It’s an every corporate professional’s dream to excel at office and get noticed for the contributions we make. Little do we realize that our behavior matters equally as much as our proficiency at work. You can either choose to be the one sitting in the corner and working judiciously without being noticed, OR make a swift impression and grab all the moolah, which is bound to follow.
Here are a few excerpts from my life, the mistakes to avoid and the tips you could to use to climb the ladder of success.
1. Survival of the fittest:
Well!!! It applies in the animal kingdom. With all due fairness, I don’t see a reason why it should not apply in the corporate jungle. The sooner you are able to adapt to the situation the better are your chances of survival. For example, although belonging to the same family, the crocodiles have been able to survive extinction whereas the dinosaurs have perished. Similarly if you are smarter, more influential, and adaptive, having an edge over the others in the race, there is no doubt about who the survivor will be. Is there?
2. Become indispensable:
Always remember. Every single person can be replaced by someone equally good or better.
So a misconception that your company cannot replace you is not only unrealistic but it also makes you complacent. So don’t try to be irreplaceable, try being indispensable which will automatically make you ”hard to replace. For example, 5 people at the same career level joined my company at the same time. One of the employees was smart enough to make himself as the most important resource by showing that he was trustworthy, capable, mastering what he did and also by making his supervisors work easier. He created a demand for himself both with his supervisors as well as the clients. He had managed to be the only one to have the expertise in certain matters. So no doubt he was the one with a string of promotions among the five. The rest could only helplessly look at him climbing the ladder.
3. A few lies:
Whoever said that a lie has no future obviously has not seen a future his lie could lead him to. Lies can be used as a weapon against your boss. You may hate the very sight of your boss, but it doesn’t harm you to lie to him and make him feel good about himself instead of revealing you hatred towards him. After all who does not like being praised? This may seem difficult to accomplish but when practiced can work wonders for your career.
4. Crying baby gets the milk:
My manager once told me that the crying baby gets more attention. He was advising me to be a crying baby and raise any issues or concerns I have, directly with him instead of bottling it all up. This is a good practice, when you want to pester them with your promotion. It gives them a feel that you are serious about your job and also your chances of getting what you want increases if the wants are known by the ones who can provide them. Confusing it might seem, initially, till you grasp the concept. My manager was smart enough to warn me not to overdo it.
5. Network Network Network:
Connection with the right people can catapult you to success. 65 to 80% of all jobs are found through networking. You need to plan, strategize and put in all your efforts to build relevant networks. Not only will it help you in your career, it will also widen your knowledge as you can share your experiences with each other.
6. Be a Leader:
Leadership qualities are not inbuilt in everyone. It’s a challenge to rise from being a commoner, as most of us are humble and gentle beings. Also, leaders face a lot of criticism. Only people who are brave enough to face the wrath of their fellow colleagues can outsmart them. But trust me it pays to have people hating you. A person, who always tries to please others, seldom sees success.
7. Loving what you do:
I shall quote an example here. My friend worked for 4 years in analytics in which he was least interested. The only reason he stuck to his job was the money. Due to his lack of passion towards work he always remained an average performer. However, later he found a job as a web developer, which he was very passionate about. His performance touched such heights which he could not even imagine. When you love what you do, success will always come to you.
Devleena Nath
Shraddha Singh
