Chapter 12

Throwing away the pulp

Even if you think you’re doing fine on the fast track, there are dangers lurking to trip you up. Whether you work in an office environment, a retail outlet or a work site, the traps can be the same, even if they wear different disguises. They’re not always the most obvious problems — some of them might be considered assets under different circumstances. This chapter is all about knowing how to recognise problems — and overcome them.

Remember to harness your positive energy and there will be no such thing as an obstacle!

Handling conflict with your colleagues

At Boost, we place an enormous emphasis on ‘cultural fit’ during employment interviews — and for good reason. It’s not just to save us the hassle of employing a person who won’t fit in; it’s also to save that person the unhappiness of being a square peg in a round hole.

If you are in an environment that isn’t right for you, you will feel isolated. You’ll never know what’s going on, you will never hear about the best opportunities for advancement and going to work will be an absolute chore. If you’re the kind of person who likes peace and quiet, for example, and you find yourself in an open-plan office, full of creative types who like to bandy about ideas, you’ll never be able to show your full potential.

If you’re having a personality clash with one or two other people in a company of a hundred, well, that probably just makes you normal. On the other hand, if you find it tough to name even one or two colleagues who you actually like, you probably need to take a hard look at your current position. Most people spend more time with their work colleagues than their family, so it is important that you enjoy your co-workers.

Solution

Find a job that suits your personality. Remember, if you’re passionate about something, you’ll be good at it! Passion can be quiet, but you need to be in a position where you feel confident about getting your point across. When you go for job interviews, ask a lot of questions about the ‘culture’ of the company — you want to make sure it’s right for you.

Setting realistic expectations

When was the last time you woke up and thought, I’m going to wow them at work today! A lot of people trudge off to work and sit down at their desks, prepared to do nothing more than what’s necessary to get through the day. Low expectations like those could be killing your career. To get ahead you need to be more positive! I go to work every day determined to learn something new — and every day, I manage to do just that. There’s always something you don’t know.

If you’ve been killing time at your desk for a while now, you may find that other people have fallen into line with your low expectations. Has your boss given you any interesting new projects of late or suggested you attend a training course? If your answer is no, chances are your boss has noted your attitude. We get back the energy that we put out — if you’re giving off bad vibes, nobody is going to go out of their way to give you opportunities.

Solution

It’s time for an attitude change. Try surrounding yourself with positive mantras — write them down and put them where you’ll see them in the morning.

Go to work with a smile on your face and a can-do attitude. If you lift the expectations of yourself, you’ll find that others will too. If you look ready to receive more, you’ll be given more. Yes, that might mean a heavier workload but, really, aren’t you bored just sitting there watching the clock?

Also consider whether you’re expecting too much too quickly. We live in a ‘now’ era. You only have to look at the spiralling credit card debt in our society to see that this is not a generation of people willing to wait patiently for things to happen. Too often young people sabotage their positions by demanding too much, too soon. Ask yourself if you’re being realistic in your expectations. So you’re not managing a department at twenty-two — very few people are. Having said that, many of my employees may be considered young for the roles they hold, but they’ve worked very hard for their success.

I have never been a fan of those who believe they’re entitled to things. Yet I’ve seen people take entry-level positions and then, within what feels like three minutes, demand pay rises or ask for promotions just because ‘I have a degree’, ‘My friend gets x dollars’ or ‘I’ve been here three months’. I encourage ambition in my staff, but progression within a company has to be earned.

Some people manage to progress very quickly; for others it takes longer. If you feel you’ve been passed over several times, it may be time to speak to your boss, but overall you need to look at your career as a long-term prospect. Promotion may not happen overnight, but if you put in the hard yards and aim for respect from management and your colleagues, it will happen. Remember that respect and reputation are very difficult to earn and incredibly easy to lose. Don’t forget about the big picture in a fit of pique about what’s happening now.

