With the economy still in the doldrums, those of you who have jobs are among the fortunate. Here are five steps you can take to keep your job and thrive, wherever you are professionally.
1. Know your company’s power structure. Find out as quickly as you can who’s who and what’s what in your firm. Determine very quickly who’s in your corner and who wants you to disappear. Do everything you can to work on projects with those who support you.
2. Get face to face with the organization’s leadership as often as you can. You’ll probably have to initiate the effort on this one. Only by having individual relationships with leaders (and as many other team members as possible) will you build a base of support. People do business with people they like and trust; it’s no different between you and your company. So get out from behind your desk and go talk to people.
3. Develop a succinct response to two questions: What do you do here? What are you working on? You need to be able to describe your role, your current activities and how they contribute to the company’s success.
4. Communicate more clearly than anyone else, and don’t be afraid to ask the same of others. Many people aren’t skilled communicators, so you have to take that responsibility. For example, have you ever been hit with something to be done “ASAP”? Ask the ASAP people to give you a specific time and day when they need the project. They won’t fire you because you asked for a deadline; they’ll know when to expect the work, and you’ll be able to set priorities.
5. Keep everything in perspective and laugh often. Life can be pretty funny when you step back and take a look at it. So laugh a lot. You’ll like your life better, other people will enjoy your company, and you’ll be more successful in the long run.
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