Business

How To Be A Professional In The Workplace

In any work scenario, you are in a place that requires you to act with a level of composure and professionalism. However, you are still a person with natural emotions and things going on outside of your job that may influence this. Nonetheless, when you’re on work hours, you are now the face of the organization. 

This is especially important when meeting with clients, demonstrating your knowledge and skills that put you in the role to serve them is crucial. Of course, your instincts may not always come to you in a manner that’s appropriate for the situation. This goes back to the importance of emotional intelligence and being able to detach from these feelings. 

Scenario: you’re meeting with an influencer whom you think could be a good fit to market your product. You send them samples of your product and arrange a meeting time to discuss your plans. When you get to the meeting it is evident they’ve done no research on the company or even truly used your product. You clue in quickly that they’re not going to be the ones you pay to market your product. How would you address this?

Do you leave it with “we’ll get back to you” or do you address the situation by explaining why you won’t work with them? The ladder would be most transparent and effective. Yet while this choice is professional, the delivery needs to be just as transparent and professional.

Keeping yourself in check like this means you need to be prepared for anything by having the awareness that anything could happen. Here are some tools to keep you prepared:

Explanations

When a situation triggers something that makes you want to get angry or lose your cool, they can, in certain cases, be replaced with explaining. With the example of the poorly prepared influencer, you simply express the importance of authenticity to your brand's public image. There are going to be times when you need to be stern, but being able to recognize when those times are and when you need to re-evaluate is what makes you a professional. 

Competency

True professionals ensure that their efforts are being applied to the best of their ability in every task that comes their way. Additionally, proving that you are capable, willing, and provide value will build your credibility and advance your role. This entails being active in the organization, going the extra mile to build connections, and providing value as best you can.  

Take Ownership

Someone who blames others lacks self-awareness, will struggle to collaborate with others, and fail to demonstrate professionalism. Whereas someone who can own their mistakes, highlight their areas that need improvement, and actively strive to do better possesses the attitude of a professional. Taking ownership is what constructs someone capable of leading others, it is setting an example and continually operating with high standards. 

Good Listener

A good listener will connect with everyone they come in contact with and develop meaningful relationships. Taking the time to listen to people, and taking in their opinions, ideas, and concerns demonstrates you are committed to serving the team with the needs of everyone considered. It will allow others to trust you and know they can be transparent with you, they will begin viewing you as a true leader. 

Knowledge

Having an exceptional level of knowledge regarding your organization's needs, client's needs, product or service details, or whatever the case may be, it is pivotal you are knowledgeable. This will give you the confidence to conduct yourself effectively. Additionally, this will help you prepare for contingencies the team may face, which is where you step up.

Conclusion

Professionalism is the baseline to effective leadership and followership, both of which translate to a well-rounded organization. People can recognize authenticity immediately and will feel more comfortable working with a brand that reflects this. To gain this ability to connect, you must be professional and take the time to build genuine connections. 

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Managing Up: Leading With Purpose

The impacts of effective leadership branch far beyond the capabilities of a leader. In some cases, leadership requires guidance from the bottom up. Your leader will not have all the answers or in some cases be able to reach the desired outcome on their own. When this is the case, subordinates can take initiative to equip their leader with the necessary tools and information to be successful.

This is called “managing up”, and this method applies to leadership in all its forms. In essence, you end up managing your leader to be better for the needs of the team or to influence the desired outcome. This is by no means “changing” or “fixing” your leader, it is simply stepping up to give them and the team the support they need. Additionally, you and your leader are both striving to be better and advance your careers. 

The incentive for managing up for the individual is so that you (being in a lower-ranked position) can demonstrate your qualities as a leader and develop a dynamic that utilizes each of your strengths. Sometimes all it takes is a change in your attitude or speaking with the leader directly to give intel on a situation for them to be effective in their task. Eventually, showing that you are a capable and effective leader can lead to opportunities for advancement. 

This concept can be difficult to grasp and effectively implementing it can seem intimidating but there are some simple characteristics you can implement:

Open To Learning

Often a leader will have several direct reports which take a lot of their time, to begin with. Having someone who isn’t coachable will make this responsibility even harder. To stand out, if you are in each meeting asking questions, and applying feedback, they will allocate more time and energy to you. Think of this as an investing scenario, if you are showing that you’re willing to grow, they will give you the tools necessary to do so. 

Proactive Not Reactive

You can get ahead of situations by actively communicating with your leader on what’s being done and what could be done better rather than waiting for them to ask. Subordinates should use their intuition and apply their efforts in a manner that will help their leader and the team as a whole. This takes some of the burdens off leaders and allows you to stick out from the majority in a way that demonstrates competency. 

Empathetic

A leader who knows their team and understands their needs can find ways to adapt their approach to the needs of the group. Vice versa, a subordinate who takes the time to know their leader, can build a supportive relationship between the two of them. Realize that there will be times when your leader needs a nudge in the right direction. Avoid rank clouding your view of what’s important, put yourself in their shoes, and get involved in problem-solving. At the end of the day, you’re all striving for the same goal. 

