Pushing Your Career Passed Waiter’s Syndrome
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Waiter’s Syndrome impacts many careers, creating a sense of frustration and forcing change that isn’t in your best interest. You may have and don’t even know. It can be defeated by following a few simple steps, which I’ll share with you in this article.

The first step to cultivating a good career in the face of, what I like to call, Waiter's Syndrome is recognize that this is a motivation deficit. Of course, one must also recognize that a career is a motivation marathon.

The Waiter’s Syndrome is marked by bursts of high ambition, followed by slightly shorter spans of indolence. Surely you’ve seen the signs of it. A friend spends years getting an advanced degree or a professional certification, only to stop their forward momentum right about the time they should be pressing on, waiting for someone to acknowledge them.

Waiter’s Syndrome is caused by a deficiency of motivators, defined by Herzberg in 1959. Two of the key motivators were identified as recognition and achievement. After graduation, the syndrome begins. For high achievers, there is a sense of accomplishment that only lasts a short while, giving way to a much stronger need for recognition. This is where the waiting comes in.

As the old cliché goes, “to the victor come the spoils.” Recognition of our accomplishment validates our abilities, knowledge and skills. This need plays a role in the definition of our identity. We use this information to define who we are, especially in the eyes of others.

If we let this need go too long without being met, we can experience a decrease in job satisfaction, which modifies our belief that the company (or management) no longer holds anything useful for us; thus, signifying the time to move on to a new one.

Imagine that, a great achievement leads to an unfilled need to decreased job satisfaction, all driven from the fact that we simply stopped focusing on our goals.

Sitting around waiting for someone to recognize your MBA, maybe give you a promotion, more money or even a new opportunity, carries risk with it. If you’re an engineer who just got an MBA, then did nothing with it for two years, it might strike suspicion in the eyes of your next employer. They may wonder why nothing changed after you graduated. What were you waiting on? Why did you get it? Did you think it through?

So, based on my own experience as a career consultant, here are some concrete rules for cultivating a better career if you have Waiter’s, and maybe if you don’t.

1. Dedicate time to other people.

One of the more surprising things about those that suffer from Waiter’s Syndrome is the size of their network, which is usually fairly small. One might expect that since these types of individuals invest their time in academic settings to improve their skills, they would be meeting new people and developing new friendships. This isn’t the case
The mindset developed is one that leads them to believe that their accomplishments speak loudly enough about them. While obtaining degrees and certifications are important, you still have to interact with people if you want to build a successful career. People play a huge role in your success; they are your boss, customer or coworker. This is where your opportunities come from.

These people are happy that you have new skills, but do they know that you are easy to get along with, are a team player, can teach them what you’ve learned and are willing to learn from them.

This key to overcoming Waiter’s Syndrome is simply to work well with others. Spend time making others more successful. If you still have that urge to wait, you can wait on the reciprocal windfall that will come from being a contributor to other’s achievements.

2. Recognize the need for recognition for others.

Just as you have a need for recognition, others do too. For the most part, they don’t care too much about your needs. We all have a tendency to worry about our own needs, especially if they haven’t been met for some time.

You can’t just walk up to someone and say “Hey, don’t you want to recognize me for getting my MBA?” While people may be happy for you, it may be a reminder to their own situation and how they haven’t been given much respect for what they’ve done. I’m not suggesting you run around and paint the world with sugar and honey. People want their recognition to be warranted; otherwise, it smells bad.

Take time to recognize people for the importance of their job, quality of their performance and for doing particular tasks. People want honest feedback. So do you.

Giving recognition is the best way to get recognition. Recognition is a wonder drug. Taken in the proper dosage, it motivates, increases happiness and builds self-esteem. Praising others motivates them to reciprocate, resulting in meeting your needs.

3. Let your sense of accomplishment satisfy you.

Having three young kids in elementary school, I understand well the power of accomplishment. My youngest is in Kindergarten. She began reading at age 4. In the beginning, reading was challenging. She would fuss, gripe and complain about how tough it was. But when she caught on to it, she wanted to read everything in the bookstore. Her sense of accomplishment made her ecstatic and confident.

Now, less project ourselves many years into the future. If my youngest daughter continues to excel at things, will she eventually reach a point where she feels she can accomplish almost anything? It’s possible. This is one thing many Waiter’s suffer from. They can do just about anything and they do it well but they lose the sense of accomplishment.

Often this sense is lost because we forget the goals we are trying to accomplish. At some point, we lose that focus and convince ourselves that the task we just completed IS the end goal for which rewards should rain down from the Heavens.

The best way to beat this attitude is to plan your goals and outline the tasks to get to each one. As you complete a task, celebrate it. Give yourself a treat. Focus on the reward you give yourself. This way you don’t become dependent upon recognition from others, allowing you to focus on the goals and keep your momentum high.

Keep moving. All things come to those who wait, but when they come they're out of date.