Don't Ever Be, "That", Person in a Business Setting
Dean Karrel
Career Development Advisor, Sales Trainer, LinkedIn Learning Instructor, Author of, "Mastering the Basics" Hit the ?? to be notified of my latest posts.
Inc.com recently reposted this article written by Peter Economy titled, 9 Things That Make You Look Really Unprofessional in Meetings. Nothing on the list that ranged from always showing up late to blatantly using a mobile device, was that surprising. However, I would bet that we could easily name someone we know that falls in each of the nine categories mentioned. Sadly, I have worked with people who could check off three or four of those qualities. They fail to recognize they’re known for acting that way. Or maybe they just don't care or no one has told them?
There are those who brush off these things as minor infractions, but I believe they can have a negative impact on your career.
Through the years, I have made many presentations in front of audiences large and small and I'm always amazed at those who think they can't be seen viewing their mobile device. It also boggles my mind when I sit in a meeting or seminar and a person near me is answering emails or scrolling through Twitter or Instagram.
You may think you’re multitasking or no one can see you, but you’re wrong.
We all do things we recognize that we should try to improve when we're in business settings. We may not listen as well as we should, we may respond too quickly before thinking through our answers, or are always five minutes late. (For me, its impatience and fidgeting-guilty as charged) We can continue to exhibit these patterns or try to improve.
Lifelong learning is not just enhancing our leadership, technical, or financial acumen, it’s recognizing habits that put us in a negative light and taking steps to fix them.
Hopefully your manager, business coach, mentor, or good friend is alerting you to things you are doing that are not putting you in a positive light. Good managers flag not just your successes, but make you aware of issues that reflect on you negatively with peers, coworkers, and other business connections.
In one of my courses with LinkedIn Learning/ Lynda.com I address the matter of not being, “that person”, and how you can recognize it. The course is aimed for sales people, but I feel the lessons can apply to anyone in business. It's a short video and I'd love to know what you think. Let me know in the comments section below.
#MasterTheBasics #AlwaysBeLearning #LinkedIn Learning
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Dean Karrel is a career and executive coach and LinkedIn Learning author. He has worked in sales management and leadership positions for a number of major global publishing companies.
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Senior leader and advisory consultant in data governance, cloud data strategy, change management, analytics, and transformation
6 年Dean, I’m enjoying your back catalog of articles, and this one really resonated. So much of this comes down to being present in the moment and showing respect for those around you. This applies to life outside of work, too! And as a leader, this behavior is so important to model...amazingly, it often seems to be executives who are the worst offenders. And how much more efficient would these meetings be if everyone in them was actually paying attention?
Principal Broker | REALTOR | Research Specialist | Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
6 年Actually...the boss who destroyed my teaching career of 16 years? He routinely was seen sitting beside us in committee meetings playing games and reading his emails on a company tablet for years! He is no longer a dean after playing “Judas” with the school’s Sanhedrin but, yes, he still gets to “teach” classes and FULL TIME. There are many valid reasons students start avoiding colleges that do them and their professors wrong.
Holly Allen Consulting
6 年Great reminder, thanks Dean!
National Accounts Manager at John Wiley and Sons
6 年Great article. I've been guilty of glancing at my phone and appreciate the reminder that it's hurting and not helping me.
Director of Content Operations at the Financial Accounting Foundation
6 年You're the reason I stopped carrying my phone to meetings. Thank you!