My first paid job was as a ballet dancer and now I’m a business owner. However, I did my fair share of time in corporate America after business school. It is there that I learned a different type of team work, politics, bench-marking and survival that was different from the ballet world. I spent most of my corporate time in Minneapolis at Target & Best Buy Headquarters. Even though it’s been a while since I’ve worked in that corporate environment, the lessons stay with me. Many of us begin our careers in a corporate environment and many of us stay there, these are the action items that helped me survive four waves of lay-offs and get promoted multiple times.
1. You know nothing, Jon Snow
When your manager’s manager, your manager or the CEO is acting weird and distant, it’s not you, it’s because you don’t know what they know (ignorance is bliss at times) and it’s not personal. At one of my first jobs, before gaining some emotional intelligence, I spent time thinking about whether or not people on the leadership team liked/respected me or not based on their non-verbal cues. Well, that was a waste of time. Now that I’m older and lead an organization I realize that leaders don’t think that way. They simply are moving pieces at break-neck speed and optimizing profits where they can, it’s not personal. So I wasn’t being ignored, they simply had other things on their mind. It was up to me to figure how to be valuable and noticed. The take-away is don’t waste time figuring out what people think of you, spend time adding value.
2. Stay attractive
Like in any relationship, if you feel confident and keep yourself “HOT”, it’s gonna go better. Sorry, but it’s true. Ways to promote confidence is to continue your education (invest in yourself, in your training in your industry), go on interviews even if you’re not looking and join professional clubs to practice public speaking with no pressure to keep your finger on the pulse. I got promoted twice after interviewing for other companies because even though I didn’t announce that I was doing so, having someone else want me (in giving me offers) gave me confidence and therefore made me appear more attractive to my employer. Mind over matter.
3. Ask for work outside your direct team
Think of this as networking. How are people going to know the kind of work that you do unless you offer to do some for them? Yes, it’s extra work but the pay-off can be endless and the extra work will help you manage your time better. Every organization is going to have different tolerances for this, but most of the time you can ask your manager if you can get involved in a project that may suit a strength that you don’t use regularly.
For me, sometimes that was a project that benefited from my Spanish speaking skills. Sometimes, it was just bringing a woman’s perspective. When you do this and jobs are in peril or there are sudden opportunities, the more people that know your work, the more secure your job and ascent will be. I credit this strategy to surviving those four rounds of lay-offs and re-orgs in as many years.
4. Teamwork-Check!
On every review I’ve ever had there was always the teamwork checkbox rating. In business school they had us in teams that they statistically knew would be difficult based on our backgrounds and skill sets, no picking your friends! This was invaluable because it was real life, like in-laws, you can’t pick your co-workers! LOL So what does being a team player really mean? It’s not that hard, it just has to be genuine. It’s developing a clear communication style that works for the team and checking in regularly about misunderstandings or opportunities.
Teamwork is about truly believing that YOU will be successful if the team is successful. Communication is everything, and if resentment festers the team will not be successful and the project could be stalled. Reach out to others and try to be flexible. When it becomes known that you are easy to work with it can be huge in getting promoted.
5. Be the solution, not the problem
Are you experiencing a big problem at work? Or a series of little issues? Do you think you’re the only one that notices? News flash; You’re not! One thing that my managers always appreciated was my team coming up with the solution or helping spearhead a group of passionate co-workers that understood the problem and the resources. Sometimes my manager had no idea that there even was a problem, and that was part of the issue. Complaining only brings morale down and although you may think you’re bonding with your co-workers they may complain about you for complaining. Because the “problem” isn’t bringing people down, you are. Being proactive and wanting to solve a team issue was a winning point in my reviews once I got the hang of not just whining. No one is going to promote someone who only promotes more problems.
Click here if you are interested in finding some new stylish work attire to help you feel confident and get that promotion! Also please share some of your own “how to get promoted” strategies in the comments! We could all benefit:) XO, Z
Photos by Shots by Samir