5 Signs you are not in your High Performance Zone, and might need a Career Reassessment
Do you feel tired from the second you wake up?
Are you dreading Sunday afternoons just thinking about the week ahead?
No matter the situation, you just can’t seem to get excited about anything?
These are all too common traits when you are not in your High Performance Zone but don’t worry - we’ve got you covered!
A High Performance Zone is a state of work where you are entirely in what is called flow, the experience when your skills match the challenge at hand and you are performing at your highest level.
It is where your values and beliefs are aligned with your work, hence, making it feel easy and natural for you to do what you do. In your High Performance Zone, or genius zone as most would call it, it’s almost impossible for another person to do as good of a job in it as you.
So what happens if you are not in your High Performance Zone? Does it matter? The answer is of course, yes! It matters a lot in terms of you being able to reach your potential, and creating a real impact in your industry or organisation.
Here are some ways you to know if you are not in your High Performance Zone:
1. You’re stagnant and settling
That time you went above and beyond for a task, and felt unnoticed? Did it happen over and over again
I’ve worked with several clients who are experts and are amazing at what they do, and yet they are unable to communicate their value to authorities or clients. It takes a toll not only on how they are perceived in the workplace, but also on how they perceive themselves.
These professionals are settling on being invisible, and are dwelling on a particular mindset that is: "I don’t need to communicate my value because it is automatically seen by others, and they should remunerate me on their own terms. Or, “I’m not even sure what my contributions are.”
When you are in your high performance zone, it will feel effortless to communicate what you do, what you’ve done, and how well you did it, simply because you are zoomed in on what you do best and is positioned well in that area.
Your confidence will boost in your high performance zone because you know exactly what your value is and what your contributions are, leading to career growth, and more opportunities and avenues to earn better income.
2. You can’t clarify what you do best
You can’t be in your High Performance Zone if you have the least bit of idea what it is that you do best. The flow zone is all about aligning skills or talents with work, and it requires an amount of self-awareness to achieve.
This is our area of specialization, as numbers of our coaching clients face the same predicament.
Case in point: I recently had one who realized how mispositioned she was all throughout the years she’s been working. As we went over the sessions she was able to clarify the value she provides, and found a new level of confidence.
As a result, she had 6 offers after a speaking engagement, created a dream role for herself, and negotiated another $42k on top of a generous offer. She even established a business opportunity to pursue on the side where she can easily make a 6-figure income.
Clarity is an important factor to success but most people overlook it because they think generalizing is the way to go.
3. You feel exhausted
It might be the case that you are exhausted because you are putting so much energy into something that actually drains you, not energize you.
There are 3 aspects to high performance which need to be aligned:
CRAFT (your profession)
BODY (your health)
MIND (your thoughts and beliefs)
All 3 aspects need to hold up in challenging situations for you to perform at your peak. If your body then starts to feel like every situation is a challenge (even in the smallest of tasks), then the craft aspect will tip off the balance, and your body and mind aspects will start to follow.
In a high performance zone, not only will it feel natural to do what you do, your body and mind will be more energized and prepared to take on even the biggest challenges. When you are in your flow zone you want to get up early and stay up late because you’re excited and no matter how much work you have, you don’t feel drained.
4. You are indifferent
Are you unbothered about your underperforming team? Not getting the results you know you can get, yet you can’t seem to feel bad or responsible about it, even though you know something can be done?
The lack of recognition and being overlooked at work sometimes lead to professionals becoming indifferent towards what they do and towards their company. This in turns lead to underperformance and dissatisfaction of both parties with each other.
In a high performance zone, you are highly engaged and constantly looking for areas to improve on, not just for your own but for the betterment of the people at stake. You will feel the compelling need to be proactive, creative, and to contribute whenever you can.
5. You are not making a meaningful impact
They say the real measure of success is in how well you are able to help others.
Creating an impact is about making positive changes in your work and industry even in the smallest ways, or so much so, that you create influence and become a trusted figure, something that can only be achieved if you are in your High Performance Zone.
When you are making a difference, you get the chance to create a community and a following of people who accept these ideas give emphasis to your contributions. You leave a mark through the work you put in, and effortlessly become a leader as you help others whether through teaching, becoming a leader, or simply by doing what you do.
