Welcome back to another episode of the corporate Cowboys podcast my name is Alex your host today is December 17th it’s a Saturday December 17 2022. and this podcast has really been just a form of uh therapy for myself it’s cathartic in a sense to be able to
Impart my experience and share it freely for free to you these are 30-minute consults that you wouldn’t really get anywhere else from somebody who’s been in the game and have been around others who’ve been in the game longer than I have the game being corporate the corporate world engaged in a corporate War
The sooner you know that the better after all you’re born into this thing called life and you won’t get anywhere if you don’t put in the work foreign comes from uh not so much a question there’s no question mark on this but still we’ll treat it
As a consult they got to have a question that needs answering and getting it from Reddit a lot of these folks typically hit Reddit up with not the best of context but we’ll go off what they give us and throughout the consult I’ll go back and forth and
Share what I believe would be the best approach what I think would be a good approach in uh relation to our original posters our Ops professional development the title of this one says hard work is getting me nowhere scary hard work is getting you nowhere really well work smarter not hard
The body the body says long story shorts I’m the type of person who is super diligent about the details and quality of my work I honestly think that my boss has no clue how much work I put into creating the projects that I do which is what’s killing me I have colleagues who
Are in positions above me whose work is riddled with errors late and not nearly as detailed as my own I’m starting to get super frustrated that my hard work is overlooked and taken for granted is this just how things are in the corporate world you just put in the years in the
Industry kiss some butt and that’s all it takes to move up does the work really not matter and they say sorry for any grammar slash spelling errors I just wrapped up a 12 hour day well there’s no excuse there’s no excuse for errors if you’re super diligent you could [ __ ] super spell check
I’m kidding I didn’t notice anything in there and I wasn’t reading I wasn’t reading to proofread or edit or revised so I got nothing I got nothing to say in that regard what I will say though is is hard work and only hard work doesn’t get you promotions it’s not ah
It’s sufficient it’s sufficient to get you a promotion but it’s not even necessary surprisingly it’s not even necessary because your definition of hard work might not be somebody else’s I joked a little bit in the beginning about working smarter now working smarter could equate to getting the same amount of work done
Than if you had been putting in those 12 hours if you get it done in 10 hours you’re working smarter if you get it done in eight hours you’re working smarter are you necessarily working harder you say you’ve got to ask yourself I don’t know how socially adept you are to
Marketing yourself promoting yourself and your hard work at the same time it could be that you’ve established yourself that you’ve kind of cemented this reputation for being a hard worker and staying in line which could reflect poorly on you if you now decide to start biting at the
What’s the term called nipping at the bit biting at the bit chomping on the bit that’s right you’re like a Workhorse that’s what you signed up for you have people who are above you have colleagues who are in positions above you already which tells me that
You were in a support rule some type of subordinate position nothing wrong with that but it’s what you signed up for how much hard work you put into it really only dictates how valuable you are to the company not how much the company values you you’ve got to put yourself in the
Company’s shoes in the supervisor’s shoes they don’t value you for I don’t know Humanity’s sake they put a value on you for your productivity now you can Branch out from that by becoming more social by developing yourself professionally learning to network that’s going to require you learning the
Hierarchy because it sounds and to me it sounds like you’ve got a pretty uh pretty diverse organizational structure if you have multiple colleagues in positions above you yeah you’ve got a couple extra rungs on that ladder that you can explore and probably not get called out for
You keep your work product the same you could potentially scale it back right I don’t know I don’t know what the requirements what the technical requirements are so that your diligence doesn’t need super diligence right because to me that’s just an extra adjective super diligent okay you could
Just be diligent and still not make errors if your colleagues above you are making errors they are just not diligent they are not less diligent they’re just not diligent there’s there’s a difference between being diligent and not diligent saying you’re super diligent and focusing on details could mean that you’re taking too much
[ __ ] time that you are hyper focusing on this one thing that doesn’t require the excessive energy the excess energy that you’re putting into it Let It Go do something better with your time that better being networking moving up not kissing ass I mean I get that kissing ass might get you places
