18.07.2024

SMART PEOPLE DON'T STOCK MONEY BUT THEIR PEOPLE FOR CAREER SUCCESS

It's clear - you work to earn money and live well. Whoever claims that this was not his original career goal is not telling the whole truth. This goal, of course, is not the only one, because if what you do five days a week for 8 hours does not bring you at least a little pleasure, it is slave labor.

Both income and satisfaction will be helped if you adopt an old wisdom as your principle. It says that a smart person accumulates not money, but people. If you think about it, you will think of many times when it was extremely important for you to have friends to get out of a difficult time, to achieve success in your profession, to take a step forward in your career.

Specialists call the gathering of their people with the term networking. It can be translated from English as creating a network. It is a must for anyone who wants to do their job well and move up the ranks.

Networking means communicating with people who can be useful to you, making connections thanks to which you will achieve success faster and easier.

Maybe it seems a bit rude to you - you don't want to be "users". Networking is not about exploitation, it's about collaboration. And the role of valuable acquaintances is emphasized by all career development specialists.

"Good skills can help you get the boss's attention from day one. However, when they are the main focus of your job, over time they can become an obstacle to your growth. If you want to climb the professional ladder, the ability seeing the bigger picture and knowing how to select the right people are far more important than your personal skills," says Allison McWilliams, an expert in personal and career development at Wake Forest University.

Closest to the mind is that good relations with colleagues and with the boss are an essential factor for your professional growth. Not only because you will collaborate, but also because you can learn from them.

This also means not neglecting purely human communication during breaks during the day or after work. Never shy away from spending money to treat yourself when you have an occasion to go out for lunch or drinks together at the end of the day. "When your colleagues know that you are interested in their desires, aspirations, problems, worries, they are more likely to trust you," emphasizes Lolly Daskal, president of a large American consulting company.

Networking is also not missing business or informal company events where you will talk to people from other departments. A colleague from marketing or accounting can sometimes bring valuable information or give you a shoulder in a stressful situation.

"Initiative, motivation, the ability to handle everything that may be asked of you at work, will make you an extremely valuable employee for any company. To reach a manager's position, you must learn to rely on others. Relationships , you build with your colleagues is what will get you to the top professionally. The idea that you can only rely on yourself is self-defeating," explains Michelle Lederman, author of Seven Ways to Increase Your Influence.

It is good to look for your people outside the company you work for. At events to which other companies from the industry or partners invite you, you can make extremely useful contacts. Right there are the people you need to make your own by creating a good impression of yourself.

If the event will be crowded, decide on a goal - whether you will mainly communicate with acquaintances to refresh old connections, or make new contacts.

The first involves knowing which people you want to meet and seeking them out. In order to "hunt" for new ones, it is necessary not to stay long with acquaintances and to go around from group to group.

In both cases, in informal contacts, try to be casual, interesting and memorable. You will become likable by listening carefully and showing keen curiosity.

The golden rule of networking is sympathy first, business second. So don't ask for something from a person you just met. This way you can become a customer and earn money, but you will not make him your person.

You're not the only one making acquaintances at such events. When someone wants to get to know you, pay attention to them, even if they don't seem valuable to you at first. You never know who knows who and when it will come in handy.

You're not building a reliable network if you don't take care of your contacts. Don't wait until the next event to meet your precious people. The very next day, write emails or call on the phone to say how nice you are to meet and how interesting it was to talk. This is part of business etiquette, but few bother to follow it. If you follow it, the rapprochement is much more secure.

Networking everywhere is the watchword of the smart person with career ambitions. Find an opportunity to talk to those you meet at the gym. If you are there at the same time, then you are working, you have similar understandings (you value health and good looks), and probably approximately the same financial capabilities. No wonder acquaintances work so well for you.

It's even easier with fellow hobbyists. Once you have the same passion, topics to discuss and bond - a lot.

Similarly, make an effort to communicate with relatives, neighbors, parents of the children's classmates. The more people you are close to, the better chance you have of finding those who can help you succeed in your career.

----- Reverse the power of envy -----

You accumulate, accumulate your own people, and your boss praises a colleague for doing a good job. You have done yours no worse, but there is no praise for you. You feel dislike for your boss and envy for your colleague. And your inner voice asks "Why didn't this happen to me?".

It's not unusual to feel envious of people who have achieved success, explains Dr. AJ Marsden, a psychologist and associate professor at Beacon College in Florida. Everyone has a fundamental need to know where they fit in hierarchical systems. "When we see someone we perceive as a person on our level receive something we value highly - such as a promotion or praise, our first reaction is to envy their success. Then we begin to feel sorry for ourselves and look at the success of others as a sign that we have failed. Envy often leads to anger directed at the successful person," says Marsden.

It is quite possible to limit the negative influence of this feeling and turn it into an incentive for personal growth. It can be a tremendous motivator to push you to achieve more. Study the person you envy. Observe what he does and analyze how he achieved his success. Then ask yourself how you can do it too, says Marsden.

"Envy, by its very nature, can be illustrated by saying, 'I want this,'" comments Kathryn Shay, associate professor of organizational behavior at Carnegie Mellon University. When you admit that you envy someone for their success, you are telling yourself that you want to achieve the same This allows you to immediately start working on the desired goal.Envy actually gives you information about the things that are really important to you.

However, people tend to distance themselves from those they envy. And far more useful to spend more time with them. "There is some reason why this person is successful and you are not. It may be his skills, professional contacts, the fact that he is more liked by other people and can count on their support. Find out what the reasons are behind his success, and take advantage of his example," advises Shay.