2 Habits Defining You As A Worker

This article is part of LinkedIn's new Newsletter series. My goal is to help 1,000,000 LinkedIn users in 2020 grow their careers using this platform. If you like what you read, please consider subscribing & sharing it in your feed so others can learn too.

We've all heard the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." But, have you ever contemplated how that phrase impacts how you're viewed as a professional? Your reputation as a worker is defined by the consistent behaviors (a/k/a/ habits) you display to those around you. How you add value on the job matters. If the people you work with don't have a clear sense of how A) your contributions are vital to the success of the work, and B) you make their jobs easier or better, then you aren't building a strong personal brand And, that's a problem. Why? When it comes time to tap into your network for help with your career growth, only the people who truly understand your value will help you. To sum it up:

Investing in building good workplace habits is like depositing money in a bank with a decent interest rate. The more you do it, the more currency you'll have to spend later when you need it.

Which leads to the question: "What habits do you think coworkers are observing in you?

2 things define most people's reputations at work.

Years of being a career coach has shown me a person's workplace reputation is built on two key things. Your personality and approach to tasks. These two things are defined by your habits i.e. the consistent actions people see you taking. Let's look at each one more closely to understand how our habits are impacting our personal brand:

1. Are you a contemplator, commander, empathizer or energizer?

What you say and how you say it at work matters. Your voice tone and pace, your facial expressions and body language, it all sends a message. Not to mention, your priorities and focus on people versus progress. Understanding how your personality is being perceived is vital. Are coworkers confident you'll say or do the right thing? Your personality helps them predict how you might react in front of their colleagues. Here's the quiz we use with clients to help them determine their dominant personality type.

2. Are you a builder, researcher, mentor, educator, optimizer, warrior, superconnector, or visionary?

Workplace personas are how coworkers see you adding value. People watch your actions and based on their consistency (there are those habit again!), they decide what your expertise is when it comes to contributing on the job. While we can be all of these things, the reality is we prefer to work a certain way. Which makes 2-3 of these traits become dominant when being displayed to our peers. Here's the quiz we use with clients to help the identify their top personas.

Evaluating your unique combination of the above can help you understand why your career is (or isn't) growing.

Your network is your net worth today. Habits around how you look, talk, and act are building your reputation - whether you want them to or not. If you don't build a strong personal brand, the quality and quantity of your network will suffer. As I tell all my coaching clients, "Brand or BE branded." Not caring still sends a message. It's better to be intentional about how you want the working world to interpret you.

In my next article, I'm going to focus on how to tell if your personality and workplace personas are actually HURTING your career growth.

P.S.S. This article & video lesson are part of a new series with a goal to help 1,000,000 LinkedIn users grow their careers on the platform in 2020.

I wrote an article on LinkedIn where I explain why I am doing this. If you want to be a part of it, then please be sure to hit the subscribe button at the top of this post.

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