Today is what I call, “I’ve tried everything!” or "I gave you everything!"  When we are trying to create career success, this mindset is one of the most common roadblocks preventing us from moving forward and being successful.

Inherently what we like to say are things like, "I don't know why I'm not successful. I give that company everything! I sacrifice, I work extra, I do all the things!"

It sounds like a relationship gone bad, doesn't it? "I gave him everything!" The reality (in both your career and your relationship) is that you gave them everything except what they wanted or needed.

If you met all of their needs, your career/relationship would be successful.

It's seriously that simple.

So why is it that we feel like we gave the company everything and yet we aren't being rewarded for it?

When I have conversations with leaders who have been laid off, let go, demoted, or moved to another department, most of the time they are completely baffled by the situation and this mindset is the culprit.

When we are giving and sacrificing and yet not being rewarded for it, the honest truth of the matter is that we are doing the actions and functions that we value or that we feel comfortable doing. However, those actions and functions are not what the company needs from us. Whether we agree or disagree with that doesn't matter. The reality is that the company decides what it rewards and if we aren't doing the actions that the company appreciates, we will not succeed.

Have you ever spent your time sacrificing your evenings and weekends for your company, only to not get a thank you or an acknowledgment for your sacrifice?  And then you get angry because you’re like, “I gave you my life for you!”

Think back to that moment.

Then I want you to seriously ask yourself, did the company ask you to sacrifice your time or did you simply do it because that’s who you are?  Did the company ask you to work late or did you do it because you felt the pressure to get the job done?

Sometimes companies will ask for extra hands, set expectations for extra work outside of the norm, etc.  And most of the time those companies will come back and recognize those employees and appreciate their efforts.  Even if it’s just a verbal acknowledgment, it’s done. 

When you don’t get the recognition, realize you either have 1. A crappy boss or 2. You actually created the situation to sacrifice yourself without being asked. 

In other words, you gave the company everything but it wasn’t what the company wanted.

Yes, the company wanted the end result, but the company may not have expected you to sacrifice yourself and your personal life to get there.  There are some companies that would actually consider that poor performance and bad leadership.

The key here is that you must understand what the company values and how it wants you to deliver that value.  

We can’t give it in the way we perceive we should.  We can’t sacrifice and slog away and suffer and hope that they will recognize the sacrifice.  If it wasn’t requested, why would they need to acknowledge it?  If anything, they might reprimand your poor judgment.

So, before you say, “I gave that company everything,” ask yourself if you gave everything you WANTED to give or if you gave the company everything it valued.

So how do you solve this?

The first action is to recognize that while you may be working hard, you're doing work that the company doesn't value.

Instead of continuing to do that same work and demanding the company take notice, stop.

Instead, open yourself up to understanding exactly what the company is asking of you and pivot your focus and actions to deliver on those asks.

Be Legendary.