Pen{g}sieve Vol. 14: Celebrate 1st anniversary -- the journey to a created work experience

Right after my first work anniversary, congrats poured in through my LinkedIn connections. “In today’s work culture, what is there to celebrate of a work anniversary?” I wondered. That soon turned into a different one — “what is a more meaningful way to celebrate a work anniversary?”

Celebrate work anniversaries with meaning

I decided that a more meaningful way to celebrate this work anniversary is to celebrate a year of learning, to gain clarity of the past, and to share the journey for others like me a year ago.

Luckily I kept a work journal for the past year. The journal recorded memorable moments at the end of each workday as life unfolded, in an attempt to decode how one learns on a new job. It was in those recorded moments that the golden thread connecting the beginning and the end of a one-year journey emerged:

• There were learnings to be had from doing almost everything;

• There was constant reframing that turned "troubles" into challenges and then into meaning;

• There were countless moments of small choices and actions that compounded into a created work experience instead of a reacted-upon one.

On the last point, I remembered such a small moment during my first Zoom meeting with the team. As the group waited for the manager to join the meeting room, the energy of the room felt constricting as nobody talked or smiled. Should I follow the flow or break the ice? It was a moment’s decision — I decided to show up with warmth, so I smiled and greeted the only two people I knew in the meeting. It was a small act of courage for something inconsequential, but the same spirit of making deliberate choices manifested itself on many occasions throughout the year. And together these small choices formed a created work experience like none of my previous ones.

The start and end of a one-year journey

The following journal entry documented my state of mind at the start of the job. I could read my unease between the lines.

Monday, Nov 2, 2020, Cloudy, 41 F

I want my job experience to be intentional and mindful.

What do I want to achieve?

I want my job experience to be an experiment of my System 2.0:

• Can I overcome my fear of unknown challenges and the anxiety of being out of my comfort zone with a tiny habit of a good workday?

• Can I survive and then thrive with a 9-5 work schedule?

• Can I naturally establish my leadership/influence in a new environment without any title?

• Can I produce good solutions by relying on strong analytical skills and cognitive abilities without writing a lot of codes as a senior IC?

What are my ground rules?

• Practice goal setting at all levels (i.e., each assignment, each day, each week, each month, each half, each year)

• Focus on making every day a good workday.

• Before starting on a task, spend a bit of time on planning (i.e., formulating the problem, breaking it down into smaller steps)

• After finishing a task, reflect on what can be improved and learned.

What may derail me?

• Not starting a day properly (e.g., low energy levels, distraction or guilt from kids, errands in the morning)

• Tasks are too overwhelming

• My hands-on skills may hinder my progress

Fast forward a year from that date. My anniversary work post read like a celebration. Not only did I survive, but I also managed to create a work experience that was meaningful and enjoyable to me.

Nov 2nd, 2021 (1st anniversary)

When I started a year ago, I wasn't even sure if I would survive the ramp-up. Luckily, from the very beginning, I decided to make this experience an experiment -- could I do this job entirely on my terms and still be successful? I even wrote a manifesto to remind myself not to get lost in busywork.

Today I am proud to say that so far, so good for the experiment. Since Q3, I found myself able to enjoy work every day. What is the secret sauce? I used to work only from my head. I now learned to do it from my head, heart, and gut. I hope this positive energy will sustain, and I'd love to share my systems to help others like me find more joy in work.

A created work experience

At which point did I cross the line from being uncertain to knowing that I would thrive? I did not know. But I now saw that the seed of a created work experience was sowed on the first day:

• What do I want to achieve in this role?

• What new systems (habits) do I need to build for this role?

My work manifesto

A manifesto is a set of principles that one repeats every day to guide daily priorities and actions. Empowered by my experience of writing a personal manifesto and realizing the outsize influence of work over my life, I wrote my first manifesto for work.

July 1st, 2021

Success at this job is not defined as the end status but by my inner experience along the journey.

