What You Need to Know About the Rules!

Small or big, changes in a job always come with a brand new?package?and?position. Yes, something new and unknown is also called?“people”! In business, we call them stakeholders. You may find some of them as colleagues, customers, or suppliers!

Yes! I am telling you about the people in your new organization! The people we have never met before, but now we will have to deal with them on a day-to-day basis! On top of that, our performance will depend on their willingness and ability to cooperate and collaborate. In other words, our performance will depend on how they work with us! It sounds a little scary, right!

For some companies, it’s scary; for many, it’s terrible and tough to deal with!

Just imagine a job change when you find your new boss is a micromanager and short-tempered! And your coworkers are looking for flaws and playing it safe. Or think about a position where you have joined to achieve a project goal with the cooperation of people who are, from the beginning, not willing to follow your way and who are also reporting to some other big bosses!

I can remember those days in my career! In my 11-year career, I have fumbled many times. There were so many ups and downs, and I know this will keep going!

From my experience and learning from mistakes in the past, I have found the following four rules can help to reduce the consequences of facing the unavoidable:

1. SPEAK LESS AND LISTEN MORE (30-70 minutes)

Keep your idea within you: the new role. Before starting to add value, it’s more important to learn and understand the current process, practice, and stakeholders’ way of seeing things. Because it’s so natural, in a new role, our new teammates and stakeholders will not be ready to accept us as we are but rather want us to learn who they are and how they see things and act. Though it varies based on the role/company culture, considering the average, a new employee is expected to listen more and speak as less as possible. In my observation, it should be at least 70% listening, 30% speaking, and 0.001% coming up with new ideas in the initial days. Maybe a newcomer may speak for the sake of discussion, maintaining good communication with stakeholders, or being highlighted at a corporate party, but please don’t jump in with a suggestion for change. It’s always better to take time, understand the situation, back the ideas with facts and logic, and wait for the right moment to act!

2. DO NOT SHOW REACTION:

In the new role, new colleagues will keep meeting you every moment. They are hungry to share with you “how they work,” “what they do,” “what are the good practices, and what are the odds”! They will keep talking and looking for your opinion and reaction! They will share with you how they did a lot for this company and how the management mistreated them for years, but at the same time, others, doing nothing, achieved so much! There will be many catchy and juicy stories!

Let me warn you, “Just listen, DO NOT SHOW any REACTION” because most of them have a unique quality of collecting other’s reactions & translating them into their own language to share with others.

The most you can do is keep calm and pass them unbiased smiles. Try to change the topic. Do not step into the trap, thinking it’s your opportunity to learn about someone else’s shit.

3. USE POSITIVE & ENERGETIC WORDS:

No matter how often or how little we speak, it’s better to use positive and energetic words in sentences. The language we use in any situation is essential in conveying our message & creating positive energy in the work environment. This can strongly build your reputation among the people you work with.

4. DO NOT BELIEVE THAT DESIGNATION WILL GET YOU YOUR DESIRED ASSIGNMENTS.

DESIGNATION DOESN’T WARRANT BIG ASSIGNMENTS, BUT CREDIBILITY DOES:

Yes, I know we all intend to do something more and get involved with the big assignments of the organization. But trust me, our designation is not enough to keep us available on the management discussion table or for new project planning.

Sometimes you may see an HR officer dealing only with attendance and leave files, while on the other hand, a front desk lady who reports to the HR Manager is working on the draft HR policy! Sounds fishy, right?

This inappropriate work distribution is not because of the excellent relationship between the HR Manager and the front desk officer; it’s because of the credibility of that front desk officer, which makes the HR Manager believe that she can do that too!

Some of the points below may reflect on how CREDIBILITY needs to be built:

1. Being an expert in our core area.
2. Intent to learn beyond regular work.
3. Positive attitude toward any work.
4. Being accountable for what we do.
5. Giving respect to the people around.
6. Confidentiality... the list can go on and on.

Hey, am I making you scared?

It’s always better to know about the small things that can make a significant positive difference in our lives. I hope it will open a window in your mind to think about more things to help us grow. Take care!