to bring a unique personality, intangible skills, and something new to your organization.

3. Always be launching. This tip is from the term rapid prototyping:  a group of techniques used to quickly fabricate a scale model of a physical part. It's easy to get so wrapped up into perfection, procrastination, or fear of what others will think. If it will take you to the next step, launch it. You can always tweak it later.

4. Skip the new car and the fancy clothes.  At the very least, most of you will have student loans to payback. Bills can add up quickly, but if you are looking to make a pivot in your career or take that job you love with little pay, now is the time to be frugal and not get wrapped up our “consumer-centric” society.

5. There is no gatekeeper. It's 2014 and every bit of information is at our fingertips and on our smartphones. There is no longer an excuse that you can't find someone's email, unable to connect via twitter, or find out who to address a cover letter to.

6. Find a way to standout. Using tip #5, you must spend more time standing out than trying to fit in. Want to land that dream job? Then spend a week focusing on 2-3 companies you want to work for rather than 20 and figure out who you can network with, who to talk to, and creative ways to get your name to the top. A great book to pass along to your students is Bold: Get Noticed, Get Hired.

7. Meet new people in your network. Find someone in your area of work or something you are passionate about and contact them. Set up a time to grab coffee, a drink, lunch or dinner and see how you can each add value to each other's endeavors. Repeat this tip at least once per month.

8. Create a boutique career. Last year I heard the term "boutique career" when I interviewed Alena Gerst and she said that it should be common for Generation Y to have jobs, projects, and careers outside of their "day" job. Enter the term boutique careers. With the resources we have available and low cost of entry, it's easier now, more than ever, to start an Etsy shop, freelance, or become a part-time entrepreneur. At the end of the day, this helps your students build their personal brand, work on something they believe in, and open up new doors. Side note: More organizations need to support this new concept.

9.  It's ok if you don't have it all figured out. We've all heard this saying before, but it needs to be said over and over again, especially to recent graduates. Unfortunately, many of our talented students are going to have a long road ahead of them to find a job, let alone find a job they love. Society and academia put so much pressure on college graduates to have it all figured out come May 15th of their graduating year. The reality is, it is going to take time, life experiences and relationships that pivot our students in several different directions. Just let them know, before they recieve their diploma, that everything will be "ok" as long as they stay motivated and work hard.

10. Write your own rulebook. If your students don't have it all figured out or if they have something they are really passionate about, tell them to go after it full-speed ahead. Generation Y receives a lot of pushback  and criticism from older generations, but look at some of the amazing start-ups, non-profits and young leaders we have all under the age of 30. It's their time pave their own path and write their own book.

Those are my tips for the class of 2014. What would you add? Which ones resonated with you the most?

See What Sticks: 3 Must-Haves for Change at Work

At first glance, Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru's League of Denial seems to be a book about the NFL's insufficiently addressed concussion problem. And it is, in the most literal sense, about that. But it's also about the role of passionate and knowledgeable people in speaking up to create change. As addressed in the introduction, the NFL is a $5 billion enterprise. An organization that massive doesn't turn any more quickly than a full-speed cruise ship would, and it takes a lot to compel each to stop and take notice. But with the right ingredients, a select few individuals were able to make a gigantic corporation pay attention to something very serious. And their essentials for success could apply to your organization as well, even if it's not as big. I strongly encourage you read the book, even if you have little interest in football- you'll learn a lot about the power of conviction, talent, and the stories of iconic figures in society. Say you have something at work that doesn't feel right. Maybe it's a process that needs updating, or a transaction that looks a little fishy. You might not even have proof. It might just feel wrong. That is what we call a hunch, and it was essential to Dr. Bennet Omalu, the Nigerian coroner who presided over the autopsy of former Pittsburgh Steeler and Kansas City Chief Mike Webster. In 2002, Webster reportedly died of heart failure at 50. All prior test results had confirmed this, and there was therefore, scientifically, allegedly no reason to look at his brain. But Omalu felt like something could be there. He ordered that his assistant "fix" the brain, meaning prepare it for dissection. What he found upon further exploration set off a firestorm of conversation about the nature of football, its contribution to depression and dementia, and the NFL's role in warning players about the risks associated with the sport.

It's not uncommon to have situations at work that we suspect are a little off. But many people brush them aside, assuming it's not their place to further investigate, or even wish away the thought for fear of what they might find. Without Omalu's conviction to dig deeper into his hunch, discussion on the NFL's concussion crisis would have taken far longer to surface. What injustices, danger, or inefficiencies could your hunch uncover? And on a lighter note, what solutions could you find once a problem or concern in clearly identified?

Many of Omalu's initial allies were fellow scientists- neuroscientists, psychologist, internists, and others in the medical community. But an unlikely ally surfaced for Omalu's cause- a sports agent.

For those who have seen the 1996 film Jerry Maguire, you may recall a scene where a hockey player wakes up in a hospital, surrounded by his family and Jerry. He is clearly suffering from concussion symptoms, but Jerry seems undeterred in his efforts to get him back on the ice. After he leaves the room, the hockey player's young son follows him and admonishes him for taking his dad's safety so lightly. This interaction seems to spark a change in Jerry, and from there he creates his famous "mission statement" that takes his career down a new path.

