A career survival manual for the rest of us -
>Here's a story that gives you an overview about the importance of positioning skills to your Brown-Nosing arsenal.
Once, while I was working at the Director level in a healthcare organization, I had an idea for a new approach that I wanted to share at the weekly management meeting. I was in charge of marketing
Assuming you
Most of the wealthy and wise people I have had the good fortune to know or read about have one thing in common; they believe that everyone has something to teach them. What if you are ready to do something that will make a difference in your career? What if you're ready to learn from brown-nosers rather than just get angry with them?
One of the best ways to take control of your career, which means taking control of your future, is by creating a Personal Public Relations. I started this discussion a couple of days ago and over the next week or so I'll try to walk you through a mini-course in creating one of these plans for yourself.
The definition of Public Relations is varied, but in general it is the process that is used to help an organization (or in this case, an individual) and its constituents (often called 'publics') mutually adapt to each other. You can learn more about this definition and more about Public Relations by visiting the Public Relations Society of America's website.
The first step in the development of this campaign is research.
My experience with the breast cancer diagnosis left me realizing that not only can I recognizie good brown-nosing skill, but I apparently have some of it, too.
I was talking with a friend about the experience and I had a good chuckle when I told this story. While coming out of anesthesia after surgery, I recall looking up at the nurses in front of me and telling them what angels of mercy they were, how kind they were, how they perform a job that is so critical to the well being of others, that they have hearts of gold and I would never forget them (I still haven't!), blah, blah, blah.
My friends and family who were around me in the recovery just smiled and said, "The quintessential brown-noser – even now." Then and amazing thing happened. The nurses quickly dashed off to get me extra blankets, juice, water, crackers and candy.
OK, so maybe the drug induced state had something to do with my ability to easily offer compliments to people I thought were doing a good job. But just yesterday I found myself doing it again – no drugs!
Everyone needs a promotion PR plan. Have YOU identified those people in your organization and industry who may have influence over the path your career takes? Once you have done this, the next step in this process is to identify your objectives. What do you want? Do you want new job? A promotion? A raise? A move to a different department? To work on a particular project? To change companies or industries or fields of endeavor?
This will require some soul searching on your part because your plan must be calculating and yet authentic. Why? We all know when a brownnoser is being deceitful, don't we? Do you want to be counted among them? Or do you want to beat them at their own game? To beat them at their own game and to reap the benefits that are rightfully yours you must be sincere about your effort. You must truly believe that the promotion, raise, project, job, etc. are in the best interest of EVERYONE involved, not just you.
Many of my younger students, those with limited work experience, often ask me, "What is a brown-noser?"
Hum…a tricky question. Most of us know brownnosers to be corporate suck-ups who seek out people of influence and then try to gain some sort of favor from them by kissing up, fawning and being overly agreeable and compliant. The worst of these sorts do this instead of doing what they were hired to do – i.e. their jobs.
When I started digging into the brownnosing phenomena I learned that there truly are very few of these people in the workplace. They are the people we love to hate because they typically leave us with extra work to do and many of us have work a ethic that dictates we pick up the slack.
In fact, the vast majority of people we call brownnosers are people who are actually decent at their jobs but simply happen to be very good communicators – better than the rest of us.
Today, I've got a quick tip for you to help you understand the power and the tools you have at your disposal when trying to outmaneuver brownnosers at work.
The other night I watched a finance class talk about assets and how they are used to help a company make money. Hum, I thought. When it comes right down to it, we all have assets that we use to make money. They are called our skills, knowledge, abilities, education, perspectives, experience, expertise, attitudes….
Have you ever watched a brownnoser with his or her boss? The brown-noser ALWAYS knows what he brings to the table in terms of his assets. It may just be a word of encouragement with little substance behind it, but he knows when someone needs encouraging, doesn't he? Isn't that why we dislike him so? It's as if he's got a some sort of tracking device that can sniff out opportunities to get in front of the boss and look good. Not so – he simply knows what his assets are and then puts them into play to help him make money, friends, influence people, get jobs, get your promotion, etc.
Here's what I want you to do. Take an inventory or your assets. How can you possibly position yourself or your ideas if you don't know what you have to offer? Be careful – this requires some soul-searching and an honest attempt to assess yourself. Don't discount anything and don't assume that simply because you aren't allowed to use an asset at this particular time that it should not be on your list.
On this Veteran's Day I hope you've spent a moment or two thinking about all the people who have served this great nation to help preserve and defend the freedoms we all too often take for granted. Better yet, find a Veteran (or more than one) and thank them.
Here's a quick tip for those of you who will have decided that it would be wise for you to use this freedom to live up to your full potential. Get involved!!
There are plenty of ways to create a significant amount of visibility for yourself in most organizations, even if you believe you have a dead end job or if your work keeps you isolated from others. Get involved. Most organizations (other than the smallest mom and pop shops) are constantly trying to make the workplace better for their employees and position their businesses as good corporate citizens. (If yours doesn't, time to update your resume).
Involvement with the company newsletter, community events, internal councils, non-specific projects or programs or other volunteer options are all ways to develp the four brown-nosing skills.
Involvement boosts your visibility, is a great way to network, requires you to connect with others in the process and forces you to position yourself as someone who can add value to the project. It's not rocket science folks – it's the fundamentals of getting ahead in any organization. I've been preaching this stuff to my students for years. The basics can be learned by reading previous blogs or reading Brown-nosing 101: A career survival for the rest of us. You can find it online on Amaon, Barnes and Noble, or by clicking on the Buy the Book link here www.brownnosingonline.com.
Think about it,
Linda
Over the weekend I heard a story on our local public radio station that cracked me up. Apparently there was some guy in the city who was running for office in his precinct but having trouble getting the required number of signatures necessary to eliminate the hefty filing fee. So, because HE is having trouble he decided to sue, claiming that the requirement is unfair and a hardship on some people. Wahhh
One of the best ways to make yourself visible in an organization is by becoming a Change Agent. For purposes of this discussion I
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