Deep within the heart of your organization’s cubicle farm, you and your heads-down colleagues are working hard to stay employed. Our metric-based culture has created generations of individuals who believe that good performance alone ensures job security. They still haven’t figured out the dirty little secret behind value creation.
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What Makes Someone a Valuable Employee?
So what is it that will make you stand out to your boss or organization as a valuable employee? When I say that you must achieve more than just doing your job well, I am not suggesting that doing your job well is not important. Conversely, in today’s excruciating work environments, good performance is expected. Your organization is finding less time and spending less money to train you to be a good performer. In her recent Wall Street Journal article, Herminia Ibarra of INSEAD continued to reflect that “Businesses are putting managers in a tough spot. They’re forcing bosses to take on many new responsibilities – but they’re not training them to get those jobs done.”
“Value” is the New Corporate Currency
The head-spinning advances in technology, endless bottom-line financial pressures, and growing networks of global economies described earlier demand a need for superior performance and sustainable efficiencies. Organizations aspire to motivate their employees to be better, more productive, and more engaged. Leaders seek ways to create a common language behind which organizational goals and activities can align. What can replace the void that is being created by the slow demise of performance management systems? What is the new corporate currency?
The Talent Development Hot Seat with Andy Storch
The Talent Development Hot Seat features interviews and insights from leading talent development professionals and company executives who are passionate about developing their people. The host, Andy Storch, asks each of them to share some of their successes, failures, challenges and advice for others as well as what trends they are seeing in the industry. The main goal of the podcast is to help listeners become more successful in their own jobs and accelerate their careers as Talent Development professionals.
What to Do If You Think You Don’t Have a Positive Reputation
While the importance of a good reputation is not new, the environment in which you are working to build a good reputation is. Here are some suggestions for what to do if you think you may not have a positive reputation at work.
Don’t Know What Kind of Reputation You Have at Work?
Partner with your manager or your Human Resources business partner on ways for you to gain greater insight into your reputation at work.
How to Have a Positive Attitude at Work
Having a positive attitude at work is a vital part of building a good reputation. A good attitude requires that you show optimism, flexibility and politeness. If you’re struggling and tend to be perceived by your colleagues as having a negative attitude at work:
Quality is in the Eye of the Beholder
In order to influence the “beholder,” there are some key behaviors that help make sure you distinguish yourself among your co-workers. Most of your co-workers would consider that quality exists when work is done with the highest degree of excellence.
Quantity and Quality = Your Reputation
As recently discussed, the quantity of work produced and the quality of your work are keys to creating your good reputation. Let’s face it, if you produce a low quantity of work and the work you do produce is low quality, your days are numbered. Even the best attitude and behavior will not offset low quantity and poor quality.
Producing Good Work and Your Reputation
Having a good attitude, demonstrating good behaviors, and acting with integrity are only part of the reputation equation. In today’s fast-paced organizations, it’s almost assumed that your work production is good. Even colleagues who demonstrate a good attitude and good behaviors may find themselves in job jeopardy if they’re not producing good work.