This is the second episode in our series about the three P’s of good work. The second P is possibility. Having possibility in your work is a key to good work. One of the things I like about Frameworks, like the three P’s of good work, is that it gives you a tool to think about a subject. A framework helps you, with the insight of others, to think about a subject in a structured way, which can help illuminate that subject in a way that is a bit more divorced from personal experience. The second thing a framework does is it can give you language to discuss something. Having the words to describe something that can be difficult to describe can give you the tools you need to communicate about it and think about it. Our team has a shared vocabulary that allows us to communicate clearly about design, but we have to approach that conversation very differently when we work with a client who is not knowledgeable about design. Even if you disagree with the structure of the three P’s, hopefully it will give you some clarity to make a better decision for yourself and your work-life. This is the second episode in our series about the three P’s of good work.
The second P is possibility. Having possibility in your work is a key to good work. And within this category, there are three elements: autonomy, creativity, and advancement. Let’s start with autonomy. Good work involves lots of autonomy. Autonomy is the ability to make decisions about the work. That involves an employer trusting you with a task. Autonomy allows your brain to think and process and gives you the ability to be flexible if problems arise. Autonomy makes work less robotic and more human. Being able to make decisions about how the work gets done, maybe rotating assignments, working at your own pace, solving a problem, or working without close supervision are all forms of autonomy. It is closely related to the next element, creativity. Creativity is the freedom to create within work. This is not just about, quote-unquote, creative work. It’s about all work. The more a job, any job has the freedom to be creative, the better it will be. Obviously, this applies to work in our field, but it also happens in all types of work. For example, we had someone out to run electricity to our pool pump. There were a hundred ways that you could have gone about getting the electricity from one side of the house to the other to set up the pool pump.
The electricians at our home were able to think through it, using creativity to determine what the best path was. There is creativity available in most jobs. And while some people are more predisposed to thinking creatively, I believe anybody can be creative. Some just exercise the muscle more than others. The final element in possibility is advancement. Having the potential to advance and grow and change in your job is something that many people do not think about ahead of time when they go to work somewhere. Some workplaces hire you to do one job and never expect you or encourage you to grow and develop. This is not a sign of good work. A sign of good work would be a job that allows you to grow your skills and develop new ones and potentially give you the room to get promotions and grow responsibilities. As humans, we are ever growing and changing, and work should reflect that. Some organizations are flat and there are not many titles to go around, but that doesn’t mean they can’t allow you to grow your skills and invest in people that way. This wraps up the second of the three elements of good work, possibility, autonomy, creativity, and advancement.
If you have any feedback on these categories, I’d love to hear it. Send me an email at kevin@adelsburgermarketing. Com, and thank you for listening to the Content Machine Podcast. Be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the last part of our series.
