What Qualities Make Your Work Satisfying?

Originally Published 12.27.2013

Only 4 days to go before we end the year. Time really flies so fast. It has been a little over 6 months since I launched this blog, found Six Sigma PH, and started a Lean Six Sigma independent consulting career full-time. It was a big risk. A path less traveled. It was never easy, choosing high-risk work over a handsome and guaranteed monthly paycheck, bountiful variable bonuses and benefits, and a gold-plated title from a multinational company to boast about. Initially, I thought I'd have more free time to spend, but it was the exact opposite. I was burning the oil from midnight to noon to midnight. I thought working as an independent professional meant having no boss, but it turns out, that all my clients are my bosses- with different needs, wants attitudes, and expectations. Doing not just my expertise but also market research, business development, client management, supplier sourcing, finance and accounting, and others are the main reasons why only a few dare to be in this situation. 

Having the autonomy, the challenge of complexity, and the line of sight between effort and rewards, make it all worth it.

I'll end with a quote from M. Gladwell's best-selling book- Outliers.

"Those 3 things- autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and rewards- are, most people agree, the 3 qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. Not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between 8 to 5." ---Outliers, Malcolm Gladwell

PS Do you experience the said 3 qualities at work: Autonomy, complexity, and a direct connection between effort and rewards? If not, time to reflect and make the big move in 2014. Do you want to be a full-time theater actor? A singer? Start a restaurant? An entrepreneur? Study law? Be a chef or a fashion designer? It is never too late. You are the master of your fate, the captain of your soul!

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