Chances are your employer probably only knows half of what you do for them. It’s not a knock on your boss. Often times you are holding a position that they have never held or haven’t done in quite some time. Things change, as does the evolution of your position. When it comes time to start asking for more money, contract negotiation or a one on one where you want to show the company your worth-make sure you do a great job of telling your story.
There is a fine line between bragging and telling your story. It’s honestly hard to talk about yourself or your accomplishments without sounding egotistical right? Yet, in order to get what you want (raise, promotion, recognition) you need to find that line.
Here are 7 tips on how to tell your story:
Plan your speech. Write out bullet points and practice how you plan to say it, what they might say and how you plan to react. Try to see all the angles and bullet proof your information by attempting to see both sides.
Understand that the place will not explode if you were to walk out. It won’t. Business will continue and eventually they will find people to do your job. Embrace that you are great at what you do, but never underestimate that in business-change (good and bad) always opens opportunities. Be cautious and aware of your line in the sand as well as theirs.
Speak in words that appeal to the person you are trying to convince. It makes no sense to tell your boss that you do X, Y and Z if they don’t know what that really is or how it affects the bottom line. You may have to teach them your job before you can show them how awesome you are at it. The bean counters are looking for measurable actions. Take this into consideration when explaining your value.
Do not hold yourself or your talents hostage. Know that you will have to do more to get more. Even though you are probably underpaid (who isn’t right?) you will always need to increase your workload in order to hit your goals. Nobody ever gets the deal they want by saying “But… I no longer want to do this…” at the negotiation table.
It is not You vs. Them! I cannot tell you how many times I have negotiated a contract with someone and watched their body language change as soon as we start negotiating terms. This is a team effort. Chances are they want you there and you want to be there. Work together with this person and attach “visuals” to the numbers. Meaning, illustrate why they need to pay this amount. What are they getting that nobody else can do?
In order to get the job, you need to be already doing the job. Nobody ever gets promoted to a position that’s entirely made up of things they have never done before (unless it’s the boss’s son). They might feel that the title might just be a formality, but you need to make sure they understand that it is imperative to you and your goals.
Lastly, don’t wait till you get to the negotiation table to tell your story. You should be actively telling it all the time. Look for subtle opportunities to show your overall worth. Be clear with your goals at all times and make sure your employer knows what you want to accomplish. The negotiation table is the wrong place for people to suddenly learn that you want to be promoted. Your employer should know well in advance. (Also, shame on them for not asking you about your goals prior to this moment)
Whenever I go to theme parks or places where there is a large audience of people, my patience is tested as I weave in and out of traffic trying to get to my destination or get my wife and kids to an area where there are fewer people to bump into. I’m not anti social (my job requires me to be a people person). I don’t have a phobia of large crowds. I just get disappointed by the lack of “drive” in people. I understand you’re on vacation, but that doesn’t mean that you should disconnect so much from reality that you become oblivious to your surroundings and ruin the experience for others. You can certainly take your time and walk to the beat of your own drum, but understand that there are others around you. Be aware of your surroundings. To walk aimlessly and expect others to watch out for you is no way to live life.
Nor is it a way to conduct business.
I have worked with (and for) people who have checked out mentally-as if they were on vacation. They have lost connection with what they do and become that wandering tourist walking slower than the rest of the crowd (often wearing a Hawaiian shirt, chewing on a giant turkey leg). You have to keep your head on a swivel. You cannot expect to wander aimlessly in your vocation and expect the people around you to just understand you and be tolerant. Sure, if you are effective at what you do, you can certainly dictate culture, but when you create an environment that doesn’t breed progress and results-you’ll be knocked into the water by the family on their way to ride It’s a Small world.
Yes, I’m trying to be cute here, but understand the undertones of what I am writing. You have got to keep things in perspective. People count on you…a lot is riding on your ability to perform, lead and evolve. To “check out” from your job will only create more work for others that results in unrest and a possible mutiny (Arrrr Captain Hook). You have to be accountable. Unlike the family from Lincoln Nebraska that stops to read the map in the middle of a busy street at the theme park, you have to be aware of your surroundings and understand that your actions cause a chainlike effect on everyone at the park (and for me to want to run my stroller over your foot).
But I won’t, because my head stays on a swivel. I walk with drive and purpose...and with the knowledge that I am part of something bigger than just me.
See ya real soon! (ah haha)
Living in fear of losing what you have is a terrible way to spend your career. This happens to people that become comfortable or just want to squeeze a few more years out of their vocation before “the next guy” comes along and takes their place. Why would you want to spend the next few years spiraling backwards just to keep collecting a check? Yet, every day we see people do it. It’s like a deer in the woods that squints and stands still when the hunter squeezes off his shot-instead of running.
“Hanging on” is what speed bumps do. Instead, you need to be a Viking; a trailblazer. Dictating culture, owning your future and navigating your journey is imperative. Placing your life’s outcome in someone else’s hands (that isn’t God… a whole other topic) is the equivalent of giving up and committing career suicide.
It’s frustrating to watch people with tremendous talent continue to make excuses or create roadblocks for themselves. You must have done something special in order to get to where you are today, right? Why would you drop your talents just to get a better hold of the small piece of success you have accumulated through hard work and experience? Get up and fight!
Are you a trigger puller or has the light inside of you been blown out by your own inability to no longer recognize what got you here? Confidence can be easily stolen if it is built on insecurity. Take a moment and do a gut check. Do you have the stomach and energy for the next step? If you don’t-you better find it because the “next guy” is going to have plenty of it and won’t think twice about taking it from you. I’m not suggesting you should always look over your shoulder-Just suggesting that you need work to keep yourself from falling into a rut or getting complacent for the wrong reasons. Getting comfortable-healthy. Standing still out of fear-bad.
Reinvent yourself. Find that lost fire. Pull the trigger. Be a trailblazer.
Or make sure you leave the keys to your office for the next guy (empty the trash on your way out).
When it comes to talent-Education needs to be both shared and sought. I am always trying to better myself through education. Reading books, blogs, talking with other creative/smart people, etc. I expect and encourage that same behavior from other members of the team. We need to always work to set goals, share those goals and adapt to the changes around us. I hold others accountable and work to improve their “game” as well as mine. It is important to regularly meet with staff so that silos are not created in regards to goals and agenda. As a coach, I feel it is critical that I am spending time to mentor staff members as well as people outside of the building. Creating a network of talent and giving back to the community of your profession; while helping to cultivate the minds of our future managers, is essential to the growth of the industry.
Rudyard Kipling is probably my favorite writer of all time. Kipling has written The Jungle Book, Ticky Ticky Tavi and Gunga Din just to name a few. There are several takeaways from this piece that can be applied to most management challenges. I often reflect upon "IF" when I am having moments where I might be getting too full of myself or losing focus of the goals of the situation. Since 2000 I have had a printed out copy of this poem sitting next to my desk.
IF
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build'em up with worn-out tools;
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!
Rudyard Kipling
PS-I hate Robert Frost. If you like him, you are lame.