Get noticed for all the right reasons
Your ability to connect with others will open doors for you. People will get to know you and you will understand more about the organization.
Just like your external network, it takes time and commitment to nurturing your internal network.
Unfortunately hard work and loyalty are not enough to see your advance within your organization – it is very sad.
To think that working hard and being loyal to organization is not enough to advance. It is my experience that advancement can be dark art in some organisations. It can be a combination of politics, perceptions, skill, experience and ability. That is why it is a dark art – there is so much more going on below the surface.
To do this, you need to be master of your own PR. It is my experience that people who are visible and are seen to be “good” are the ones that advance.
I have seen unlikely people advance because (this is how I saw it) because higher up people think they do a good job. Whether they do or don’t do a good job is immaterial.
This is my scoop on how to get noticed at work:
#1 – HAVE A STRONG INTERNAL NETWORK WITHIN YOUR ORGANISATION
Your ability to connect with others will open doors for you. People will get to know you and you will understand more about the organization.
Just like your external network, it takes time and commitment to nurturing your internal network.
#2 – ALWAYS BE THE POSITIVE PERSON IN THE ROOM
Sounds easy right – to be positive. I think of myself as a positive and happy person. Yet in a work situation I find it hard to always be positive and negative nancy creeps into my tone and words. Especially when trying to communicate risks and issues as no one really wants to hear about them.
What I have learnt is that it is all in the way you say things. For example the blunt way to say a risk is
“Our customers are going to hate this”
This can be turned into
“ What do you think our customers are going to think about this change?” or
“What mitigations can we put in place in case our customers don’t like the change”
It is all in the way you say it
#3 – FIND SOCIAL INITIATIVES TO CONTRIBUTE TO
Working on social initiatives within the organization is a great way to meet people and be known by other people outside of your team.
Activities like the Christmas Party, product launches, charity initiatives are great examples of this.
#4 – GET ON CROSS FUNCTIONAL PROJECT/ACTION TEAMS
Opportunities to work on cross functional project teams are fabulous ways of getting noticed. Instead of immediately thinking no way, think about how you could get to know other people and find out more about your organization. Information and knowledge are valuable commodities within organisations.
So often at workI find people want to stay in their comfort zones. I totally get it. The reality is that to advance your career you will need to put yourself out there and be known – otherwise they are just going to say “Elise who????”
To learn more about getting noticed and advancing your career click the button below and tune in to this insightful podcast.
