It’s easy to acquire tunnel vision. There are jobs to do, projects to complete, and meetings to attend. Your organization is probably running lean, which means you’re responsible for your job as well as big chunks of work from coworkers who’ve moved or left. It’s hard to find the time to do anything well, much less learn and grow. Like the organization, you are sacrificing long-term considerations for short-term necessities. Focus on what’s in front of you. Get through the day.

Financial planners tell their clients to pay themselves first with every paycheck. Take a small amount from each check and put it in savings. Even when money is tight. Even when you have urgent needs in front of you. Don’t squander your future by being short-sighted. Pay yourself first.

The same concept applies to your work life. Take a few minutes from each day and use it to increase your value. Step back from the tunnel and broaden your understanding of how your entire team, department, and organization work. Identify your customers and what they require and how you can make them more satisfied and loyal. Learn how the processes you are part of function and how you can improve them. Find the data and information you need to evaluate and improve performance. Determine how what you do serves the mission, vision, plans, and goals of the organization and if it doesn’t, realign. Figure out what knowledge and skills you need to advance your career and pursue them.

By taking this “big picture” perspective, you make yourself more valuable in your current job and to future jobs and employers. You become the person who prevents fires, not one of many who spend their days putting fires out. You become the person who asks the insightful questions that get at the root causes of problems. You become a rising star. You are a leader.

Pay yourself first. Take 15 minutes a day to learn how management systems and each of their key components work. Study the responsibilities of leaders, how to develop and deploy a strategic plan, the Voice of the Customer, performance measurement, employee engagement, and performance management. Discover how all of these components form a holistic system and what that means for your organization. Ask insightful questions. Champion positive change.

You will be rewarded for the effort. In the short term, you will get a daily break from the grind. You will feel more connected to your organization. You will learn and grow.

In the long term, you will gain the wisdom that a systems perspective provides. You will see connections—and disconnects—that others will miss. Your value will expand beyond your team or department.

Pay yourself first.

Here are good places to start:

• How to Use Baldrige.com
• Make Yourself More Valuable
• Want to Be a Star?
• 10 Questions to Ask about Everything You Do
• My Personal Baldrige: Customers
• My Personal Baldrige: Process

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