071 – How to increase your value in the office

Let’s face it. Corporate life can be a jungle with many people fighting clean and dirty for that top spot. This can be the case on any team of high performers. Here are five practical strategies you can start using today to carve out your space as a valuable asset.

5 Strategies to Win at Work

Make your boss’s life easier

• Can you produce good results with minimal supervision?
• Make big things small. Send a 1 page summary of a meeting or phone call with   key decisions, questions and next action steps clearly defined.
  Manage their time and yours. Present no more than three options or alternatives. Use people at your own level or lower to narrow it down to the top 2 or 3.
• Make the boss look good directly and indirectly to other executives. Publicly thank them for their help or guidance on accomplishing something you did. Keep it simple and quick to avoid the appearance of sucking up, but be sincere. They could be doing many other things besides mentoring you.

Bring the best energy to every situation

• This doesn’t always mean the loudest or most outwardly energetic.
• Learn how to determine what’s needed right now in the room. Empathy, excitement, joy, rationality?

Become an expert in 1 mission critical aspect of the business

• It can be something boring or tedious that most people dislike.
• Something that generates serious cash or new business

Build strong relationships with clients

• Companies don’t like having to explain why rock stars are suddenly missing in action.
• It’s like when a band loses a lead singer or iconic musician.

Be the face and voice of something

• Chances are many people at in your company are afraid of public speaking, or not very good at it.
• Develop the ability to stand in front your peers, clients or the public and communicate clear ideas with confidence.
• The person who can communicate well is more valuable than the person who knows everything, but can’t share the knowledge constructively.