Special favors are always tough. They either erode your personal brand or put a finer point to it.
At the age of 21 years old, I became a manager leading a team of 50+ people with four mid-level managers who reported directly to me. I was gifted some sage advice from a senior manager who was 40 years my senior. He told me, whatever you do – be firm, fair and consistent.
Advice from someone who once had your position is priceless. [tweet this]
While you may not do things in the same way they did, their experience is golden and can help you navigate future ‘adventures’ in your position.
His advice served me well. It helped me develop a reputation that I was fair – across the board. I didn’t “play favorites”. I didn’t owe a debt to someone for special privileges and I wasn’t forced to compromise my integrity.
That’s not the same journey I saw many of my peers take. I believe his advice, even though it was unsolicited, that is why now I put such high value in other people’s experience. I didn’t know or truly understand the value of his advice until much later in my career. He saved me hours of grief and many burned bridges.
He also shared:
1. People know when they’re asking you to diverge from being firm, fair and consistent because after they ask you and experience a road block or an answer they don’t want, they will go to someone else with the same question hoping to get the answer they want from someone.
2. That someone they go to will often be someone higher up the food chain in the organization than you are.
3. And, while this happens even in the case of people with no malicious intention, always question it when the first you hear that someone’s gone to someone higher up is when your higher up if the first to mention it to you. Those with good intentions will keep you copied (or informed) and in the loop as they progress up the organizational ladder or include others in the communication.
For you, have you eroded or focused your brand with your actions in a situation like this?
I look forward to hearing your experience or comments below about being firm, fair and consistent?
This week with a focus on successfully managing your personal brand we focused on:
- Open Door Policies Don’t Work by Skip Weisman
- When You Stand Out, You are Personal Branding by Debra Benton
- How to Handle The Unexpected Agony in Life by Nance Rosen
- Own and Plan Your Career for Your Own Sake by Ceren Cubukcu
- 4 Personal Branding Tips from Beyonce by Heather Huhman
- Why People Don’t Buy: No Trust by Eddy Ricci
- Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, Don’t Get a Job by Alex Freund
- Starting Over: Growing Business Slowly, But Surely by Elinor Stutz
- Why Restraint Helps Your Personal Brand by Katie Konrath
- Seven Reasons Your Employer is Hurting Your Career by Richard Kirby
- Personal Brands: Managing Third Party Validation by Maria Elena Duron
- The Response You are Searching for is NO by Jeff Shuey
- 13 Questions You Should Ask When Developing Your Personal Brand by The Young Entrepreneur Council
- 3 Tips to Get a Recruiter’s Attention by Glassdoor.com
- How to Repair a Tarnished Brand by Leslie Truex
- Five Things to Know Before Accepting a Job Offer by Beth Kuhel
- Research Your Target List – The Targeted Job Search by Marc Miller
- Becoming a Leader at Work by Ken Sundheim
- Tips for Writing a Succinct Brand Bio by The Young Entrepreneur Council
Below are tweetables from this past week that you can share with your connections:
- Overcoming failure is often the precursor to success. http://ow.ly/uR1Vl [tweet this]
- When receiving criticism from a customer or client, sift through the complaint to find the meat of the problem http://ow.ly/uR29n [tweet this]
- Average job seekers apply for jobs on major job boards, while successful job seekers diversify their searches http://ow.ly/uR2jb [tweet this]
- A valuable component of developing strategy is determining your value http://ow.ly/uR2z1 [tweet this]
- A recommendation or referral is the end result of someone lending his or her credibility and reputation to you http://ow.ly/uR2Bc [tweet this]
- In low trust work environments, employees have uncertainty as to how a boss will react when they bring issues to them http://ow.ly/uR2Nq [tweet this]
- “Get noticed early in your career and preferably by the top people; that’s how you get anointed.” http://ow.ly/uR2Yb [tweet this]
- Your personal story matters at work because your mental health directly impacts your ability to succeed http://ow.ly/uR30a [tweet this]
- Your employer is not required to promote you, but show determination and there’s no reason why you cannot get promoted http://ow.ly/uR364 [tweet this]
- You don’t need to tell the world every little thing you do. Like Beyoncé, let your successes do the talking for you http://ow.ly/uR3eQ [tweet this]
- A sign of “no trust” is when a prospect purchases the same product or service for the same price from someone else http://ow.ly/uR3mB [tweet this]
- 60-80% of job seekers get their next jobs via networking, which requires good communication http://ow.ly/uR3vH [tweet this]
- Getting a pulse on what your clientele needs, wants, and desires will be your clue as to what to develop and deliver http://ow.ly/uR3Gd [tweet this]
- Research shows that people react negatively when too many good points are thrown at them at once http://ow.ly/uR3MN [tweet this]
- Choosing a new employer or to stay with your current employer has many implications for your career and happiness http://ow.ly/uR3Sx [tweet this]
- More than 80% of consumers today base their purchasing decisions on a positive review http://ow.ly/uR3YQ [tweet this]
- Learning how to say no is both a soft and hard skill that helps you to stand out in your career http://ow.ly/uR41W [tweet this]
- If you can’t describe your brands’ goals in a single sentence, it’s a strong sign you’re being too broad http://ow.ly/uR48k [tweet this]
