These are challenging times. Prices on most everything have increased, there is job and career insecurity for many people, and the world’s problems continue to cause us great concern. What can we do to manage these times?

When things are outside of our control, and all of the above-mentioned problems are, our best response is to manage our own behavior. People who are confident, competent, and committed will be more successful in navigating through these times. This is much easier to talk about and write about than to do. But it is the best insurance we have for the challenges facing us.

The order of these three behaviors is intentional. First of all, we need to be and remain confident. We need to portray confidence even, or especially when all around us is shifting. We need to portray confidence, not arrogance. Others need to see and feel that we are able to deal effectively with the ambiguity of changing times.

What does confidence look like? People who display confidence are assertive, energetic, and poised. People who are perceived as assertive communicate well with others. They use direct language yet are not directive with others. They have good posture. They make good eye contact. They display an energy level that is fast-paced, but not frenzied. They greet others well and shake hands if appropriate. (Covid concerns have changed some of the “rules” about touching others, including the appropriateness of shaking hands.)

What is Competence? Competence certainly includes having the technical and professional knowledge and skills needed for particular jobs. It also includes having the human skills to get along well with many different types of people. “Human skills” is a better descriptive term than the term often used for these, which is “soft skills.” If one has great technical and professional skills yet lacks human skills, that deficit in human skills will overshadow the technical and professional skills. Competence is an expectation.

What is commitment? What does it look like? People who are committed do what the job requires, even when it isn’t convenient. People who are committed are not clock watchers, although it is not expected that they will give so much time to their jobs that their personal priorities are neglected. People who are committed represent the company well at all times, even at office parties where alcohol flows. Commitment is not the same as loyalty, although they are related. Loyalty is not as common as it used to be (a boomer talking!) but commitment is still expected. 

Many people are committed, yet sometimes they are more committed to their own wants and needs than what the company or job needs from them. I will be so bold as to propose that this is a greater problem with those workers in the younger age groups than people in older age groups. And while this is not all bad, the person who puts their own wants and needs above those of the job or company will not be perceived as committed.

While Covid taught us that work can be done remotely and productivity does not necessarily suffer, and may even improve, remote work should be determined by the needs of the company and the job in concert with the employees’ needs or wants. Management and employees need to be flexible in this regard, doing their best to meet the needs of the employees as well as the company. But when push comes to shove, and it sometimes does, committed employees must meet the needs of the job and company, and if they can’t, they need to move on so someone who can and will have the opportunity.

What do you think? Do confidence, competence, and commitment help us navigate the demands of a changing world? When you look in the mirror, what do you see? Are you confident, competent, and committed?