I am successful on the job if

• I experience learning, creation, and connection everyday;

• I get work done beautifully and with mastery; my work manifests who I am;

• I can say no to things that I do not want;

• I tread my own path; when not sure, I ask what’s the vulnerable thing to do and do that;

• When I leave the company, people remember me as a person who has served them powerfully (aka the workplace version of tombstone).

I fail on this job if

• I let the job take control of my time; I burn out;

• I do not enjoy the work;

• I do not show up authentically;

• I grow complacent and stop learning.

At the heart of a created work experience was not a single heroic moment but numerous small choices guided by a strong intention to create something uniquely mine. The work manifesto was my North Star for what job experience to create.

My master algorithms

I did follow through with most of my work manifesto — the theme of learning, creation, and connection every day was unmistakable in my first year. But how did I make it?

The following habits and beliefs helped me grow fast through my first year. These are not tips on doing specific things but rules of engagements that guide my everyday actions and decisions. I call them master algorithms.

1. Do not manage time; manage the energy.

2. Do not focus on the outcome; focus on the system that generates the outcome (see this post).

3. Build a backward pass (aka learning) to everything I do.

4. Be a beginner, do not dwell on my past or anyone’s past (see this post).

5. Focus on NOW, do not plan too many steps into the future.

6. Be in the questions all the time.

7. Practice 1% systematic improvements every day.

We grow the fastest when we break open our old belief systems and establish new ones — a system upgrade. Many of the master algorithms (e.g., the ones with do-not) were “upgrades” over my old system.

Take the old system of time management as an example. The new system (Master Algorithm #1) understands that the quality of our (creative) work directly reflects the energy state we are in. Since high-quality energy wears off quickly, structured renewal is critical for sustainable performance. The model of balancing energy expenditure and energy renewal fundamentally changes my model of engaging at work. Activities that make me feel good but seem like distractions to the “real” work — such as taking naps, connecting with people, writing newsletters — now make perfect sense. They are all activities that renew one or more forms of energy (physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual).

I now believe that energy management on a day-to-day basis is the key to high performance and an enjoyable daily work experience.

Celebrating a year of learning

So what is my most significant growth in the past year?

• On energy levels

  • After: I experienced a lot more positive energy and less negative ones. My mental energy (focus, attention, and creativity) was at a much higher capacity, allowing me to show up fully engaged in meetings, 1-on-1s, and personal focus time. The most significant energy boost, however, came from spiritual energy, i.e., finding more meanings — learning, creation, and connection — in whatever I do.

  • Before: quickly lost balance when work piled up, monkey brain, multitasking, negative emotions when dealing with problems.

• On building connections

  • After: Building connections at work became enjoyable and one of the fundamental meanings of why I worked. I learned to expand my circle of influence spontaneously and to some extent effortlessly. I acquired new tools to build connections -- showing the work, sharing my thoughts, initiating connections, and being a giver.

  • Before: Building connections at work was a "should" (not a "want") and often made through power positions such as being a manager, publishing a paper, or being invited to PC meetings. And most of the time, I waited for others to initiate the connection.

• On interacting with people

  • After: I stopped comparing myself to others and no longer avoided people who were better than me. I valued people with differing opinions and learned to use triggers to debug my systems. As a result, interacting with people becomes a lot more enjoyable and a significant source of learning.

  • Before: Meeting new people felt heavy and drained my energy. I experienced less learning and connection as I focused on protecting the ego.

• On management

  • After: I am more systematic on management, always thinking about what system or mental models to build when dealing with a new situation. Having difficult conversations still feels heavy but is no longer avoided because I now believe that going after the tension is my work as a manager. I become comfortable in giving feedback because I know how to build trust with people and understand that not giving timely feedback is a disservice to those I support.

  • Before: I was mostly managing by intuition and avoided responsibilities such as holding people accountable or giving feedbacks that may hurt people's feelings.