The Things We Love to Hate About Work
by Peggy Klaus
When I ask my coaching clients what they dislike about their jobs, the responses I receive most often are these: I don’t like having to compete. I dread networking events. I dislike office politics.
But one thing I’ve learned from years of providing communication and leadership coaching is this: ignoring these aspects of the job will not make them go away! In fact, avoiding the things you love to hate about work will eventually stall or derail your career.
Shifting your perceptions is the first step of transforming your aversions into a mind-set that can help you get the career you want. Start by directing your energy toward fine-tuning the skills and qualities you already possess, rather than thinking you must become someone you are not to succeed at the getting-ahead game. Soon you will discover that you are already sitting on a goldmine—and that goldmine is you! Once you’ve identified your strengths, they will quickly become the building blocks of your very own career launching pad.
Below are a few more tips that will show you how to get ahead at work by leveraging those very things you love to hate.
- Compete, Don’t Beat
So, tell me, how do you feel about competing? Think about the words you associate with competition. Do “aggressive” and “back-stabbing” come to mind? If so, it’s time for a little reframing! Competing is something we all do each day of our lives, starting as children (especially those of us with siblings!). It’s not about being aggressive. It’s not about being cocky or pretentious. And it’s not about beating someone out or being beaten. Constructive competition is simply about striving for your goals by clearly communicating who you are, what you have accomplished in the past, what you are achieving at the moment, and your intentions for the future. - Remember, It’s Really Just A Party
Ah, the almighty networking event! For many people the very thought of attending one gives them the shakes. They become anxious about these events because they hate the pressure to be “on.” Forced mingling feels staged and the setting seems so contrived. But ask yourself this: Why do you go to parties? Most of us attend them for the very same reasons we go to networking events—to interact, make connections with people and have fun! The purely social purpose of a party is
enjoyable and makes you feel relaxed. By approaching your next networking event with the same attitude you bring to a party, developing rapport with others will come more naturally. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, choose three people at the event and make it your business to get to know them. Treat each one as a potential new friend. Ask questions: Do they have kids? Where did they go to college? Any hobbies or causes they are particularly interested in? Details like these will provide a number of entry points for building relationships with those who can help you further your professional ambitions. So relax and enjoy yourself! - Get Ahead Without Losing Your Mind
Office politics exist in every business environment (unless, of course, you work alone!), and rarely do they deserve the negative images they conjure up. Office politics are really just about interacting with people and positioning yourself in ways that will best accomplish your goals. So adding a few, simple communication habits to your repertoire will most definitely speed up the process of getting to where you want to go. Email a report at the end of each week to your boss detailing that week’s successes, challenges, obstacles, and positive client feedback. Or if you already have regular in-person meetings scheduled, take some time at each one to underscore how well you’ve been performing. Choose five people within your company with whom you would like to establish visibility—then actively pursue them in both formal and casual settings. Attend corporate functions. Get involved in a project or committee that is meaningful to you—such as diversity networks, recruiting or mentoring junior associates. Your efforts will be both personally and professionally rewarding. Once you work these activities into your routine, playing the getting-ahead game will rapidly become not only second nature, but also fun!
Peggy Klaus, President of Klaus & Associates
You may have seen Peggy Klaus on Nightline, the Today Show, and 20/20 or read her advice in the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Newsweek, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, and O magazine. You may know her as the “brag lady” or—as one newspaper called her—a “bragologist” because of her popular book, BRAG! The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn Without Blowing It (Hachette Books Group, Hardcover 2003, Paperback 2004). Or you may know Klaus for the soft skills savvy she promotes in her second tome, The Hard Truth About Soft Skills: Workplace Lessons Smart People Wish They’d Learned Sooner (Collins, January 2008).
For more than a decade Klaus has provided communication and leadership training programs, keynotes, and executive coaching at leading corporations and organizations worldwide. Her client list reads like a who’s who of Fortune 500 companies, including firms such as JP Morgan Chase, MasterCard, Computer Associates, Chevron Corporation, Deloitte, General Mills, Goldman Sachs, The National Football League, Pacific Gas & Electric Company, American Express, Mattel, Booz Allen Hamilton, Kaiser Permanente, and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, among others. She also has served as a lecturer at Harvard University; the University of California, Berkeley; and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
With advanced degrees in drama, speech, and theatre from London’s Royal Academy of Music and the Drama Studio, Klaus began her career as an actor and classical singer. She then moved to Hollywood to become a producer, director, and coach who worked with actors, comedians, musicians, and broadcast news talent for productions at Paramount Studios, Warner Brothers, ABC, CBS, and NBC TV, among others.
When she is not coaching, training, lecturing, making television appearances, or giving keynotes in the US, Europe, and Asia, Klaus can be found in Berkeley, California, where she lives with her husband.
Excellent article.