Hundreds of unread emails, regulatory requirements, acquisition holdups, antiquated technology – in the government it seems there is always something to complain about. But that endless cycle of negativity can not only impact your job performance but your life too.
Anya Kajich is a Supervisory Public Health Veterinarian for USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service. She was a finalist for the Next Generation of Government Training Summit speaker contest. (You can still register for the Summit here.)
She told me it may sound simple, but a positive attitude can revolutionize the way you work.
“Civilans think about government employees as that angry person behind the counter who is keeping them from getting that permit or accessing what they are looking for, but they are misguided because they aren’t seeing the grandur of what government employees can do,” said Kajich.
Power of Positivity
“There needs to be improvements made in all aspects of government to really show people how diverse we are and how positive and productive we can be,” said Kajich. “It has to be each person’s responsibility to empower themselves, you can’t ask for someone else to hand that over to you.”
How Do You Add Positivity?
- Make sure you are being challenged.
- Join a community with likeminded interests.
- Time your pity parities, give yourself a defined time to wallow over mistakes or missteps.
- Be mission oriented both on the job and in life.
- Choose to be positive. Everyday you have a choice.
You can hear stories like this at GovLoop’s Next Generation of Government Leadership Conference. You can find out more about the event here. And register here.
How do you add positivity?
Start with a smile. You’d be amazed how that improves the response you get.
Secondarily, get competent. That means know how to get the customer what they want, right away. That’s the only constructive outcome.