CAREER ADVICE FOR ROOKIES

[For my American friends – I hope you enjoy the Memorial Day holiday. Such a solemn occasion, but also – hopefully – packed with relaxation and family fun.]

Many of the things you’ve been told about life at work are wrong.??A lot of commonly accepted wisdom isn’t very wise.??In fact, you’ll have to ignore some of it if you want to be successful.??So, let’s question a few accepted truths, shall we?

1.?????You’re not supposed to make friends at work.??Maybe it’s not the primary goal, but it’s normal and mostly healthy.??There might be a downside if you are in competition, when you see them with rosy-colored glasses, etc.??However, in general, it’s a good thing.??Friends cooperate and cover for each other.??They spread positivity.??They are a natural hedge against stress.??They have a rapport that is needed when it’s time adapt and change.??So, friends at work are clearly a net positive.??Be kind.??Work hard.??Be helpful.??Make a friend or two!

2.?????Emotions are bad in professional settings.??Many still feel that to be emotional is to lack professionalism.??How sad.??Emotions are completely normal.??Sure, we can agree that excessive or inappropriate negative emotions are to be aggressively managed.??But what about positive emotions???Love, joy, passion, elation – the list is long.??They are in short supply in most offices – so let’s create some!??All emotions are not created equally. If you aspire to lead, creating versions of positivity will be a core part of your role.?

3.?????Don’t admit your mistakes.??If anyone knows about my mistake, they will lose total confidence in me!??That’s a common thought, but not really true.??Making mistakes only hurts if you make them often, don’t learn from them, and try to hide them.??You should own your mistakes.??Learn something.??Allow them to be a catalyst for personal growth.??Talk about them once in a while to encourage others and to validate their humanity.??Successful people always make mistakes – they just embrace the learning faster and more consistently.??They spend less time managing impressions and more time focused on growing.??

4.?????The workplace is a meritocracy.??Workplaces are partial meritocracies at best.??Many outcomes are heavily influence by politics, favoritism, arcane notions about tenure, etc.??Many strong social influences, precedents, and biases are at play.??For decisions made about you, merit is only one variable to consider.??Your goal is to be equally good at navigating the social reality at work as you are doing the actual work.??Get involved.??Communicate clearly and thoughtfully.??Understand coalitions and agendas.??Now you’re maximizing the chance that your good work gets the attention it deserves.??

There are of course many more to consider, but these will get you started.??So, welcome to the game rookie.??Know that IQ and hard work matter, but there’s much more to it.??My advice:??make a friend or two, cling to positivity, learn from your mistakes, and get serious about understanding yourself and other humans and the social environment you inhabit.??Get a grip on these and you won’t be a rookie for long.??

TODD’S TIPS

Don’t just disagree – explore and expand.??It happens all the time.??They say something you don’t like or can’t support.??I’m not talking about negative or offensive comments.??I’m thinking about normal conversations in meetings when people are proposing solutions to problems we face.??When you don’t agree, you can say you don’t agree… or you can try one or more of the approaches noted below.??

First, always try to start by thanking them or acknowledging their comment.??Then try to validate their intent or a meritorious part of what they shared.??Finally, it’s time to build a bigger perspective.??To do this, use questions like these:?

Why do you feel that way?

Is there part of this idea we can use, but maybe in a different way???

What are the conditions under which you’d consider another possibility?

How does this option compare to this other option??

Questions like these push the speaker to explain themselves more deeply and thoughtfully.??This almost always produces more team engagement, a more complete examination of the idea, and a stronger consensus for accepting or moving past the suggestion.?

WHAT’S UP WITH DR. D?

Speaking:??I feel lucky to share that I will soon be speaking to members of the L&D/HR community in Ukraine.???AcademyOcean is a Ukrainian company who operates in this space.??To offer a little education and inspiration, they are assembling a group of us to speak in a few virtual events.??I’m excited and also strangely nervous.????

Courses:??I’m super excited to announce that my first four courses are now live on Udemy, both in their marketplace and Udemy Business platforms.??In addition, three of my four new courses at LinkedIn Learning are all trending as “popular” courses.??I feel very grateful to be a small part of the exploding world of online education.?

Monsters:?The madness continues!??Now, for the first time ever, I’m chasing down endorsements for my book.??I’m happy to offer this initial report – Dancing with Monsters will have endorsements from executives at LinkedIn, IBM, Salesforce, Brother, Medtronic, and Ernst & Young!

Until next time – stay safe, go learn something, maybe help someone, or at least do something interesting!

All my links in one place:??https://linktr.ee/drdewett .?

All previous newsletters here:??https://bit.ly/3zbXVqa .