Sunday, May 01, 2005
Career: Why Nice Guys Finish Last At Work
Five Reasons Why Nice Guys Finish Last At Work
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
Do nice guys finish last at work, too? A recent study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology says yes. Dr. Nikos Bozionelos of the University of Sheffield in England researched personality and career success and found that white-collar workers who were the most agreeable, conscientious and sensitive to the needs of others were less likely to be promoted.
Bozionelos believes it's because they don't put their own needs first: "Agreeable people tend to self-sacrifice and compromise their own interests to make others happy." And because "nice" people do things just to please others, they often are given low-profile tasks no one else wants and wind up doing activities that don't enhance their careers.
Because American culture celebrates forcefulness -- even aggression, researcher and author Gary Namie says the altruistic have it just as rough here in the United States, where, "Nice gets you in trouble. Nice gets you exploited."
Author and executive coach Dr. Lois Frankel says there are a number of ways nice people undermine themselves. Here are five of the most common, along with tips for (pleasantly) breaking the cycle:
1. You Let Others' Mistakes Inconvenience You
Before rearranging your life to correct someone else's mistake, assess the risk versus the reward of meeting unreasonable expectations. At times you'll have no choice but to jump in to put out the fire. But there will also be times when you have the latitude to push back and say, "This isn't what we originally discussed and agreed to. Since I'll have to rethink the plan and put more time into it than anticipated, I won't be able to have it completed by the initially proposed deadline." Let the person know you want to provide the best service possible -- and ask for the time and resources needed.
2. You Let Others Take Credit For Your Ideas
Ever suggest an idea that seemed to fall flat, only to find out later it was implemented and someone else got the credit? To avoid having others steal your ideas, make sure you state them loudly and confidently or put them in writing. If you're at a meeting and someone proposes the same thing you've previously suggested, call attention to it by saying, "Sounds like you're building on my original suggestion, and I would certainly support that."
3. You Apologize Unnecessarily
Save your apologies for big-time bloopers. When you do make a mistake worth apologizing for, apologize only once, then move into problem-solving mode. Objectively assess what went wrong and ways to fix it. Always begin from a place of equality, for example: "Based on the information initially provided to me, I had no idea that was your expectation. Tell me more about what you had in mind and I'll make the necessary revisions."
4. You Work Without Breaks
Use your vacation days; take your lunch. Working non-stop can make you appear flustered, inefficient and incompetent. It also makes you less productive. To maintain maximum levels of concentration and accuracy, experts suggest you take a break every 90 minutes.
5. You Do Others' Work For Them
Recognize when people delegate inappropriately to you and avoid the inclination to solve everyone's problems for them. Practice saying unapologetically, "I'd love to help you out with this, but I'm swamped." Then stop talking.
Of course being nice is not all bad. Dr. Bozionelos points out that it can be of great advantage as long as you are aware of and able to adjust your natural tendencies to undervalue yourself and compromise your personal interests.
As Dr. Frankel puts it, "When all is said and done, do you really want written on your tombstone: "She Always Put the Needs of the Company Ahead of Her Own?"
Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D. is president of Corporate Coaching International. She is the author of several books, including "Overcoming Your Strengths" and "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers."
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Other writers contributed to this article.
Eight Signs Your Job is Doomed
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com
Have you been feeling uneasy at work lately? Is your sixth sense telling you that there is some impending doom related to your job? Are co-workers avoiding you or whispering when you walk by? Follow your hunches and watch for these eight signs to determine if your days at work are numbered.
1. You've been cut out of the loop.
Have you seen your whole team walking out of the conference room after a meeting you were not informed of? Have you become the last to know anything and everything that is going on in your office? In the workplace, knowledge is power. Your company's act of keeping information from you and keeping you out of the loop might be one way of preparing for life without you.
2. You are losing responsibilities.
Has your workload gotten a lot lighter in recent weeks while your colleagues seem to be taking on more? Is your input suddenly not needed in planning sessions for next year's budget? If your projects and past responsibilities have been passed on to others, it is another good sign that the team is making sure your work gets done once you are out the door.
