How can you increase your visibility at work?

Linking strategic goals together is how powerful synergies emerge. And, sometimes that means NOT pursuing a “good” SMART goal because it does not sync with other goals that create synergies. That’s the only to maximize your time management and effectiveness. This often means making tough choices that may disappoint others.

Proactively engaged in discussions with team members, taking on additional responsibilities to showcase your skills and always building positive relationships with colleagues. Contribute during meeting, it shows your interest in the team and willingness to contribute.

Seeking feedback and accepting it - whether constructive criticism or positive reinforcement, is such an important part of professional growth. It is extremely important to have confidence in the quality of your work but also have the ability to grow and adapt based on feedback. From my experience, this is one of the key reasons I experienced success as an individual contributor who worked with hundreds of people across the country over 15 years.

In my experience, asking feedback helps bridge gaps and shows your willingness to collaborate. When you are given feedback, fully understand it and take it to action. When you take feedback and make changes, you are collaborating with the greater group.

We have evolved to a full-on Learning Society. Consider Learning to be the new Gaming or Fashion or “knowledge of the Top 40”. People in just about every industry, in every demographic of Western Society now is more after learning than nearly anything else. One assumes we equate it with social status, personal and professional achievement, and prosperity goals. Sharing YOUR unique take on knowledge and facts, teaching even one or two new things to people around you is one of the fastest ways to not just get noticed, but also earn genuine respect and advancement. Just because you’re not a “professional teacher” doesn’t mean you’re not in reality a teacher. You ARE after all. Accept it. Embrace it.

The more valuable you are, the more exposure you receive. In every way, as much as possible, be an asset, even when it appears as though it won’t benefit you.

When I was early on in my career, I was taught not to burn bridges. I didn’t understand what that meant until further in my career. I have been in marketing for over 15 years and still connect with previous bosses or coworkers. I value their expertise and know that understanding various industries allows me a stronger perspective.

When I was 17 years old, I read a Harvey McKay book on networking. Now to be fair, I’m not called The Ambassador just because it sounds cute or cool. Ice always loved people, meeting new people, connecting deeply with people I already know. I had already started keeping files about everyone I knew, with everything I knew about them, by the age of 8, mainly fellow students, teachers, kids from the neighborhood. So Harvey’s book resonated with me.in his book he taught me how to turn my old fashioned file folder system is been using for over 10 years into a Rolodex and how to stay in touch with all of those people. Yes I quickly migrated to Blackberry technology soon after and then the iPhone systems.

It’s important to understand what to prioritize during your career journey. What I’ve learned is that in your 20s, it’s important to align yourself with an organization and mentor who can help you learn the layers of career growth while also teaching you how to excel in your career. In your 30s, you should seek more responsibility within your chosen industry whether that means as an individual contributor, manager, executive leader, or entrepreneur. I can’t speak about your 40s (yet)…stay tuned.

Relationship are the answer. Listen as something can be learned from everyone good or bad. Share and grow this works it is that simple!

Being a positive force in your environment is extremely important for clients, for overall culture and for your professional development. There will always be challenges but how we respond to them and how we help others through them makes all the difference. How do you do that? Always be listening to what is going on around you, to what your colleagues, partners and clients are saying. Help by contributing to successful resolutions, support in projects, or address challenges by proposing solutions. You will not always be in a position to deal with things directly, so network, reach out to trusted peers, colleagues or leadership to help them address negative or challenging situations to help you navigate with a positive approach.

2. Flash forward 20 years, as I was about to be married and my Fiance and her staff were planning our wedding, they needed to convert my Contacts into spreadsheet format so we could figure out a way to decide who of the over 15,000 Contacts I had to invite to the wedding. Most people have a good 500 contacts. Boy were they surprised. I personally knew and called “friend” 15,000 (rounded) different people. Spreadsheets was the only way to start dividing them into categories. The key? Your net worth is equal to your network as some people say. And to me that has NOTHING to do with money. I’m speaking of your real net worth. Your quality of life. Your level of life-enjoyment. Of course it also is priceless in helping your career goals. E

I’ll keep this simple. 1. Work smarter: Efficiency is key. 2. Be creative: Think outside of the box. 3. Become innovative: Learn new skills and how to apply future forward technologies.

One thing I've found helpful is showing willingness to grow by requesting to join projects or even suggesting projects that I could facilitate and follow through on. Working on projects increases your transparency throughout the organization.