It might put you in view of certain doors but kissing ass won’t always open doors for you why the [ __ ] what a competent manager a leader wants someone who just kisses their ass but aren’t productive what that picture is missing is you a diligence worker a productive worker creative maybe I don’t know
Because you’re not working smart you’re working hard by your own words by your own admission could you be doing better always always but why would a competent leader want just a Yes Man an ass kisser who doesn’t bring that much more value to the company they just haven’t come across you yet
They haven’t met you yet my suggestion is learn how to navigate the office investigate what others in the office do perform a little reconnaissance if you will this is Corporate war after all find which positions you could see yourself doing which positions you might be able to do better
All that excess energy that you were pouring into diligence might not even be required you want to move up you find a way to move up I don’t know if you’re if you have rocked the boat if you are chomping at the bit now to even get promoted again
That context isn’t included for us but I would ask those questions in a one-to-one if you’re in a spot where you feel you perceive like your track you have no way up first question that comes to my mind is what have you done to move up
Do people know you want to move up do you know what it takes to move up if they moved you up tomorrow how long would you last now you could wait until they approach you and said hey Alex you know what we think it’s time you’ve been in this position a long time
And now after some time we would like to take the time to train you so that with a little time we can promote you and you can be in a new position for some more time no I said time like seven ten times in that in that statement there
Because I want to drive home the point that if you wait for something yeah it’ll get to you but in time with the passage of time and that might be time that you don’t have that might be time that you’re sitting there in your current position festering with the idea that
I’m super diligent and I don’t make any errors and all these other people get promoted because they kiss ass what the [ __ ] are you doing to reach out to the higher reps and let them know that you [ __ ] exist let them know that you can do better than where you are right now
You say you’re a hard worker you’re pulling 12-hour shifts are the people above you pulling 12-hour shifts it’s yourself why or why not you have to learn how to communicate effectively and it may be that you’re jaded it may be that you’re feeling a little salty with the fact that folks get promoted
Folks are getting promoted around you and you don’t see a way out of the position that you’re in you might have become too dependable in your spot that it might not benefit the manager the supervisor to train you to move you out they say well Alex is super diligent and he doesn’t
Complain he hasn’t said [ __ ] to me so far so I’m gonna keep him there for some time [Laughter] what the [ __ ] do you expect if if you don’t let them know that you’re ready to go what they’re just supposed to read your mind and say yeah I mean Alex doesn’t really
Do [ __ ] I don’t know anything about him I don’t know what is motives are he’s got good work ethic he’s got a great work ethic he’s got super diligent work ethic but he doesn’t know much else at least I don’t know what the [ __ ] he knows so I’m gonna keep
Him in this spot because he checks all the boxes for productivity no complaints I don’t even I don’t even know when the last time I gave him a raise was but he hasn’t complained [Laughter] that’s up to you it’s up to you to wake the [ __ ] up take the initiative
Take that super diligence of yours and do perform perform the due diligence to get promoted start asking questions start investigating on your own learn what it takes to move up so that way when [Applause] I don’t know what I don’t know why it sounds cinematic I don’t know why I make
This [ __ ] out to be like a movie but it is next time you catch one of your managers in passing or next time you catch one of your higher up colleagues in passing catch that [ __ ] lacking put them in a position that makes them question their competency and has them recognize your own
Don’t embarrass them don’t be right them don’t denigrate them right don’t make them feel bad right make them question if they’re doing enough for the company and whether they are suited for their position if all they do is kiss ass and jerk them jerk the boss off ask them if
Have them question whether that’s enough whether what they are doing is worth anything they’re not a a super top performer super diligent worker hard worker like Alex what am I doing with my life have them think that don’t outright accuse them you’re on the same team you’re in the same company but
Even within the same company you can introduce that that level of competition between friendly and just business sure it’s always personal it should be personal but it’s still business at the end of the day you have to have them you have to make them recognize you they’re not just gonna