Learning to say no

Do you find yourself saying yes to everything? A last-minute report needs doing, the photocopier needs fixing, you’re loaded down with a big project, but you can’t turn down the new recruit when she asks for help with her expense sheet. Every office has someone like you. Good old dependable you.

The trouble is that it’s very difficult to remain dependable when you’re being stretched in every direction. Sooner or later all those balls that you’re juggling will start to fall — and you’ll be too busy doing something else to catch them.

If you’ve found yourself in this role, you know wiggling out of it can be difficult, particularly if the word ‘no’ rarely passes your lips. You must assert yourself better. Taking up the slack in your office or department is not helping anyone — either someone else is letting you pull their weight or you’re simply understaffed. Whatever the reason, your boss will never be able to manage resources if he or she can’t get a clear picture of what’s going on. It’s time to stop working those incalculable hours; let others in the office stand on their own two feet. You don’t have to be everything to everyone to be a valuable member of the team.

Solution

Learn how to say no. If you find that you’re being piled up with work, under the assumption that you always find a way, it’s time to sit down with your boss and discuss your deadlines. If your colleagues are taking advantage of your good nature, help them find the solutions for which they should be responsible by suggesting they put their own ideas together and discuss them when you get some time. There is always a way to let people down gently. If you don’t start to do this, the only person heading for a fall is you.

Respecting others

You may call it being cool, or creative. Maybe you simply don’t think about it at all. I’m talking about the little things that show a lack of respect — like being consistently late for work or not ready for meetings, throwing things together at the last minute, and passing the buck to others because you’ve got ‘other things to do’.

What these things add up to is a big lack of respect for your colleagues — and never imagine for a second that they won’t notice. They may not say anything at the time, but those slights are being filed away and will count against you in the future.

At Boost, we value respect immensely, but it has to be earned. It also has to be given. When you wander in late, fail to give 100 per cent, or you let others pick up your slack, you send a message to the rest of the team that they don’t count. That doesn’t make for a very happy workplace. I believe that happy teams make the best teams, and I do my best to weed out any negative influences. Any smart boss will do the same.

Solution

The old adage ‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ has never held truer than in today’s workplace. The best way to get ahead is to show your colleagues respect. They will not help you or make you look good unless you show them that you value their contributions. If one person performs badly, it lets down the whole team — don’t be that person!

By the way, if you happen to be the person who’s picking up the slack for someone — that is, having a heap of stuff dumped on you because your colleague ‘doesn’t have time’, you’re not doing yourself or your colleague any favours (refer to the preceding section).

Acting the part

You only need to read part I of this book to realise that I’m the last person who will ever judge people on their appearance. I don’t believe that you need to present any other image than your own to be successful. But — yes, there’s always a but — that’s within reason.

Most workplaces have a dress code and it makes sense to work within this code as best you can. Advertising agencies and other creative environments may seem to be freer with their fashion, but their unspoken rules of cool can be as set in stone as rules on attire in a corporate accountant’s office.

Why would you bother with these rules? Two words: your comfort. If you’re uncomfortable, you can’t be at your best. If you stand out in your workplace, like Britney Spears at an IBM convention, your fabulous ideas may never get the audience they truly deserve.

Which brings me to my next and most important point: actions speak louder than words. You can be the best talker in the office, full of amazing plans and strategies, but if you never get past the talking, you won’t get far.

Solution

It can be difficult trying to sell your ideas and solutions to people who aren’t looking past your belly-button piercing. You’ll find it’s easier if you take the time to work out the best way to express your personality within the boundaries that are acceptable in your workplace.

Also, once you’ve sold your ideas, don’t forget the most important part of the equation — the follow-up. I don’t want to hear about how well you can do something, or how quickly — show me. There are very few people who talk their way to the top (no matter how things may sometimes look). The truth is that solid hard work needs to follow up any burst of hot air.