3. Your job title has been changed, and it's not an upward move.
If you have received a new job title or new job description, pay attention to the differences. Is the new job a lateral move? Have you been demoted? The way you want to be moving in an organization is up -- not sideways or down.
4. Times are tough at your company.
Have you noticed several closed-door meetings full of executives with concerned faces? Are the HR managers and the head of compensation and benefits pulling all-nighters? Is your company experiencing mounting losses or declining profits? Is there a hiring freeze in place? Many companies' first money-saving measure in difficult times is a personnel cut. If your job function is not essential, you might be one of the first to go.
5. You are suddenly being micro-managed.
If you have always had a great deal of autonomy in the past and are now being scrutinized at every turn, there might be a serious reason behind this new form of management. Whether you feel you need your hand held or not, new scrutiny in the workplace can sometimes mean less confidence in your abilities.
6. You have received one or more negative reviews.
Good companies try to help employees recognize and understand ways in which they need to improve. Most have some kind of review system in place to help employees track their progress. If you have received a performance review that is negative, you need to take it to heart and make some changes. If you have multiple bad reviews under your belt and still haven't learned from them, your days probably are numbered. Just as bad, if you've had stellar reviews in the past and suddenly you are no longer regarded as a star performer, watch out!
7. The company is "reorganizing."
Mergers, acquisitions and restructuring can all be good for business, but bad for employees. Are there rumors about another company buying your business? Is your company merging with another that has employees who do the same job as you? Pay attention to what you hear in the grapevine regarding the future of the business -- it can also have a dramatic effect on your future.
8. You just haven't been performing.
When it comes right down to it, you know your performance better than anyone. You know that you've been surfing the Internet when you should be finishing your reports; that you have spent hours making personal calls; and that your once hour-long lunches have grown increasingly longer. If your heart just has not been in your job lately, your superiors probably have taken notice. Think about it -- if you were the boss, would you fire you? If so, you might want to start making plans for your exit strategy.
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor
Do nice guys finish last at work, too? A recent study published in the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology says yes. Dr. Nikos Bozionelos of the University of Sheffield in England researched personality and career success and found that white-collar workers who were the most agreeable, conscientious and sensitive to the needs of others were less likely to be promoted.
Bozionelos believes it's because they don't put their own needs first: "Agreeable people tend to self-sacrifice and compromise their own interests to make others happy." And because "nice" people do things just to please others, they often are given low-profile tasks no one else wants and wind up doing activities that don't enhance their careers.
Because American culture celebrates forcefulness -- even aggression, researcher and author Gary Namie says the altruistic have it just as rough here in the United States, where, "Nice gets you in trouble. Nice gets you exploited."
Author and executive coach Dr. Lois Frankel says there are a number of ways nice people undermine themselves. Here are five of the most common, along with tips for (pleasantly) breaking the cycle:
1. You Let Others' Mistakes Inconvenience You
Before rearranging your life to correct someone else's mistake, assess the risk versus the reward of meeting unreasonable expectations. At times you'll have no choice but to jump in to put out the fire. But there will also be times when you have the latitude to push back and say, "This isn't what we originally discussed and agreed to. Since I'll have to rethink the plan and put more time into it than anticipated, I won't be able to have it completed by the initially proposed deadline." Let the person know you want to provide the best service possible -- and ask for the time and resources needed.
2. You Let Others Take Credit For Your Ideas
Ever suggest an idea that seemed to fall flat, only to find out later it was implemented and someone else got the credit? To avoid having others steal your ideas, make sure you state them loudly and confidently or put them in writing. If you're at a meeting and someone proposes the same thing you've previously suggested, call attention to it by saying, "Sounds like you're building on my original suggestion, and I would certainly support that."
3. You Apologize Unnecessarily
Save your apologies for big-time bloopers. When you do make a mistake worth apologizing for, apologize only once, then move into problem-solving mode. Objectively assess what went wrong and ways to fix it. Always begin from a place of equality, for example: "Based on the information initially provided to me, I had no idea that was your expectation. Tell me more about what you had in mind and I'll make the necessary revisions."