What many may not know, however, is that this scene is based in some truth. Leigh Steinberg, sports agent for legendary players such as Troy Aikman, is the actual agent upon which some of Jerry Maguire is based. The scene is based on an interaction that Steinberg had in 1993 with Aikman after the latter awoke. Aikman asked Steinberg, "Leigh, why am I here? Did I play? Did I play well?" Steinberg answered his questions, and let him know that his phenomenal play would take his team to the Super Bowl the following week. He answered them again, five minutes later, when Aikman asked him again with no recollection of the prior exchange. And again, five minutes after that, when Aikman's short term memory was clearly continuing to fail him. "It terrified me," Steinberg confesses in the book. "I saw how tenous the bond was between consciousness and dementia and realized that this young man who I cared for and loved was sitting alone as a result of a concussion and we had no idea what the consequences were."

By Sunday, Aikman was coasting through the Cowboys' 30-13 blowout of the Buffalo Bills. A year later, he remembered almost none of it.

For Steinberg, it wasn't much of a victory. He had become convinced that he was guiding his clients to ruination. He had reached his own turning point.

"I'm an enabler," he thought to himself. "That's all I'm doing."

From here, Steinberg dedicated himself to the cause of learning about the long-term effects of concussions, and later spreading the word about these dangers to players across the League. While the reviews of his informational sessions about these concerns were mixed (and weighed heavily on the negative), he didn't give up. His dedication to stopping the enabling in the League around this issue pushed him to keep researching, keep speaking up, and providing credibility to later occurrences of similar symptoms and illnesses.

Could you, conceivably, rally all of your strength around a cause to which you're not committed? Maybe. But it's far easier when you feel a natural passion for the cause at hand. This doesn't always come naturally, as one might expect when in the workplace. But in those instances, I recommend a strategy from Patrick Lencioni, author of The Three Signs of a Miserable Job. According to Lencioni,

Everyone needs to know their job matters, to someone. Anyone. Without seeing the connection between the work and the satisfaction of another person or group of people, an employee simply will not find fulfillment. Even the most cynical employees need to know that their work matters to someone [...]*

Should you be called to be a change agent for something you don't fully buy into, keep the above paragraph in mind. When you do your job well, who benefits? When you do it poorly, who does it hurt? And, for the record, the answer to both of those is allowed to be you! If that's not enough (and that's okay too), think harder about what you do, and who ultimately sees the end product. It'll help you find purpose in the change you're working to create.

Now you have a hunch that something needs to change, and you've summoned the energy with which to attack the issue at hand. What else is needed? The right environment to plan your approach. For the scientists and advocates for NFL head safety, this place was Pittsburgh. More than being the home of Primanti Brothers sandwiches and comedian Steve Byrne, and more than the setting for Flashdance, Pittsburgh was where a great deal of support for the research done on concussions came from. When a pair of doctors named John Maroon and Mark Lovell joined forces in 1993 to create a head injury evaluation test (which later evolved into the ImPACT test used on sidelines today), twenty-seven Pittsburgh Steelers were among the first guinea pigs for the protocol. And while they were not greeted with open arms any more than the other individuals we've mentioned previously, the environment they were in allowed them to look more closely at some of the concerns they had. Further, when players did start to speak up about some of these concerns, several of them came from Pittsburgh (including the man whose damage-addled brain set off the firestorm around concussions, Mike Webster). These players had seen the deterioration of their colleagues and friends, and had a greater awareness of some of the causes. They used that influence not to stay silent, but to speak up about the dangers that their peers in the 29 other NFL cities were subject to.

It is a distinct possibility that the environment in which you work will not be the one that supports you as you attempt to create change. Sometimes those around you are prepared to move toward a new way of doing things. But sometimes they're not. "What then?", you may be asking.

To that, I would encourage you to find an alternative  support system. Coffeehouses and bookstores are full of people with big ideas- if you can't work toward change at the office, consider carving out time for yourself to frequent those places. They're havens of creativity, and you'll never starve in one, either! And what of human support systems? Maybe you have friends who work in other industries that can ask you the tough questions, or even the silly ones that you might not think to address because of all the "assumed knowledge" we sometimes take for granted when we're in an insular environment. Or maybe you have friends who work in similar environments who have seen changes such as the ones you're proposing work, and can provide guidance on how to propose it. Or maybe your support comes from family members who unfailingly carry pompoms as you struggle to find the value in your work. In all of these instances, you can find the push to keep working for what you believe in from the people around you, not just your boss or immediate colleagues.

Change can be hard to create, especially when it seems the weight of the organization is moving away from what you're hoping to accomplish. But there are ways to make it happen. By following your hunches, finding and reinforcing your dedication, and working in an environment supportive of your work, it'll be a little bit easier to speak up about what you see, and hopefully change will be on the way.

* Lencioni, P. (2007). The three signs of a miserable job. Retrieved 30 Mar 2014 from http://www.tablegroup.com/books/signs/media/Three_Signs_Model.pdf