# Focusing By:: [[Ross Jackson]] 2022-12-14 A lack of focus at work is seldom considered a professional attribute. Among those inclined to give career advice, developing one’s “focus” is often high on the list of “things one should do” from the somewhat randomly and condescendingly helpful. Whereas this vague piece of advice consistently receives high scores of import, there are divergent paths from that point. On what exactly should one focus? There are basically two main camps here. One group tends to advocate that individuals focus on what they think is important. The other group suggests focusing on what one’s manager values. There is, of course, likely some overlap between those two views, so one could create a list of the items in each grouping and focus on the subset of items that intersect. Or one could hedge and sometimes focus on what one thinks is important and at other moments focus on what one’s manager thinks is important. The people who are relatively more successful likely used one of these approaches and are attempting to help the individual by sharing what worked for them. This type of care, when authentic, is an important aspect of our shared humanity. Interestingly, few notice that other people who are relatively equally successful used the other approach. Both types of focus can lead to advancement. The one focused on what managers think is important is often more direct. The one focused on what individuals think is more important is often more fulfilling, and when organizationally effective it can be extremely beneficial to the organization and the individual. Both types of focus can work, but neither is guaranteed. Focusing on focusing has revealed a common issue. Even something as simple as focusing on work execution, which seems to be as close to a no-brainer as one can ever find quickly becomes a point on which there are several sound options and no definitive answers. Something “could” be beneficial, but it might not be. There are always tradeoffs, and the future is uncertain. Given that such predicaments arise commonly throughout human inquiry, it is no wonder that many cease to give advice and instead adopt a perpetual lack of focus. #### Related Items [[Work]] [[Focus]] [[Thinking]] [[Career Advancement]] [[Management]]