4. You Work Without Breaks
Use your vacation days; take your lunch. Working non-stop can make you appear flustered, inefficient and incompetent. It also makes you less productive. To maintain maximum levels of concentration and accuracy, experts suggest you take a break every 90 minutes.
5. You Do Others' Work For Them
Recognize when people delegate inappropriately to you and avoid the inclination to solve everyone's problems for them. Practice saying unapologetically, "I'd love to help you out with this, but I'm swamped." Then stop talking.
Of course being nice is not all bad. Dr. Bozionelos points out that it can be of great advantage as long as you are aware of and able to adjust your natural tendencies to undervalue yourself and compromise your personal interests.
As Dr. Frankel puts it, "When all is said and done, do you really want written on your tombstone: "She Always Put the Needs of the Company Ahead of Her Own?"
Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D. is president of Corporate Coaching International. She is the author of several books, including "Overcoming Your Strengths" and "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers."
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues. Other writers contributed to this article.
Eight Signs Your Job is Doomed
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com
Have you been feeling uneasy at work lately? Is your sixth sense telling you that there is some impending doom related to your job? Are co-workers avoiding you or whispering when you walk by? Follow your hunches and watch for these eight signs to determine if your days at work are numbered.
1. You've been cut out of the loop.
Have you seen your whole team walking out of the conference room after a meeting you were not informed of? Have you become the last to know anything and everything that is going on in your office? In the workplace, knowledge is power. Your company's act of keeping information from you and keeping you out of the loop might be one way of preparing for life without you.
2. You are losing responsibilities.
Has your workload gotten a lot lighter in recent weeks while your colleagues seem to be taking on more? Is your input suddenly not needed in planning sessions for next year's budget? If your projects and past responsibilities have been passed on to others, it is another good sign that the team is making sure your work gets done once you are out the door.
3. Your job title has been changed, and it's not an upward move.
If you have received a new job title or new job description, pay attention to the differences. Is the new job a lateral move? Have you been demoted? The way you want to be moving in an organization is up -- not sideways or down.
4. Times are tough at your company.
Have you noticed several closed-door meetings full of executives with concerned faces? Are the HR managers and the head of compensation and benefits pulling all-nighters? Is your company experiencing mounting losses or declining profits? Is there a hiring freeze in place? Many companies' first money-saving measure in difficult times is a personnel cut. If your job function is not essential, you might be one of the first to go.
5. You are suddenly being micro-managed.
If you have always had a great deal of autonomy in the past and are now being scrutinized at every turn, there might be a serious reason behind this new form of management. Whether you feel you need your hand held or not, new scrutiny in the workplace can sometimes mean less confidence in your abilities.
6. You have received one or more negative reviews.
Good companies try to help employees recognize and understand ways in which they need to improve. Most have some kind of review system in place to help employees track their progress. If you have received a performance review that is negative, you need to take it to heart and make some changes. If you have multiple bad reviews under your belt and still haven't learned from them, your days probably are numbered. Just as bad, if you've had stellar reviews in the past and suddenly you are no longer regarded as a star performer, watch out!
7. The company is "reorganizing."
Mergers, acquisitions and restructuring can all be good for business, but bad for employees. Are there rumors about another company buying your business? Is your company merging with another that has employees who do the same job as you? Pay attention to what you hear in the grapevine regarding the future of the business -- it can also have a dramatic effect on your future.
8. You just haven't been performing.
When it comes right down to it, you know your performance better than anyone. You know that you've been surfing the Internet when you should be finishing your reports; that you have spent hours making personal calls; and that your once hour-long lunches have grown increasingly longer. If your heart just has not been in your job lately, your superiors probably have taken notice. Think about it -- if you were the boss, would you fire you? If so, you might want to start making plans for your exit strategy.
Kate Lorenz is the article and advice editor for CareerBuilder.com. She researches and writes about job search strategy, career management, hiring trends and workplace issues.
# posted by J.C. : 1:13 PM