Feedback

Just as you receive feedback, don’t be afraid to provide your leader with feedback as well. Nobody’s perfect in their role, opportunities for growth and development are what construct a professional. This same concept applies to information, if a leader is taking on a situation where they may need guidance, subordinates can take initiative to provide it.

Advancement

Either or both of you may have aspirations to reach new levels in your careers, find out what they are. To manage up, you need to know what the goals and intentions of your leader are so you can guide them when applicable. They will look out for you in the same way and now the relationship is supportive of both of your needs. 

Conclusion

Managing up is an initiative that will serve anyone in an executive position or someone who wants to gain skills from their current organization while influencing outcomes. Doing this takes time, it requires you to be accountable for everything that goes on in the team. If you want to get the most out of your career, this is the kind of attitude and hunger you must possess. 

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!

 
 
 

Balancing People: Managing Work Relationships As A Leader

What happens inside an organization is a direct reflection of the opportunities and success attained on the outside. As a leader, your ability to build trusted connections among co-workers is pivotal. However, there is a balance that must be found in developing these connections. Leaders don’t want to cross the line into making a relationship too personal with subordinates or fellow executives. On the other hand, leaders also need to establish credibility and develop a line of communication that members of the organization know they can rely on. 

The importance of finding a balance between these factors of a working relationship is to avoid the risk of not being able to effectively delegate. If a leader has a connection too personal with team members, they won't feel comfortable giving them work or negative feedback. Additionally, a leader may not be willing to make hard decisions that will benefit the team overall if it risks the satisfaction of others.

On the other end, a leader who makes too little effort will lack cohesion between and within their team, weakening communication. Ultimately, leaders want to achieve a level where they can be friendly and open with others but not attach them to any area of their life outside the organization.

The first step to effectively implementing this approach as a leader is taking accountability for everything that goes on under your control. Not only does this keep you in a spot where you’re able to see things logically, but it also sets an example for the rest of the team. A leader who can communicate effectively and remain highly disciplined will be productive and inspire others. Maintaining discipline with an attitude of optimism and general kindness will construct a highly balanced leader whom people will feel comfortable receiving tasks and bringing questions. 

Maintaining emotional and analytical control over your decision-making is the foundation for having effective working relationships with others. This can translate into long-term satisfaction and success in the organization as you are proving to be an effective leader capable of managing yourself and others in a business setting.

Of course, being part of a team means you will be spending plenty of time with members, which may make it hard to keep some relationships strictly business. Yet, it is important to be able to do so to be able to handle anything the organization may face. 

Here’s what to consider:

Limit Sharing Personal Information

It’s great to talk with others and share what you’ve got going on, but there is a limit to how much you should let others in on. What that limit is remains up to you, you don’t want anyone to have the information they could later share with others which will alter your image of professionalism. Your team is not your emotional support group, any personal opinions about others within the organization must not be shared. 

This method works up and down the chain, all members of the team should strive to maintain a level of professionalism as a baseline. Additionally, tailoring communication to a level of what’s appropriate and necessary is a good start to finding this balance.

Remain Focused On Goals

At the end of the day, everyone is likely to form some level of bond within the workplace, and while these bonds are necessary, they can’t be distracting. Being part of a team means everyone is after a collective objective. To meet the objective, there needs to be cohesion but at a capacity necessary to reach an optimal outcome as a team. Getting too caught up in personal opinions can lead to the formation of out-groups. This divides the team and presents speed bumps to progress or even halts it. 

Instead, keep discussions positive when speaking about others, actively seek out opportunities to take action, and detach emotion from the process. 

Follow Your Directions

In a position of power, giving out tasks to others can get the best of a leader and cause them to sit back a little. One of the most defining characteristics a leader can have is humility, and occasionally taking action that you could easily ask others to do is necessary to gain respect. 

An example of this would be a store manager letting their employees go home early while they stay and clean up. This shows appreciation and actively demonstrates that the leader doesn’t see themselves as “above that”. Additionally, likely, the employees would voluntarily stay and help. Now the team is forming a meaningful work bond that will carry over to accepting tasks and helping each other further in the future.  

Find A Best Friend At Work

A peer at work is different from a direct report, they may work in a completely different department or report to someone else. So long as they are not under your leadership they become neutral. Studies show having a best friend at work is good for overall mental health. They take a layer of stress off and reduce feeling isolated at work which is beneficial for creativity.  

Now your best friend at work remains under the umbrella of a working relationship, not letting personal matters get involved. Additionally, you come to each other to share what’s going on with both of your jobs. They become a safe space, you bounce ideas off them and may even come to each other for advice or share frustrations. 

Conclusion

Investing in meaningful relationships with subordinates is a pillar of effective leadership, to attain this, mutual respect between the team must be established. By not getting caught up in rank, and personal opinions, and avoiding the formation of out-groups, the team can be effective. It’s important to know that there are no poor-performing teams, only poor-performing leaders. Be a leader that is selfless and open, the needs of the team always outweigh the wants of the leader.

We work with successful companies to increase their net profits using exceptional custom software solutions, contact us here to see how we can help your business grow!