QUESTION: My work will speak for itself.
FACT: That is provided you have made the effort to draw attention to your work; or if you have built for yourself a great brand image.
There is a saying: ‘Who-has seen the peacock dancing in the Jingle?’ One is praised only when one is visible. Many young people think that it is their manager’s responsibility to know what they are doing. Exactly the opposite is true, It is their responsibility to show the manager what they have done. A good research is not considered visible if it does not appear in a good journal. One has to beat one’s own drum, otherwise no one will listen.
‘Selling’ is an important function in any job. Lack of this skill means that all your good work is downplayed and it fails to draw the attention of a wider audience for acceptance. Selling is an integral part of any middle and senior management function. One could be selling the company’s product or services; ideas to one’s peers; or selling skills to an interview panel for a new job. One has also got to sell one’s contributions regularly to the manager. But do be cautious about beating your drum too often and too loud—it might create a negative impression.
The other way to be visible is by persuading–people to know about you and your capabilities. This means you have to build a brand for yourself. This can happen only if you have developed the right reputation in a relevant area of expertise. Once you become a brand, it will take minimum effort to make your pork visible.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE EMPLOYEE? You need to strike a fine balance between selling your own capabilities and not being a harmful influence on teaming, it is important that you should not promote yourself at the expense of the team; that would lead to ostracization. if you have done something extraordinary with the help of your team members, you should give visibility to that support. And you will gain more acceptability if you do so in your team meetings rather than during a one-on-one with the manager. If anyone has any objection or correction to:- .. be made, you should see to it that this is done in the team meeting itself. This will save you from the tag of ‘credit stealer.
WHAT CAN YOU DO AS THE MANAGER? You have a big responsibility— you should not only have a good grasp. on each individual’s contribution and skills, but you should also keep an eye on events happening in the team that might have a negative impact. There are always some employees who take the initiative and interact more with their manager, but it should not happen that you form your opinion based only on those interactions. You should have a dialogue with other team members too at regular intervals in order to get the correct picture. This will help you in giving credit where it’s due and also in dealing with any team issues early on.
