Il ne suffit pas de vouloir, il faut agir.
(GOETHE)
wining Visibility
Have you noticed that some workers receive more promotions and greater pay than
do their colleagues do, even though they are apparently not as competent or as
capable as their colleagues are? This doesn’t seem fair. Why should some people
get
ahead when others who seem to be working far harder, and even longer hours, get
passed over for promotion and the additional rewards that go with it?
The fact is that to be a great success, it is important not only to be good at
what you
do, but also to be perceived as being good at what you do. Human beings are
creatures
of perception. It is not what they see but what they think they see that
determines how
they think and act.
If your coworker is perceived as being more promotable than you are, for
whatever
reasons, then it is very likely that your coworker will get additional
responsibilities and
more money, even though you know that you could do a better job, if given the
chance.
Fortunately, however, there are several things that you can do to increase your
visibility and accelerate the speed at which you move ahead in your career.
The starting point to attain high visibility is to develop competence.
Determine what
parts of your job are most important to your boss and to your company, and then
make
the decision to become very good in those areas. You must be perceived as being
very
competent at what you do; your future depends on it. That perception alone will
bring
you to the attention of more people faster than you can imagine. The perception
of
excellent performance will open up opportunities for greater responsibilities,
higher pay
and better positions. Becoming good at what you do
should be the foundation of your
strategy for gaining higher visibility and rapid advancement in your career.
Employers everywhere are looking for men and women of action, people who will
get
in there and get the job done right as soon as possible. When you develop a
reputation
for competence and capability, you quickly become visible to all the key people
in your
working environment.
Excellence at what you do is essential, but it’s not enough. There are
additional
elements that go into the perception that others have of you. And one of the
most
important elements is your overall image, from head to toe. How you appear to
others
makes a real difference.
A recent survey of personnel executives found that the decision to hire or not
to hire
is made in the first 30 seconds. Many people believe that the decision to accept
or
reject a job candidate is actually made in the first four seconds. Many capable
men and
women are disqualified from job opportunities because they simply do not look
the
part.
There are many elements of your life over which you have no control and which
you
cannot choose. But your external dress and appearance are totally a matter of
personal
preference. Through their choice of clothes, their grooming and their overall
appearance, individuals deliberately make a statement about the kind of people they
are. The way you look on the outside is a representation of the way you see
yourself on
the inside. If you have a positive, professional self-image, you will take
pains to make
your external appearance consistent with it.
It’s a good idea to dress the way the senior people in your company dress.
Dress for
the position two jobs above your own. Since people judge you largely by the way
you
look on the outside, be sure to look thoroughly professional. Consequently, the
perception of the people who can help you in your career will be positive. They
will
open doors for you in ways that you cannot now imagine.
Another powerful way to increase your visibility is to join one or two
professional
associations connected with your business or field. Begin by attending meetings
as a
guest to carefully assess whether or not a professional association can be of
value to
you. Determine if the members are the kind of people you would like to know and
are
well-established in their careers. Then, if you have decided that becoming
known to the
key people in this association can advance your career, take out a membership
and get
involved.
Most people who join any club or association do little more than attend the
regular
meetings. For some reason, they are too busy to assist with the various things
that
need to get done. This is not for you. Your job is to pick a key committee and
volunteer
for service. Find out which committee seems to be the most active and the most
influential in that organization, and then step up to the plate. Volunteer your
time,
expertise and energy, and get busy. Attend every meeting. Take careful notes.
Ask for
assignments, and complete them on time and in an excellent fashion.
In each case, you have an opportunity to perform for other key people in your
profession in a non-threatening environment. You give them a chance to see what
you
can do and what kind of a person you are. You expand your range of valuable
contacts
in one of the most effective ways possible in America today. The people you get
to
know on these committees can eventually be extremely
helpful to you in your work and
in your career.
Also, join a well-known charitable organization, such as the United Way, and
become
active by donating your services to its annual fund-raising programs. You may
not be
wealthy now, but you do have time, and your willingness to give of yourself
will soon be
noticed by people who are higher up. Many men and women with limited contacts
and
limited resources have risen to positions of great prominence as the result of
getting to
know the key community leaders who participate in charitable organizations and
professional associations.
