Quietly Competent Doesn't make Partner- By Yvonne F. Brown
I remember it as though it was yesterday. A coaching client called to say that she was still an associate after being with the company for over a decade and couldn't understand why, when she had done such good work all these years, she had not been promoted. As we walked through her journey at the company a phrase she used brought the answer to us. "My dad taught me to work real hard and keep my head down." Those are valuable words but only half the story.
What happens when you work very hard and do a good job but forget to lift your head once in awhile and connect with the right people and network? You do invisible work and eventually become invisible yourself.
Four Competencies
There are four competencies that are critical success factors if you want to get to the top of your profession and make partner or managing director. They are your personal brand, your reputation, marketing, and your network.
Personal Brand
What is your personal brand? Do you have one? Can you articulate it? Have you built a reputation as an expert on significant issues in your industry? Have you built relationships with senior partners and other members of the executive team? Do you even know how? While this might seem like an impossible task to some of you, it can be done.
Reputation
Reputation is defined as a component of identity as defined by others. It is your overall quality or character as seen or judged by people, a place of esteem or regard, your good name. As Ernest Bramah said "A reputation for a thousand years may depend upon the conduct of a single moment."
So what is your reputation in the workplace? Do you make your deadlines? Have people said "I don't know what she does around here but she's always busy."
What about your online presence? Is there anything on You Tube that could potentially be embarrassing? If you have leftover posts from your college days there is a website that scrubs your reputation. Your reputation in the workplace encompasses more than just what you do at work.
Marketing
It is important to market yourself at work. Yes, you should raise your head every once in awhile and market yourself to senior management. Every company has strategic planning sessions where they look at the pipeline of available talent to determine who's ready for promotion. Is there anyone wearing your tee shirt and being an advocate for you during these sessions? If you have not marketed yourself and your contributions to the organizations, your name will not be raised during these meetings.
Networking
Do you have a network, or are you too busy / exhausted to create and maintain one? Do you volunteer and meet with the company's leaders? Do you leverage your contacts and network with alumni and other corporate associations? Are you on LinkedIn?
In today's social network driven society networking is not a nice to do, it's a must do. The Fortune 500 are there, are you?
Do you network across the departmental silos at your company? Do managers and leaders in other departments know of you and your work? Or are you still heads down, plugging away. Yes, it's important to meet deadlines and make budgets. Yes, it's also important to competently do a good job, but if no one is aware of you and your achievements, you'll never get to that next level. Instead all you will have is a ground down nose from keeping it to the grindstone.
In Conclusion
If you do not know where you want to go, any road will take you there. Having a vision of your destination is the beginning. Clear measurable goals enable you to stay on track and help you identify when you get there.
Your goals should be objectively measurable and identifiable to determine when you have achieved them.
I have a complimentary Strategy Map that will help you to achieve your career objectives. Just email me at Yvonne@yvonnefbrown.com and reference "Strategy Map" for your copy.
Confident Communication: How to have a Dynamic Voice
In today's society the ability to communicate well is a highly valued commodity. This skill separates the winners from the losers at work, in social situations and in ones personal life. Confident communication is multifaceted and concerns both verbal and non-verbal skills. Your voice is heard even before you open your mouth through your total communication image. It's not just what you say, but how you say it that counts.
This 3-day session incorporates lecture and interactive participation to improve the four aspects of your Dynamic Voice and provide you with the tools and techniques to succeed on all fronts. If you have ever found yourself at a loss for words in a tough situation, this course will help ensure that never happens again.
Location: The Executive Career Center - Walter E. Heller College of Business Administration
August 4th -6th (Chicago)
Click here to register online
Assertive Interpersonal Strategies for Women - August 20th (Oak Brook).
Nobody’s perfect. Sometimes you will underreact or overreact. Assertive people sends correct signals and receive correct responses. Knowing how to handle different situations helps you get things done and get what you want. This seminar will help you express your ideas and get your point across confidently and effectively to achieve the results you want.
“Who should attend: Women managers and supervisors – including newly promoted first-line supervisors – who want to build on the strengths, improve their communication, conflict resolution, delegation and action planning.”
Register 5 people from your company and receive the discount price of $99 per person.
On site training - Call for special pricing
Leave the seminar with tools to increase your ability to stand up for yourself in a professional and personable manner.
Register by fax or online
Register Imediately
Register by email to yvonne@yvonnefbrown.com
Here's what people say about our seminars
Take this survey to find out your Assertiveness Quotient
Check your Assertiveness Quotient
My boss has an open door policy but I am reluctant to use it as I don't want to seem like I don't know my job. Sometimes I go to his door but just turn back as I can't seem to get up the nerve to discuss issues and get the answers. I got into trouble a couple of times because things got out of hand. I hope you can help me solve this problem. I am not very assertive and find these situations uncomfortable.
Answer:
 First of all, asking questions is the way to obtain answers. If you don't ask it is difficult to solve the problem. Second, since the boss has declared an open door policy bringing issues to his attention is the correct approach to take. When your manager offers the open door policy the best way to bring issues to his attention is to first problem solve then bring him at least two solutions. During the discussion of the problem or issue you can describe how you found these two solutions and work together with him to determine the best one to follow. This demonstrates initiative and that you have put some thought in advance around the issue. Now the discussion is focused on determining which road to follow.
By using this solution based approach, you demonstrate your problem solving ability while following policy.
Let me know how it all works out for you and feel free to contact me with any questions.
Send your questions for "Ask Yvonne" to yvonne@yvonnefbrown.com and I will answer in our next newsletter
Nike Shox Turbo+ VI iD Running Shoes
 This weekend I spent time with my son Charles at Trump Tower outdoor terrace restaurant. I noticed he was wearing a sweet pair of sneakers and asked him about it. Turns out it was the Nike™ iPod running shoe that I wrote about in my newsletter many months ago. I love technology so I visited the Nike store online to see what the shoe is capable of doing.
Turns out the shoe has a sensor that measures your pace, distance, time elapsed, and calories burned while running. All of the information is transmitted wirelessly to a receiver for real-time feedback. You can then upload the information to your computer and graphically layout information about your exercise. You can participate in events with people around the world, plot your exercise timeline, and much more.
One feature I especially like is that the sneakers communicate with your iPod so that you can change the tempo and songs to match your running pace. How cool is that?! There's more via a movie click here to watch - Scroll down and click the "Technology" tab to watch the short Nike+™ movie. It is fun. The sneaker does more than I could write here and is amazing.
|
