One of the reasons why people working in organizations fail to achieve their performance benchmarks and add value the way they should is that most people are square pegs desperately trying to fit into round holes. In fact, some will argue that this phenomenon of “square pegs in round holes” is one of the biggest problems in the world. Simply put when people’s talents, interests and purpose are not 100% aligned with the expectations of the work that they do, then they are not aligned and will ultimately continue to under-perform. The truth however, is that this in itself is not a death sentence, you can become better aligned with your job by asking yourself three questions and choosing from the following five options:

• The Questions: 1) What are you good at? 2) What do you enjoy doing? and 3) What does your job expect from you? These questions help you to evaluate your alignment with job, and as usual requires you to be brutally honest in your response. You may find some people who are ashamed of the honest answers to the first two questions because they just do not sound like “cool” things to be talented at or interested in. The truth, you are more likely to succeed at the things that reflect your talent, interests and purpose, than doing some work just to be ‘cool” and earn a salary.
• The Options: They are in descending order of preference meaning that you should try to take the earlier, rather than latter options. Remember, being a square peg in around hole is not a death sentence. In fact, almost everyone has been in a such a situation at one time in their lives or the other. The trick is in taking these options and being deliberate about transforming your career:
  • Learn new skills: When you identify the gap between your talents and interest on one hand, and the skills and expectations of your job on the other, the first and undoubtedly most profound option available to you is to make a conscious and deliberate effort to learn new skills. Learn new skills by reading, educating yourself, attending a workshop, getting a mentor, and by deliberate practice. Don’t wait for your supervisor or employer to pay for this – make the investment by yourself if necessary. You will find that you can learn anything that you commit yourself to learning, and that as you go deeper into your understanding and application of these new skills, you will fall in love with them, and soon you will be better aligned with your work. Many of us have done this unconsciously before – think about the difference between what you originally intended to study, and what you ended up studying and the difference between that and the first job you got? How did you think you coped? Simple, you learned new skills.
  • Re-design your job: While trying to learn new skills you may also push your creativity by finding a way to integrate your talents, interests and purpose into your current job. For example, if you work in the Corporate Communications Unit and you are expected to write a customer newsletter each week, but really do not like writing, instead you like drawing - You could approach your supervisor and try to see how much cartooning and graphics could be used in the newsletter instead. This way, you keep doing your job with the newsletter, but you have re-designed your job based on your talent. Unlike the first option, this option requires the consent of your supervisor – it is not 100% within your control, and therefore it may not “fly”.
  • Change Department: This option requires you to seek and receive the approval of your organization to move you to another department or unit that is better aligned with your talents, interests and purpose. The problem with this is that in most cases it is completely out of your control. Organizations often have a long queue of people seeking internal transfers, and only take action when the organization really believes that such a decision serves its best interest. So, if you keep waiting on that queue without paying attention to Options 1 and 2, then you will keep underperforming at your job.
  • Release yourself to your destiny: Well, if you think that your talents, interest and purpose cannot be aligned with that of your organization, after attempting the earlier options, then you may decide to “release yourself to your destiny” – move to another organization or industry where you will find alignment or perhaps set up your own enterprise where these talents and interests can flourish. It is important however that you do not just see this option as a means to ‘escape” from your underperformance, because it is important to be “remarkable” as you transition from one career to another and even more so as you transition to entrepreneurship. Remarkability comes from being good at what you did before and having people who can attest to same and make good “remarks” about you. So, taking this option without being remarkable in your former role may mean that you will struggle to get positive references from former colleagues, customers and supervisors that will help you in your new career or enterprise. It is also noteworthy to mention that career changes and entrepreneurship may come with some sacrifices, especially reduction and/or stability of your income.
  • You will be released: This is the final option and what it simply means is that if you continue to struggle in a mis-aligned role, then at some point your organization may decide to terminate your appointment. The truth is that organizations cannot manage mediocrity forever. What every organization wants is people who can excel in their jobs and add value, and when you continue being a square peg in a round hole, you will fall short of this expectation, and leave your employers no choice than to release you to your destiny.