Some years ago, I joined a statewide chamber of commerce and volunteered to
work
on its Economic Education Committee. As usual, very few of the members
contributed
any time or effort to the committee, so there was always lots of work for those
few
people who were willing to put in the effort. Within one year, I was speaking
at the
annual convention for this association. The audience was composed of some of
the
most influential business executives in the entire state. In the following
year, I was
invited to give a key briefing to the governor and his aides at the state
capitol. I
became so well-known in the business community that within six months, I was
offered
a position to run a new company at triple my former salary. It all came from
becoming
active in the chamber of commerce and becoming known to the other members.
About three years later, I volunteered to work with the United Way and had a
very
similar experience. In fact, my whole business life was changed because of my
involvement in helping that charitable organization in its annual fund-raising
drive.
It’s amazing how far and how fast you will go when you begin to give your time
and
energy to others on a volunteer basis. It’s one of the fastest ways up the
ladder of
success in America.
There are many other things that you can do to increase your visibilitythings that
don’t occur to most people. For example, a study of 105 chief executive
officers
concluded that there were two qualities that would put a person onto the fast
track in
his or her career. The first quality was the ability to set priorities, to
separate the
relevant from the irrelevant when facing the many tasks of the day. The second
quality
was a sense of urgency, the ability to get the job done fast.
Managers place very high value on a person who can set priorities and move
quickly
to get the job finished. Dependability in job completion is one of the most
valued traits
in the American work force. When your employer can hand you a job and then walk
away and never worry about it again, you have moved yourself onto the fast
track, and
your subsequent promotion and pay are virtually guaranteed.
Another way to increase your visibility is to continually upgrade your
work-related
skills, and to make sure that your superiors know about it. Look for additional
courses
you can take to improve at your job, and discuss them with your boss. Ask him
or her
to pay for the courses, but make it clear that you’re going to take them
anyway.
A young woman who worked for me was able to double her salary in less than six
months by aggressively learning the computer, bookkeeping and accounting skills
she
needed as our company grew. And she was worth every penny.
Ask your boss for book and audio program recommendations. Then follow up by
reading and listening to them and asking for further recommendations. Bosses
are very
impressed with people who are constantly striving to
learn more in order to increase
their value to their companies. Doing this regularly can really accelerate your
career.
Finally, you’ll be more visible if you develop a Positive Mental Attitude.
People like to
be around and to promote people they like. A consistent, persistent attitude of
cheerfulness and optimism is quickly noticed by everybody. When you make an
effort
to cultivate an attitude of friendliness toward people, they, in return, will
go to
extraordinary efforts to open doors for you.
In summary, here are the five keys to increasing your visibility so that you
can be
more successful, faster in your career:
1. Become excellent at the important things that you have been hired to do.
Excellence in your chosen occupation is the primary stepping-stone to higher
positions
and better pay.
2. Look, act and dress the part. Become knowledgeable about styles, colors and
fabrics. Dress the way senior people in your company dress. Never take anything
for
granted. Remember that in the area of image, “casualness brings casualties.”
3. Develop your contacts, both inside and outside the company. Always be
looking for
ways to give of your time and effort, as an investment, so that others will be
willing to
give of their time and effort to help you sometime in the future.
The most successful men and women in any community are those who are known
by the greatest number of other successful people. Begin with your professional
association or club, and join a local charity that you care about and that also
has a
prestigious board of directors.
4. Take additional courses to upgrade your skills, and make sure that everyone
knows
about it. Ask your boss for book and audio program recommendations. Then read
and
listen, and go back to your boss with your comments on what you’ve learned and
to
ask for further recommendations.
When your boss feels that you are eager to learn and grow, often he’ll become a
mentor to you and will help you up the ladder of success. This process of being
mentored, or guided, has been instrumental to the careers of many successful
executives in America.
5. Be positive, cheerful and helpful. Be the kind of person other people want
to see get
ahead. Treat other people with friendliness and patience, and always have a
good word
to say to the people you work with.
In the final analysis, taking the time to become an excellent human being will
do
more to raise your visibility and improve your chances for promotion than will
any other
single thing that you can do. And you can do it if you really want to.
