Understanding the bigger picture at work
Understanding the bigger picture
You may well be highly effective at your own job – but if you haven’t spent any time getting to grips with the bigger picture of your organisation’s strategy, competitors and financial situation, you could be missing out on greater job satisfaction, improved relationships and better prospects.
Taking a few important steps towards understanding the bigger picture isn’t difficult or time consuming and it could reap impressive rewards. As career consultant Sherridan Hughes notes, “People who can see the big picture make the best general and senior managers. They are able to see the connections and to coordinate and consider overall policies and strategies. They do not become overwhelmed or sidetracked by detail and they multi-task well.” So, here are five places you should look to arm yourself with information on your company.
Where to look…
1. Website
A company’s mission statement and core values are usually found on their website. It’s worth reading about the history here too, as this will often give a good indication of what the organisation stands for.
2. Intranet
Intranets can be a great source of business information. They’re particularly helpful if you want to know about the characteristics a company values in their staff and information on company goals.
3. Other departments
Having a broad understanding of other departments will help foster better working relationships as you’ll appreciate your colleagues’ priorities and pressures – and they’ll be flattered you’re taking an interest in their jobs. When you can fully appreciate how others are relying on your input, you’ll feel part of the team and, hopefully, more motivated to do the best job possible. Career consultant Sherridan Hughes adds, “Seeing the bigger picture and not being blinkered can also contribute to foreseeing potential pitfalls and averting major problems, or identifying unnecessary duplication or possible fields for collaboration.”
4. Company figures
While those working outside of the finance division aren’t expected to be fully versed in the workings of the balance sheet, knowing whether financial targets have been met in recent years, percentage growth, profit levels, projections and future targets is vital to understanding what might happen next in the business.
5. Industry publications
Getting a good feel for where your current or future employer sits in the competitive marketplace will help you contribute. For example, you can learn from competitor solutions to issues your company might be facing. Read industry magazines and websites and subscribe to newsletters that cover your sector. Setting up Google or Yahoo! alerts to get relevant breaking news sent straight to your inbox.
Executive career coach Alan Frost says, “Unless you are clear about the big picture, you can’t understand your objectives and goals in context. I had a client who was finding it extremely hard to break into the next level of management and I helped him to realise that because he was so focused on delivering in his own role, he was not always seeing the bigger goals at stake for the firm. He worked on expanding his knowledge and contacts in other areas of the company and was soon promoted to the next level.”
So, if broadening your outlook can set you on a quicker path to promotion and improve your job satisfaction, is it time you brushed up on the bigger picture at work?