As a professional leadership coach, I have had the experience of helping countless professionals navigate and recover from what can only be described as professional upheavals. These misfortunes are often described as complete “blindsides”, coming unexpectedly “out of left field”. And yet, upon reflection, most people look back on the period of time immediately prior to the misfortune and say things like, “I should have seen it coming” or I can see now that “this was going on for a while”.
The challenge for all of us is to stay present enough to focus on the changing political tides that are shifting all the time in our professional lives, without becoming too distracted, preoccupied, or downright paranoid in the process. When I speak to professionals about participating in office politics the reaction is always the same: utter disdain, closely followed by an indignant proclamation that “I don’t engage in all that”. As if the suggestion of exercising their professional influence deliberately is something smarmy, akin to a selling of thier soul. Whether you work in large company, a small family business or even as an independent professional serving customers, your ability to read the proverbial “writing on the wall” may be the difference between work-related success and failure.
So what exactly can you do to prevent yourself from falling victim to the lost customer, the missed promotion, the organizational restructure that leaves you with a lousy outcome? The best answer: stay engaged and present.
For most of us, the first reaction when things get uncertain in our work life is to “hunker down”. We stay “under the radar”, trusting that our good work will speak for itself and that things will ultimately work out for the best. This approach is risky. Whether you are serving a customer, satisfying a new boss, or trying to change a reputation issue, actively influencing your outcomes is much wiser. Here's how:
Pay Attention
Observe the relationships of others. Who seems to be in the know? What leaders seem to be losing traction, involved in less announcements, less visible in decisions, presentations? This could give you a sense of where the organization is headed. If it’s a customer you are working with, who is the true decision maker? Make sure you are getting in front of the right people.
Trust Your Gut
We are all blessed with an instinctive “brain” that lives in our belly. It allows us to sense when things may not be quite right. Allowing your gut instinct to ruminate into worry and fear will not do you any good. If you can, instead, practice staying tuned-in to those instincts and moving that “feeling” to the rational brain for further analysis, you can capitalize on the natural foreshadowing tool that it is.
Stay Connected
Be visible. Make sure others are always aware of what you “do all day”. This doesn’t have to be an 8-hour commercial for your personal brand. But copying others on important emails (selectively), and mentioning your daily activities in casual conversation, will allow others to stay aware of your contributions. Ask to be involved in key meetings. Ask questions and demonstrate interest, informally and often.
Listen to Influencers
Within every organization there are those whose power and influence extends far beyond the hierarchal position or pay grade. Stay familiar with those folks. Pay attention to where they are focusing their energies. Don’t ever mistake the office gossip for an influencer. If you do, you will be doing nothing but wasting your time. And when the conversation turns to conspiracy theories, it’s time to get back to work.
Embrace Change
Stay open and be on the flexible side. Changes may not be favorable but if they are already set in stone, resisting them will only alienate you. If you have legitimate concerns, make your best attempt to share them constructively and then follow orders. Time has a way of exposing flawed decision- making. You don’t have to be the one to do that if there is a resistance to rethinking an established direction.
Volunteer
Stay positive and involved. Look for ways to make yourself indispensable. This will keep you “in the know” when new directions materialize. Helpful people simply do better when it comes to forming strong professional connections.
Address Tension
When you feel that a bridge may be burning, approach the tension with an open mind and seek to understand the source of the friction. Remember perceptions are never “wrong”. They represent the other person’s “real and accurate” experience of a situation. Share information and educate, rather than becoming defensive. Stay away from blame; it will never change the past anyway. Always bring a future mindset and a goal of having things go more smoothly in the future.
There is no single strategy that will keep your career moving in a positive direction and no advice that will protect you from the suffering the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune from time to time. But at least for me, there is nothing worse than being caught unprepared. "Predict-ability" is the one skill that will give you an advantage no matter what your future holds.
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