Take time out of their day out of their precious day kissing ass to notice you they don’t give a [ __ ] they couldn’t give two shits about Alex and his struggles with perfectionism nobody gives a [ __ ] sometimes you just gotta get the work done submitted it’s good enough it flies if it flies
It’s good enough does it need to be perfect you might be taking too much you might be taking too much time or if you followed up with your manager with your supervisor and you had a performance review they could say they might say you were taking too much time
On these projects that we assign you what the [ __ ] are you doing when other colleagues around you at your level or higher are tackling larger projects in less time what what are you doing wrong they could take super diligent as something wrong but that’s up to you to learn
Investigate what the culture is like learn and navigate it sure that implies getting a little dirty with the office politics but you don’t have to come away from it dirty you don’t have to taint your opportunities at promotion taint your opportunities at an increase in salary doesn’t have to be that way
Just know just know that if you want to get ahead you want to move up get promoted make better money better compensation if you want more benefit out of corporate and out of life you have to become assertive not aggressive necessarily no not yet at least aggress aggressiveness
Is a last resort let’s say but you have to learn how to become assertive you have to learn to be assertive how to communicate effectively to get what you want like a consummate professional I say this every episode and I like repeating it not necessarily repeating it I like reiterating it
Because it’s the common theme that strings through that uh that’s strings the podcast together every episode every season stinking like a corporate cowboy thinking like an independent professional self-sufficient and self-maintained let’s take a look at some of these comments some of these folks are saying well
Ah the first one saying it’s time to learn to manage office politics I mean I wouldn’t go about managing office politics just yet maybe you want to learn the ins and the outs which is why I said start with the hierarchy it sounds like you have plenty
Of colleagues around you at the same level at the same position and higher so you’ve got a couple of rungs to explore before you hit somebody of substance right sure they all could sink you but you’re not on anybody’s [ __ ] list yet are you you see these are conversations that I would have
With the client if I had them before me on a one-to-one which if you would like to schedule one or if you know somebody who’s in a position and appears like they’re stuck in a rut would like a professional opinion a second opinion another look at their position in life
In their career reach out to us DM us you can find us on Instagram that’s at corporate Cowboys with a z at the end corporate Cowboys with a z on patreon that’s the corporate Cowboys podcast you can shoot us a donation if you would like it goes towards business expenses and
Legal fees for the podcast there’s a venmo PayPal uh what a cash app also you can find it you’re a smart cookie we’ll add a Bitcoin wallet shortly some kind of electronic exchange I don’t know we’ll see I’m more of a cash type of person I do enjoy Material Exchange
So if you would like to send a letter with an attachment of physical attachment that’s PO Box 3372 Rancho Cordova California 95741 office politics should be maybe step two or step three it’s a first investigating what the hierarchy looks like how it operates because again we don’t know we don’t
Have this context from the op what they do for the company how long they’ve been at the company what the company even does what the difference people the colleagues what they do in relation to op’s project over here the one that he’s the one that they’ve been super diligent on
We don’t [ __ ] know op might just be some type of technical support some type of auxiliary support role and now they’re in their [ __ ] feelings about having carried the project when in reality they contributed minimally it’s like having to put a slide deck together and op did their one section and
Maybe they got like no spelling errors in there and the project was for a million dollar contract and Ops was just like a little auxiliary like side note like two slides two slides out of a 20 slide deck which is what 10 percent and their belief is that they need that
That they deserve a third a third of a contract the [ __ ] out of here get the f again I’m just saying I’m I’m just I’m just the what’s there what’s the term what’s the term I’m being facetious here um I’m exaggerating some for a fact the first step should be learning the
Organizational structure the Second Step should be learning the requirements for the next position up from yours or from the next from the second position up from yours [ __ ] maybe you skip one I’ve been there you have to sometimes you have to you have to boss up and learn what it takes learn the
Requirements for the next position up from yours and the next position up from that you set yourself apart enough and they’ll recognize you and find dude Alex is about his business Alex is with the [ __ ] Alex is killing the game I don’t even have to approach Alex about
