Source: www.forbes.com
According to Gallup, U.S. employee engagement has sunk to a 10-year low. And a new study shows that the ”revenge quitting” trend is rising, partly due to employees feeling undervalued, unrecognized or underappreciated. Visibility in the workplace is partly the result of company culture and partly the degree to which an employee develops strategies for standing out at work.
If you’re an appeaser, according to Sir Winston Churchill, you’re a fearful person who feeds a crocodile—hoping it will eat you last, but being a people-pleaser isn’t all bad. If you try to stand out by being a “yes person,” it can stall your career. But if people-pleasing is based on cooperation and team spirit, that’s a feather in your cap, because it benefits your coworkers, not just you. Here are five circumstances when your colleagues see through people-pleasing, lose respect for you, and you stand out for the wrong reasons:
- “Yes-persons” are afraid of disapproval and judgment, oppose their own truth and agree with colleagues even when they actually don’t agree and say yes when they really mean no.
- Conflict avoiders are afraid they can’t stand their ground in a disagreement, so they go along with the team to avoid conflict.
- Mr./Ms. Nice Guys use manipulation to sell their souls in hopes of reaching the top of the career ladder.
- Insecure people-pleasers agree with the majority out of fear of not fitting in to boost their egos.
- Peace-makers are threatened by disagreements and go along with the group to create harmony and keep the peace.
Scientists suggest that non-conformists are not necessarily the rebels or troublemakers in the workplace. They are rogue individualists, more likely to work together for the greater good of the company; whereas “yes-people” are less likely to conform because approval is more important to their self-esteem, security and goals than the common good.
Invisibility Prevents You From Standing Out At Work
Hiding behind the proverbial potted plant in the corner of your office is also based on fear. If you keep a low profile because you believe staying unnoticed will help you keep your job, you’re wrong. As the American workforce adjusts to transitioning and conflicting work cultures, visibility is more important than ever.
I spoke with Dr. Rebecca Heiss, author of Spring Board: Transform Stress to Work for You, and she underscores considering the cost of inaction. “We’re quite good at predicting and measuring the costs of our actions,” she reminds us. “‘I might look foolish. I might fail. I might be rejected.’” She says what we neglect to measure are the costs of our inactions—how not showing up or asking the question ultimately costs us more than any cost of action. “Go big and play all-in. Regrets are far more painful and offer no lessons to grow,” she advises.
Why Rock Star Employees Are Standing Out At Work
Some workers have a natural knack to be a shining star. If you didn’t get the rock star gene, if you feel like your star is fading or are unsure of what it takes, here are seven actions to spit-shine and brighten your star.
1- Initiative. Career rock stars put their hearts and souls into their professions just like Taylor Swift does at her concerts. Highly invested in their professions, career rock stars have built-in initiative, consider work to be more than just a job and go the extra mile. Career rock stars are self-motivated and put in more hours than necessary because they love both the process and outcome of working.
2- Collaboration. Career superstars are socially gregarious and have warm, outgoing relationships with coworkers and lend a helping hand to support colleagues in need. Career rock stars have a good collaborative sense and have mastered the art of delegating; whereas, fading stars have fewer friends, work best alone and sometimes have trouble working as a team.
3- Risk taking. Rock stars are creative risk takers. Weiss recommends falling off the bicycle. “Remember how thrilling it was to get on a bike for the first time, even though you knew the chances of falling were fairly high?” she asks. “We got on anyway, took a few falls and have been riding ever since. You need to approach professional opportunities with this same mindset—regardless of how big or little that opportunity might be. Don’t be intimidated to speak up at the next meeting, present a unique idea or offer to take the lead on a project because you haven’t mastered your craft. Keep trying new things and keep falling off the bike.”
4- Perseverance. Career rock stars persevere through the hard times and never give up. They take the towel they want to throw in, wipe the sweat off their face and keep on going until they reach their career goals. One way to persevere is to have adventures instead of ordeals. Rather than trying to avoid stress, try to change your relationship with it so you see a challenge rather than a threat and an adventure rather than an ordeal.
5- Going above and beyond. Although it takes extra time and effort to maintain visibility, the payoff is well worth the effort. Studies show when employees go above and beyond, managers have favorable impressions. Workers who go the extra mile are more likely to receive a promotion and a raise, compared to those who don’t. Strategies that improve visibility are lending a helping hand to an overloaded colleague, taking time after work to help out a coworker, volunteering for a task or offering new ideas to the team.
6- Completion. The icing on the cake for a career rock star is following through in the face of adversity. People will tell you no or you’re not cut out for it, but your determination to complete your journey is paramount. Career rock stars are intrinsically motivated, never take no for an answer, are highly efficient and capable of seeing projects through to completion.
7- Self-care. Heiss states that, “We often feel obligated to say ‘yes’ to tasks that distract us from our bigger goals.” And quoting Warren Buffett, she adds, ‘The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.’ Don’t be afraid to set and hold boundaries to keep you focused on the tasks and goals that are most important to you. You’ll ultimately be more respected for it and will have less chance of burnout from trying to manage everything.”
A Final Wrap-Up On Standing Out At Work
If you want to stand out at work, get comfortable with disapproval and disagreements and learn to face instead of avoid conflict. See your individualism as a healthy approach. Reclaim your self-respect, stand firm in your values and opinions and be willing to speak up or say no. Be your own person, map your own career goals and gauge your actions by your own standards, not by the approval of others. When you look for that unpredictable bridge to jump from to sprout your wings or what limb to reach the fruit of the tree, you don’t have to fear the crocodile anymore or worry about standing out at work.