Eliminating the fear

Whether you have a fear of failure or success, drop it! Everybody makes mistakes. There — the truth is out. Unfortunately, there are some people who would rather not make any impact at all than risk making an error. You only need to watch an episode of a reality television show to see these people in action. In this situation, they’re hoping to go unnoticed so they don’t get voted out; however, even in this example you can see this tactic only works for so long. Soon the numbers get so few that those hiding in the shadows are forced into the spotlight.

In a work environment, those people who never speak up, never volunteer and never commit will also never get ahead. They may get by without making waves for a while, but sooner or later their workmates will notice a certain void where that person should be. Nobody ever said that every member of a team has to be an extroverted leader. However, every member of a team does need to commit to the group. If you’re too afraid of failure to even have a go, you create imbalance within the team.

Making an error will not be the end of your career; write that down in your diary if you must. You need to step up to the plate and have a swing if you hope to hit a home run. The key to learning is having a go. As far as I’m concerned, learning something new every day is the key to a successful career. If you make a mistake, fine — own up to it and do your best to rectify it. I have more respect for people who do this than for those who skate through their working life, never really making an impact. After all, how can your boss see what you can really do if you never take a swing?

On the opposite side of the coin, many people seem frightened of the changes that success might bring to their lives. They feel they are imposters — that somehow the opportunities that have come their way were not really meant for them. They sit waiting for someone else to uncover the awful truth. I’ve seen talented staff who haven’t gone for promotions because they’re worried about ending up as the boss of one of their friends. Others are concerned about how their lives might change, and whether their partner will be able to handle their success. Many people go about their ordinary lives, ignoring great opportunities because they don’t fit into the scheme of those ordinary lives. It’s the few people willing to take a chance who find that success comes their way.

Solution

Face your fear. Try my ‘worst-case scenario’ approach: what’s the absolute worst thing that might happen should you take a chance on success? Perhaps the partner you have right now won’t make the jump with you — if that’s the case, is that person really right for you? Perhaps you will end up your friend’s boss — have you talked to her (or him) about it? How close is your friendship anyway? The point is this: can you live with the ‘worst case’? Once you’ve identified the absolute worst that can happen, it usually just doesn’t look as scary.

There are a million reasons we can use to convince ourselves that we shouldn’t do something. There is only one reason that we can use to convince ourselves we should: ‘Why not?’

As for feeling like an imposter — and I’ve seen it with so many people — never underestimate the effort you put in, and accept that you deserve everything you’ve achieved. There are times when I think, ‘How did I get here? Me, who knew nothing about business?’ Then I remember — ‘Oh yes, I’m here from a lot of bloody hard work!’

Avoiding burnout

There were days not so long ago when I started to wonder what the hell I was doing. I’d spend 10 hours in the office, go home to spend a few hours with my family, then sit down at my computer to do another five hours’ work. Of course, I’m not the only one who has worked that hard at some time in their life. The workplace is full of people spending way too much time in front of their computers and under fluorescent lights. Unfortunately, if we don’t see the warning signs and put the brakes on in time, we will burn out. The fastest way to derail your career is to lose track of the importance of downtime.

Burnout is what happens when we don’t get our work–life balance right. If you focus on just one area of your life, to the detriment of all else, it’s no wonder things begin to go pear-shaped.

Stress can only be endured for so long. Long hours can only be tolerated for a little while. Being the first into the office and the last to go home will only get you brownie points with management for a short period. Once that wears off, they will simply begin to question your time-management skills.

In short, if you’re beginning to feel that your workplace simply couldn’t function without your presence, it’s probably time to take a break. Holidays are a vital part of working life — we need them to refresh our minds and re-energise our bodies. Never underestimate the importance of taking a breather, and stopping to do nothing.

Solution

When was the last time you had a break — a proper one, without the laptop and the mobile phone? Trust me — the office will not fall apart in your absence. This may be a little deflating for the ego, but the health benefits will more than make up for it. When you return from your holiday, rested and rejuvenated, you’ll be able to make that charge up the corporate ladder at full speed.