Becoming outstanding in the world of work

George Chingarande | Monday June 9, 2014 19:01

 

To them the pertinent question is how to become outstanding; in fact become so outstanding that they become not only promotable but also indispensible. Top experts in the field, John Zenger and Joseph Folkman did a research on this and shared their results in the Harvard Business Review. In this issue we would like to share their findings. In summary, outstanding players in the world of work are distinguished by their outstanding contributions and they achieve this through a few important habits. These are as follows.

Set stretch goals and adopt high standards for themselves. This was the single most powerful differentiator. The best individual contributors set — and met — stretch goals that went beyond what others thought were possible. They also encouraged others to achieve exceptional results. The less effective individual contributors are excellent “sandbaggers,” having concluded that the biggest consequence of producing great work and doing it quickly is more work. They fear their managers will keep piling on tasks until they reach a point where they can’t accomplish all that’s assigned.

 

Work collaboratively. 

In school and in some sports such as tennis, individual performance is key. Many people make the mistake of transferring the lessons they learn in individual sports, in individual school assignments into the world of work organisations. Many individual contributors strive to work independently.

Some believe that if they remain solo performers, their contributions will more likely be noticed. They may be thinking of some educational experience where they stood out because their effort was acknowledged with high grades and test scores.  If so, they fail to see that the main purpose of an organisation is to create more value by working together than everyone can produce by working outside the company on their own.

 

Volunteer to represent the group. 

The best individual contributors are highly effective at representing their groups to other departments or units within the organisation. In organisations there are two types of people; the social loafers who float along as free riders dependent on the efforts of others while they put in minimum efforts and the social facilitators who thrive on bringing their skills to the fore for the benefit of the whole group. Invariably, the facilitators get noticed and accrue a reputation of getting things done. If you want to stand out, have the courage to raise your hand and volunteer for the difficult tasks that others flee away from and offer to take on the extra work of representing your group. In this way you will gain recognition, networking opportunities, and valuable learning experiences.

Embrace change, rather than resisting It. 

Change is inevitable. The world of work always calls for change of both tactics and strategy. The outstanding performers are good at practicing flexible rigidity. They are rigid in pursing the organisational vision and mission but very flexible with implementation tactics.

 

Take initiative.

Often mediocre contributors are locked into a pattern of waiting to be told what to do. On the contrary great contributors develop a habit of volunteering their unique perspective and providing a helping hand.  Initiative requires more than doing your current job well. Great contributors have their fingerprints all over the organisational projects especially those projects that other people shy away from.

 

Walk the talk.

It’s easy for some people to casually agree to do something and then let it slip their minds. Most people would say that this is mere forgetfulness. This is dishonest behaviour. If you commit to doing something, barring some event truly beyond your control, you should follow through. The best individual contributors are careful not to say one thing and do another. They are excellent role models for others.

They follow through on their commitments. Use good judgment. When in doubt about a technical issue or the practicality of a proposed decision, the very best individual contributors research it carefully rather than relying on their expertise to just wing it. Making decisions takes up a relatively small portion of the day for this group, but the consequences of the decisions they do make can be enormous. Outstanding contributors are open to a wide range of solutions and careful to consider what, and who, will be affected if something goes wrong. Display personal resilience.

 No one is always right. Everyone suffers disappointments, failures, and disruptions. If they make a mistake, the best individual contributors acknowledge it quickly and move on. They don’t brood on other people’s mistakes. They ignore slights and hurtful comments. They realise that what undermines your reputation is not making mistakes but failing to own up to and learn from them.

 

Give honest feedback. 

We tend to think of feedback as a manager’s responsibility. And it is. Since this is not a formal role or usual expectation of individual contributors, it’s one of the behaviours that can make them stand out. Even done imperfectly, feedback from peers can be valuable because it’s so rare. If done with kind intent, demonstrations of how you might approach some task, gently raising questions a co-worker may not have considered, or perhaps pointing out some specific things a colleague did that was particularly helpful to you or somewhat distracting, can be highly prized. The best individual contributors are able to provide feedback in a way that is perceived not as criticism but as a gesture of goodwill.

The authors conclude by saying, “If you want to stand out from the pack, excelling at any of these nine behaviours can make a substantial impact on the way others perceive you. So we recommend selecting the one or two that might matter most to your effectiveness in your current assignment to work on improving.  In making your selection, consider asking your manager and peers for feedback on how effective you are in all of these areas.”