What is achievement? Reflections on the topic.

ayshakhatunasha

Achievements come in different forms. A child's parents are proud of his first step, while a respectable businessman is proud of the million he earned. What do you consider your achievements?

The article was born from an active discussion with colleagues, when we unexpectedly found out that the word "achievement" has different meanings for different people. There will be no correct answer here, only an exposition of points of view, perhaps one of them will be close to you.

What is an achievement? Reflections on the topic.. Photo 1
Working in a recruitment agency , we often suggest that job seekers list their achievements in their resumes. Unfortunately, in our culture, many people do not find this easy. It is encouraging that the process of accepting one's merits in society has been launched, and the number of specialists who devalue themselves is decreasing.

That momentous conversation began with a candidate's resume , who was not very good at clearly outlining his own merits, and then colleagues applied the situation to themselves and a dialogue like this took place:

—  If you were writing a resume now, you would indicate the number of completed projects.

- This is not an achievement, I was paid for this!

— But the result was excellent, the company made a profit!

- That's why they hired me. If I hadn't virtual phone number service closed projects like that, I wouldn't be working here.

The crux of the debate: should a job well done and paid be considered an achievement?

Now let's turn to theory.
What is an achievement? Reflections on the topic.. Photo 2
Achievement is the result of successful effort or work that brings satisfaction or recognition. It can be the completion of a specific task, the attainment of a goal, the acquisition of new skills or abilities, or any other success that is meaningful to an individual or community.

Achievements can be personal, professional, educational, athletic, etc. They can be small, such as completing a project, or large, such as receiving an award or recognition for outstanding achievement.

It is important to note that achievements are individual and may not mean the same thing to different people. The same result may be important to one person and less significant to another.

Later we talked to colleagues and acquaintances and found that two opinions prevailed. The achievement is:

A result that I had to put in significant effort or overcome myself to achieve.
A task done well, the result of which was something positive, and it does not matter how difficult or easy it was to do.
The first group, including the author of the article (although there are already doubts), tend to measure success in terms of effort expended. Focus on the process.

The second suggests considering achievement as the result of an activity, no matter how difficult it was for the performer. Focus on the result.

Professor vs. Legend
What is an achievement? Reflections on the topic.. Photo 3
According to the theory of Carol Dweck, a professor of psychology at Stanford, there are two types of thinking:



with a fixed mindset, where intelligence or abilities are perceived as fixed;
with a growth mindset, which suggests that any ability or quality can be developed.
People with a fixed mindset are more vulnerable to failure, fear challenges, and are less inclined to learn; people with a growth mindset are more persistent and willing to learn new skills. Praising an employee for their achievements helps develop a fixed mindset; appreciating the efforts that led to the result helps develop a growth mindset. In the first case, a person may perceive every mistake and lack of immediate results as a failure and eventually stop even trying to achieve something; in the second, he will feel himself in an atmosphere where everything is possible if you put in enough effort. Dweck votes on the process!

" You need to work not 12 hours a day, but with your head,"  said Steve Jobs and hit the nail on the head. So you want to work not more, but more efficiently. Not to sit up late in the evenings and on weekends, and at the same time manage to do everything and be considered a real professional. Here we are talking about developed soft skills, knowledge and the ability to organize the process so that minimal effort gives maximum results. Jobs is on the results team.

It is not difficult to find negative examples of both approaches. You yourself can remember a day when you were “very tired, busy all the time, but in fact it is not clear what you did” or considered the unsuccessful results of a project a universal tragedy, and did not notice the fact that you gained useful skills from the situation.

We have not come to a consensus, but we are definitely in favor of noticing our own achievements, trying to adequately assess our strengths and weaknesses, and understanding the paths of development.