You see, right now, private conversations are taking place in secret sessions. Behind closed doors with shades drawn, management muckity-mucks sitting in high-back leather chairs are thinking hard about you and a smattering of your competitors. One person is enthusiastically singled out with the confirmatory statement, “He’s different.” Someone asks, “What do you mean?” and the muckity-muck answers, “He fits in, but he stands out from the rest too. He does more, gets more out of others, knows more, cares more, and is more.”
Those few words carry significant ramifications in your work life, usurping the university you attended, companies you’ve worked for, titles you’ve held, and any other personal or professional pedigree attached to you.
A few of the right words from the right people spoken at the right time can make or break your career. You and I do what we can to make that happen, but sometimes we are “the windshield” and sometimes “we are the bug” and all we can do is continue to put more effort out.
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Debra Benton’s latest book, The Leadership Mind Switch: Rethinking How We Lead in the New World of Work (McGraw-Hill, June, 2017) is available on Amazon.
