Rejection at work – idiva.com

Happy Wednesday! Hump Day already, we’re halfway there!
If you’ve experienced any kind of rejection, you know that it’s far from being an easy thing to deal with. And when rejection happens at work, where frankly we spend the majority of our time and unfortunately at times tend to get most of our personal validation from, it can be a seriously tough pill to swallow!

Yet it happens, and more often than we’d like…The project proposal that got rejected; the lackluster quarterly review, or the straight up, unequivocal “No” to our request to be involved in the steering committee for that new implementation. Put mildly, rejection simply “sucks”, and professional rejection is right up there in the “sucky” pantheon of moments we’d rather forget…

So then, what do we do? Do we just suck in our teeth and pout at rejection? Does it mean we failed miserably and all hope is lost? Or, rather, is rejection really one of the most powerful catalysts for redirection, change and improvement? I’d say the latter:

1. Use rejection as an “off course” signal: If you were driving and your GPS kept saying “you”re off course”, wouldn’t you change directions? Well, the same goes for professional rejection. Instead of taking it personal, step outside of your ego and consider whether you’ve just been going in the wrong direction. If what you’ve been doing isn’t working, how can you change it so it does work? If you’re going in the wrong direction, how can you get on the right path?

2. Face rejection and ask how you can improve: Once you acknowledge that you’ve been heading in the wrong direction as related to a specific project, assignment or job, face the rejection even further by asking what you can do differently. What can I do to change this review rating? How can I get to a 10 from a 5? Ask, and you shall receive the feedback you need to take you to the next level…

3. Now put it in practice: Now is the time to apply the feedback you’ve received earlier. Start over, but this time with the lessons and principles learnt from experience and by asking what works! Add the necessary improvements to your craft, career or job, and measure the results you get over time!

How are you dealing with professional rejection?

The Corporate Sister.