What About You?

Happy Friday,

Yes. Leaders and official communications (coms) shape employees' feelings about their organization. And how they feel determines how much they care, how hard they try, and how long they stay. So, to avoid self-inflicted wounds and to maximize performance, organizations should be mindful and intentional about the feelings their leaders and coms create. Covered in previous weeks.

So what about you? Is your career trajectory impacted by how you make people feel about you? Absolutely! You shape how leaders and others feel about you every day. And that feeling determines which if any, cool career opportunities get sent your way. So, to avoid self-inflicted wounds and maximize your opportunities, it pays to be mindful and intentional about what feelings you create.

Opportunities follow trust, so build as much trust as you can. Here are 30 solid trust-building adjectives you want people to associate you with: Reliable, Honest, Transparent, Consistent, Dependable, Credible, Authentic, Ethical, Open, Sincere, Trustworthy, Respectful, Accountable, Committed, Humble, Genuine, Integrity, Empathetic, Fair, Responsive, Communicative, Predictable, Loyal, Understanding, Supportive, Steadfast, Patient, Approachable, Unbiased, and Forgiving.

And here are five heavy-duty ways to build trust with leaders that a lot of people overlook: 

1.     Exhibit a strong interest and solid understanding of how the organization works.

2.     Show you appreciate the urgency of the competitive environment.

3.    “Give it to me; I’ll take care of it.” You say that a lot, and you follow through.

4.     Show you understand the big picture. You see the organization in the context of its competitive environment, economic environment, political environment, the influence of societal trends, and the potential effects of technical progress.

5.     Demonstrate your all-in-commitment to the organization's mission.

Here are five ways to erode trust and limit or eliminate future opportunities (that, surprisingly, many are oblivious of):

1.    You demonstrate a poor understanding of what the organization you work for does and how it operates.

2.    You herald an inflated sense of your own self-worth.

3.    You express a strong sense of entitlement...any kind. (It's important here to be capable of differentiating objectively between earned confidence and entitlement).

4.    You work from home. In the competition for limited opportunities, those who show up in person build trust faster and make themselves more relevant than those working in their pajamas at home. 'Out of sight, out of mind' is a saying for a reason.

5.   Signal that you’re just working for the money, not the cause.

Opportunities follow trust: More trust > more opportunities. More opportunities > steeper career trajectory. Steeper career trajectory > different life.

Punchline: What leaders and coms convey about the organization directly impacts the organization's success. And what you convey about you? The same. What you convey about you directly impacts people's willingness to trust you with opportunities. So, be mindful and intentional about building other's trust in you every day, even when it's unclear how it will ever pay off. For some weird reason, that's often when it does.

And have a terrrrrrrific weekend!

Dave

Feedback and blowback, hit dave@goodnewsfriday.com

Review past topics (it's increasingly good stuff) @ goodnewsfriday.com

Written by me, not ChatGPT, with speed assist and blunder avoidance by Grammarly.