There is a strong correlation between “challenge level” and “satisfaction level” at work, meaning that, as the degree of challenge in your work increases, so does your job satisfaction. Find projects with visible impact and a scope that will invite you to stretch yourself.

Tip: Don’t say yes to everything; say yes to challenges that are a size too big, and then grow into them.

If you are new to the workforce, don’t wait to be promoted into a managerial role before you take on leadership roles. Look for leadership vacuums in everyday moments.

When team members can step in and out of leadership roles with ease, everyone experiences less fatigue.

In surveying professionals from various industries about the resources they most need to be successful, six factors were rated of similarly high importance:

1) access to information,

2) action from leaders,

3) feedback or coaching,

4) access to key meetings and people,

5) time,

6) helping establish credibility.

You can increase your impact by negotiating for the guidance, coaching, and sponsorship you need before you need it. 

When we can’t let go of unproductive projects before they finish, we can rob our organization of the time and resources needed to pursue higher-value opportunities. Furthermore, finishing for the sake of finishing can result in a Pyrrhic victory in which success inflicts such heavy tolls on the winners (and their teams) that the victory is indistinguishable from defeat.

In the wake of these battles lie exhausted, alienated colleagues who become reluctant to join the next campaign, and burnout abounds.