How are things at work?
The way you answer this question — and what you do next — can have a big impact on your success in your current role. Here’s a 2x2 to illustrate.

GOOD + CAN IMPROVE
That’s great, just keep doing what you’re doing!
GOOD + CANNOT IMPROVE
That’s an issue. Mastery and perfection are destinations we can never fully reach. Everything has the potential to get better.
So if you think that you’ve arrived, you might need to either broaden your horizons or deepen your understanding.
BAD + CAN IMPROVE
That’s good! Just channel your optimism into action. Pick a thing that needs fixing and fix it. Solve a problem. Come up with a better way. Lead others.
BAD + CANNOT IMPROVE
This is a miserable quadrant to find yourself in. If you do, you have two options to get out:
- You can either reassess your attitude, dig deep and discover the hidden potential for things to get better.
- Or you can leave and move on.
Neither option is easy, but the worst thing you can do — both for yourself and your team — is to stay in this quadrant for long. You will hate it, and you will turn it into a self-fulfilling prophecy.
So... How are things at work?