Do you ever find yourself asking why?

Do you ask yourself questions such as: Why is that employee consistently late? Why does he/she continue to perform tasks incorrectly? Why does she/he give me lip every time I instruct him/her on job performance? Why am I doing this job? Why, Why, Why?

We all struggle periodically with these questions, and the first three are easily answered. As long as you have employees, you must cope with these issues. But they can be resolved by good, diligent management techniques. Do not attempt to psychoanalyze their motivation or you will need psychiatric attention.

The last question we should visit periodically to evaluate ourselves, our current job satisfaction, and where are we in regards to our long term (life) goals. Either as the business owner or the employee, we should ask ourselves this self-evaluating question to assist in determining our location on our life’s timeline.

Supporting questions for evaluating our contentment are: Why did I take this job in the first place? Do I feel trapped here now? What is my job satisfaction level on a scale of one to ten? Do I really like what I am doing? How is all this affecting my health, work performance, and personal life?

I received a pyramid shaped paper weight while working for Bank of America and it was of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Without going into great detail Maslow’s Theory (A. H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 50, 1943: 370-96) basically states there are five levels of needs. Paraphrased, they are:

* Physiological (Survival)

* Safety (housing, income, and health)

* Love/Belonging (friendship, love etc)

* Esteem (Self-esteem, achievement, etc) and

* Self-actualization (morality, creativity, etc).

We are constantly shifting our position in life as Maslow’s theory pertains to our professional and personal lives and should review this pyramid periodically to asses our current need level, level of satisfaction, and career strategy.

It would be difficult in today’s economic climate to make a decision to leave a current position which pays adequately, may have benefits, and you are used to. I did not say am comfortable in, as that may be a portion of the reasons you are asking yourself these why questions. If you are fortunate enough to have a position that supplies sufficient income, benefits, job satisfaction, and an acceptable level of stress, I would recommend remaining temporarily until you can safely move to your next level of life attainment.

Answering these questions will probably give you a migraine, but alas you probably already have one trying to cope with your current career placement. How many negative answers did you fill in? Too many? Maybe you should Stop, Look, and Listen to what you are telling yourself. Maybe adjustments are due in your career sphere.

Next, do you have a plan for where you want to be at stages in your life, and what you would like to attain during these stages? You need to make a plan, write it down, post it in a conspicuous location and check off (with a large checkmark) each milestone reached.

Is it time to shake your pyramid to see where you land in regards to your needs level? Is it time to move up, down or remain stationary? Only you know for sure.