Whether or not they want a promotion Alex [ __ ] approached us asking what it takes to be moved two spots up it looks like Alex is hungry I’m sure you could find a more a more toned down way of having that fit within your life but as a corporate Cowboy you have to be
Thinking like that in reality actually you have to be moving with diplomacy like a professional a constant professional always the second comment here says um oh wait look op actually replied to that time to learn about office politics time to learn time to learn how to manage
Office politics and op response saying I know you’re right but I’m super annoyed that my work can’t just stand on its own what the [ __ ] it says I have no patience for politics and I think I just have to come to terms with the fact that my career progress will likely be stunted
By that then my friend your career will be stunted and we’ll leave it at that maybe okay so maybe the first commenter right because the first commenter I think kind of put things out of order for the op by just bringing up office politics office politics I said a step
Two or step three I mean it’s definitely not step one if you don’t know what the [ __ ] you’re working with if you have not performed the Recon have not done reconnaissance don’t know what you’re walking into just trying to pull strings and pull levers out of nowhere asking for favors
And and and getting into uh social debt with others it’s not going to go well with you especially if you don’t know who Butters whose bread and who greases whose Wheels right and I don’t mean personally I mean organizationally if you don’t know the ins and outs of the organization how it operates
You’re operating you will be operating at a loss don’t [ __ ] do it don’t dive head first into politics when politics is literally just the [ __ ] um when the if the politics that you haven’t seen if the politics are just a pit of broken glass and needles don’t go jumping into it learn learning
How to [ __ ] manage it get the [ __ ] out of here learn learn your position first right and then learn about your position in relation to everybody else’s and then learn how your position differs from everybody else’s what the differences are what you need to learn what you what additional skills you
Ought to acquire to move up and in between those one of those skills will have to be social communication interpersonal communication on a professional level how professionals communicate otherwise I mean you could have all that technical knowledge but if you’re a [ __ ] stiff if you’re if if if you can’t manage your personality
You will relegate yourself to the outskirts you will be stunting your own growth so I mean don’t take the politics head on take your development head on first priorities man look out for number one the second comment here says this may sound obvious but have you made it clear
To your manager that you want to move into a higher position and clearly stated your career aspirations question mark they had me in the first half the last half about clearly stating your career aspirations I mean that might be step two right that might be step two step one is gonna be
Getting known right is going to be putting the news out there that you’re interested in moving up you want to learn what it takes to uh be promoted to earn more in compensation to get the better uh to get the the better company car the better Company accounts
That falls on you to take the initiative I mean if managers see that you’re just super diligent and hardworking but not really rocking the boat they’ll just stack all the boring accounts on you because like I met like I said before you’re dependable why would they want to change you
Why would they want to change you out of your position if they can rely on you to take on all the boring grunt work because you’re super diligent and hard working again I’m not then I’m not discounting the fact that you’re super diligent and hard working but I find that to be the
Keys where if you’re just folk if you were only focusing on those you’re kind of painting yourself into a corner by not reaching out by not collaborating by not communicating and not networking you’re painting yourself in a corner and and thereby stunting your own career growth continuing on this uh on this second
Comment I ask because I’m a manager and I’ve noticed people on my team never mention their career goals well this person might be more human more Humanity what is it more humanistic than I am I have to directly ask them where they want to go what their goals are and what
They’re doing to get there I’ve told my boss that while I like my current position I want to be sure I’m working on the appropriate things so I can move up again when ready yeah um I actually ran a program like that working in a um in a pretty renowned company
I ran a professional development program where similar to performance reviews I mean these weren’t tied directly to compensation but they were tied to Promotions right so I would check in with my crew with my uh with my employees my subordinates I would check in with them on a periodic basis and
