Under the Radar

Many people still believe that the nose-to-the-grindstone approach will reap its own rewards. It will not. What will reap continued rewards is creating and projecting an accurate, positive image of yourself in order to get people to know and recognize you, your strengths, and your potential. If you feel like you are flying under the radar, you may find yourself bypassed for important assignments or missing out on positive performance evaluations, salary increases, or promotions that you deserve. The trick is to design a visibility strategy while avoiding the impression of being self-serving, self-promoting, or grandstanding.

The Hitch in Your Gittalong

If you want to create a positive image and a high level of visibility for yourself in your workplace, you want this image to be real, and you want to be ego-free, you are going to have to review your values and your needs (see Chapter 1). You will also have to develop three fundamental behaviors:

1. Self-confidence. This is an inner belief that you will succeed. This capacity is not genetic, it is behavioral and experiential—a blending of your natural optimistic/pessimistic tendencies with how well (or not so well) you have done in the past. If your self-confidence is low, try the suggestions in Chapter 7 on building your self-esteem, or consider working with a coach or therapist to rebuild your self-confidence, as this is a critical part of your career advancement.

2. Overcoming fear. There are countless types of fears, and many of them show up at work. While we may not see people running and hiding under their desks, we do see fear showing up in the form of isolation, arrogance, hostility, and other ineffective behaviors. The Four Fatal Fears that keep us from being our happiest and best were described by Larry Wilson and Hersch Wilson (authors of Play to Win!) as

   • Fear of failure (so I’d better not take any risks)

   • Fear of being wrong (so I’d better always be right)

   • Fear of rejection (so I’d better not speak up)

   • Fear of being emotionally uncomfortable (so I’d better not try anything new)

   Developing a visibility plan and putting it into place will engage all of these fears in some people, and some of these fears in others. These fears are often an overextension of needs (especially under stress).

3. Taking risks. Creating visibility requires you to take smart risks, and often. Demonstrating a willingness to take calculated risks is often cited as an example of the skills required by the new knowledge worker, one that is necessary for continued improvements in service and productivity, as well as for your visibility plan. How much of a risk taker are you? Take the quiz in Exhibit 8-1, and read the scoring key that follows to interpret your results.

Exhibit 8-1: Risky Business: Are You a Risk Taker?

Respond to all of the statements using the following scale:

1 point: Doesn’t sound like me at all.

2 points: Sounds like me some to most of the time.

3 points: This is me.

___	I am known in my office as the person with new and unusual ideas.
___	I often create new and inventive solutions to old, stale problems.
___	My motto is: Do something, even if it’s wrong.
___	At work, I have made more than one expensive mistake during the last year.
___	I never miss an opportunity; I’m willing to try just about anything.
___	I am vocal in meetings, and I share my ideas with my manager, his manager, and everyone else all the way up the ladder.
___	I have made recommendations and heard the word no at least once during the last month.
___	My boss gives me all the space and information I need to try new things and create new solutions—there’s no fear here.
___	Total score

Scoring Key

8–13: Risk-averse. If you scored in this range, it will be important for you to determine whether your cautious tendencies are based on the cultural standard at your workplace or on a personal inclination to avoid the unknown. If risk taking is not respected in your work environment, you are not likely to take many risks; it may be time to consider taking yourself to a more risk-rewarding organization. If taking risks is not a comfortable and natural process for you, work to identify and deal with whatever is keeping you stuck (perfectionism, fear, analysis paralysis).

14–19: Risk-aware. You are ready to rumble. You have the ability to evaluate the chances you take before you leap, and you are willing to fail occasionally in an effort to find new ideas and solutions.

20–24: Risk-extreme. You are definitely a risk taker, but be careful that you are not branded as reckless or irresponsible. Balance your desire to be the best, lead the field, or be the winner with consideration of the opportunities and threats you may encounter—before you jump.

Growth or Fear?

These three important prerequisites to creating positive visibility involve one simple process: To build self-esteem, overcome fear, and begin to take smart risks, you must first choose growth over fear. This is a conscious choice that you make—you acknowledge the doubt or fear, understand your reference point for the doubt or fear, and make a decision based on what is best and right, rather than on the doubt or fear.

With renewed self-confidence, having made the decision to choose growth over fear, and being determined to take smart risks, you are ready for the next step.

Shameless Self-promotion

In straightforward terms, shameless self-promotion is simply marketing—the process of knowing what you have, identifying what people want, and then letting them know that you have it. Self-marketing, shameless self-promotion, and creating visibility are the same thing—in order to deliver what is wanted, you need to know yourself, know your market, develop a plan, and be persistent.

If we were talking about any other product or service, you would probably be quite comfortable jumping in and trying a new marketing approach. For some, however, the concept of self-marketing sounds more like a series of ego-based tactics designed to convince, seduce, manipulate, or pressure someone into something that he or she just does not want. Not so.

Self-Marketing Plan Development

Self-marketing is a systems approach to success that will help you become a more effective communicator, time manager, leader, and team player. The system of self-marketing helps you establish, direct, and coordinate your marketing efforts. Preparing a self-marketing plan forces you to assess what is going on in your industry and your organization, and how those goings-on affect your business, your team, and your career. Developing and using a self-marketing plan also provides a benchmark for later measurement.

Work through the following process to develop your self-marketing plan:

1. Key qualifications. Write a clear and objective assessment of who you are—your strengths, skills, and values. Also identify your gaps.

   • Where are you in your career, and where do you want to be?

   • Is your reputation stellar or secret?

   • Is your productivity exceptional or imaginary?

   • Are your technical skills up-to-date or out-of-date?

   • Are you the “go to guy” or the “who is that guy”?

   Review your past performance evaluations, and identify your growth pattern and your avoidance pattern. If there is a common “improve this” thread in your past performance, make a point of learning that skill first.

2. Organizational needs analysis. Consider the following:

   • What is the corporate mission, what are the short-term and long-term corporate goals, and how does your work currently affect the bottom line?

   • What are the internal or external challenges or obstacles that your company will face in the next 6 months? In the next year?

   • How can you help your organization move forward toward its goals, given your current level of expertise?

   • Who is your target audience?

3. Potential liabilities. Taking into consideration your organizational needs analysis, your key qualifications, and your gap analysis,

   • What are your potential liabilities? These could be real or perceived—what do you believe are barriers to your moving ahead in your career? List four possible issues.

     1. Leverage those issues. List your strategy for dealing with each potential liability, using some of the recommendations given throughout Part 1 and at the end of this chapter. Be real, honest, and proactive by identifying your potential hazard zones early and managing them. If you have trouble seeing these zones, work with your mentor or coach to make sure you get them out of your way.

4. Objective statement. Based on your research so far, state your career objectives. Be specific. Your objectives should be clear and measurable, and should have a time line for achievement.

   • Make sure your objectives are consistent and not in conflict with one another.

   • Be sure that all of your actions support your objectives.

   Setting your objectives and finalizing the remaining components of your marketing plan will also serve as a reality check: Do you have the resources necessary to accomplish your objectives?

5. Strategy and implementation. Write out what you will do, and when. Make sure that the strategies you employ to increase your visibility are in line with your own values (not based on your needs) and support your objectives. (See the recommended visibility strategies in the next section.)

6. Measure the impact. Make a checklist of your action items, and keep track of how many of those strategies you employ (or how often you employ them). Check in with yourself regularly to evaluate the effectiveness of your visibility campaign, and check in with your mentor or coach to keep it real.