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The Promotable and Fireproof Newsletter
Your source for quick, actionable advice on maximizing your potential in the age of fast change, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and uncertainty.
Read time: 3 min.
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Promotable and Fireproof
Steve Degnan here, Advisor Board Member and former Chief Human Resources (HR) Officer.
Relationships, Reputation and Results
are the main ingredients to career success,
and what I see as the driving forces in becoming
Promotable and Fireproof.
Together let's dig in to some quick take advice to make this real.
I’m glad you’re here. Let’s go!
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Relationships |
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Time Spent:
Relationships are time spent. For me, most of 2005 seemed like it was spent at lunches with key executives. I’d moved to a new division the year prior and it was now my job as the CHRO to meet and develop working relationships with dozens of senior executives.
One on one lunches were the local way of doing exactly that. I didn’t like it but I embraced it. I usually worked at my desk over lunch and tried to clear my inbox. But 2005 was the year I learned the reality of the expression “never eat alone” (a great book by Keith Ferrazzi, you may want to check out). I don’t know how many lunches I attended that year, but I do know they made the following 19 years much easier to manage, as they were grounded in great relationships.
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Reputation |
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| Optimism Check!
How often do you fall into sarcastic chatter about your organization with your favorite office buddies? How about negative self talk? Both are high risk activities if left unchecked.
Sometimes the office smart asses are highly entertaining and hard to resist. I had those tendencies and had to fight them off frequently. People with great reputations are generally positive and optimistic about the future. They have a healthy mental framework and will walk away from negativity. If you are tempted to go too far on the "smartassery," reel it in.
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Results |
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How will you win?
Have you specifically defined winning in your job, your team, your department or even company? Regardless of your level, be sure to make an effort to understand and get buy in from the bosses on what winning looks like.
If you are just starting out, it might be hardest, especially if you are in some kind of training rotation. It may seem impossible to make a difference - in that case find out what the objectives are and make sure you hit them all.
As you move up you may inherit teams and organizations that are just going through the motions, living with goals and standards set up decades ago. If so you have an opportunity - everything must be reviewed and the real wins defined.
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