Follow up with how their developments was within the organization what skills they knew what skills they believed they needed to work on so that way we can schedule we could schedule around their aptitudes their capabilities in order to have them work and improve and cross-train even and learn something
Completely new if that is what interested them in order to later in the future submit them as candidates for promotion submit their profiles as candidates for promotion highly successful um I I don’t know if it was continued after I left the organization because funny enough I actually started it when
I got into a position what I’m when I moved up into a position High Enough to be able to manage the development program I mean I had fun doing it because as a social researcher it was right up my alley learning about personal and professional interests and how to facilitate
That growth that development I knew that if I helped my people improve my company would improve and in turn I would improve in the face of my manager in the face of my company uh continuing the second comment continues it says also it’s unfortunate
But a lot of times you have to show you can do the new rule because oh before you’re promoted um before you’re promoted I don’t know if you ought to show you can do it just out the cuts obviously there has to be some training that goes into it beforehand but showing the
Interest showing the interest in how it’s done showing the interest in having a little technical knowledge on how it’s done you don’t need to have direct experience though what this manager says is right it’s it’s correct to some extent you don’t have to um like leave your workstation and go to somebody else’s
Workstation and be like look at me I can do this job too [ __ ] promote me right no like you just have to express the interest go to your manager Express the interest that you are interested that you’ve seen how the work is done and you’re interested in it for
Some technical or particular reason for it because it’ll Aid it’ll Aid you in developing professionally and and growing your your technical skill it’ll put you face to face handling the client and uh and you and you Aspire I guess and that way you could fold in your aspirations and you
Aspire to be a better Communicator a better salesperson uh with the client learning how to service the clients better and bring the company more business a better reputation an improved image that sort of thing you have to show you have to show the interest it’s the interest that comes first
It says it’s also unfortunate you’ve got to show that you’re gonna do the new role before you’re promoted I’d recommend find out exactly what is expected of the position you want then keep concrete examples of how you achieve those metrics tell your boss and show the data either
They’ll work with you to get where you wants to be or you’ll confirm they aren’t invested in your growth and you can move on I think this person comes from a very this this commenter comes from a very unique perspective brings a very unique perspective as a manager obviously there
Are fewer managers than there are subordinates you know everybody wants to be the chief nobody wants to be an Indian but obviously there’s less Chiefs than Indians so having a manager in this thread here I think is a great a wonderful perspective and they bring a lot of
Truth a lot of Truth in the sense that tying up the company’s interest with your personal interest and I do mean tying it up we’ll confirm for you whether or not the company is invested in you growing as the company grows or lets you know if the company has you their only
At their service and then they in turn are not servicing You by helping you grow by promoting You by paying you more by training you by by providing you with additional resources like the knowledge the tools the know-how the the the the technical expertise to move up that’s all you’ll know
And as a manager I can attest that most everything that this commenter wrote is the truth it is the truth you have to know what it takes to move up you don’t necessarily have to know how to do it right now you might again that’s all dependent on
Context if I had the client in front of me I would ask them whether or not the organizational span of control lends itself to you you know Meandering over to the next it’s the next rung up to the higher rung to the next higher rung and finding out whether or not you can
Do the job hey you mind if I take the controls for a little bit now that might require you becoming chummy with the person in that current position which again implicates office politics in a sense and if you if you don’t know how to navigate interpersonal communication
Then you will always you will always look at human relationship as political and in that case my friend you are painting yourself into a corner you are painting up your shoe up your leg up your stomach and into your [ __ ] mouth [Laughter] you’re killing your own career bro as career suicide anyways
Have yourselves a great week end oh yeah that’s right today Saturday have a great weekend I mean do do some work do some refining this weekend so on Monday you can get back at it that’s if you have the weekend off take care and I mean there aren’t really any days
Off it’s entry level forever out here even in the next position up take care
source
