Myths and facts behind profiles & stories

If you see the profiles of professionals on LinkedIn, you will realise that everybody there is a leader; not only a leader but also a thought leader. Everybody is a good storyteller & philosopher. 5 out of 10 HR professionals have received Top HR leader, HR thought Leader, HR professional of the year, young professional etc etc. awards in their career. CEOs & CXOs are doing great branding on the platform. Few are writing stories regularly; few are sharing their experience, and few are sharing what they like. Most of them are just copying and pasting though. Few of those professionals are helping others and the overall community by sharing such stories. I am sure most of the companies must have their social media experts working for them, specially for companies and top leaders. Individuals are engaging with others on the platform regularly. On the other side, there are companies who have their own pages and they are also positing positive stories about their organizations.

If you believe in both, individual and organizational profiles and stories they put on the platform, it seems that the world is a better place to live now. Every organization is a great place to work, every company has the best practices, every company has got some or other award in management. Seems, all the problems and worries, company management and employees used to have in earlier days are now vanished.

In spite of having all this, still people are changing their jobs, companies are facing some basic challenges of revenue and cost optimisation. It is obvious situation because of Covid19, but in normal situation company stories look like “हम साथ साथ हैं (we are all together)”

Long back traditional media has enjoyed the status of 4^th pillar of democracy, but now everybody is the author, journalist and storyteller. Content is the king. If you have good content and you know how to present that content, you are powerful. However, you should know how you create & present the content.

I am just referring here about the professional contents and professional social media platforms like LinkedIn. The contents can be presented more positively, but the question is how to make it relevant as a user. Based on those profiles, head-hunters, recruiters approach the candidates for opportunities. Talent gets attracted reading stories presented on company pages and the posts senior managers post on the platform. Leads are generated based on the product information presented on the company pages. However, the main question is how to understand the authenticity of such content. How to understand the person who writes thought leader in his/her profile is really a thought leader. Titles are misleading, roles can be judgemental. People are not aware of what's happening on the market. There are recruiters who think that HRBP is a very junior role and CHRO is junior than other roles in HR, because an officer is always junior than a manager in the corporate world. This is strange to know, but this is the reality. There are facts and there are myths shared daily on the platform by users. Everybody is a marketer. The million-dollar question remains what is authentic. The person who is sharing stories about leadership lessons may be the worst leader actually and he may have the blind spot. The organization which is a great place to work may have issues and employees may have other opinions about the same company.

As said by somebody it is very relevant to think, “दिखावे पे मत जाओ अपनी अकल लगाओ (don’t go by face value & use your wisdom)”. Research more & try to understand the person behind the person and company behind the company.  

Please read the print replica of my latest book written for leaders on amazon kindle; Vitality in Human Resource

Creating the personal impact…

J

oydeep is a performing employee, he is working well and his manager is happy with him, but he is not in a list of high potential employees. He is tagged as a good employee, but not an excellent employee. Sudeep is another employee, he is also working well, but manager is more happy with Sudeep and he is definitely in the list of high potential.

Why this difference?  

All of us know businesses thrive on strong relationships, so we do all we can to impress our clients and external stakeholders. Most people, however, pay little or no attention to their relationships with peers, bosses and co-workers, though this might seem an obvious thing to do. Here's how you can become the 'Go to' person and get noticed at work.

The difference is Sudeep is more smart than joydeep and knows how to do the personal branding. There are different ways to create your personal impact. Following are few tips:

Be visible in the office. Walk around the office:

Offices are communities, communities of different workgroups.  Most of us spend up to 9-19 hours a day in close proximity, sharing the same office space, facilities, break rooms, refrigerators, coffee pots, etc, with our work colleagues. Everyone shares responsibility for making the company work, run smoothly and stay profitable. Keep aside about 10-15 minutes a day to take a round, greet all the people you know with a smile and exchange pleasantries. Show the interest in other people. Recognize their achievements, their attire, good thing, you observe.

A smile and a warm handshake can wear off the stress most of us go through. Besides, making this effort adds to your desirability factor at work. And, even though it is considered a cliche, do remember smiling is contagious.

Recognize and appreciate your colleagues: 

Always recognize the good work done by the colleagues. Communicate this to manager how much you appreciate a certain colleague or subordinate for the specific skill sets. When your colleagues come to know this appreciation, you have already build the credibility.  You can also do this in his presence. You would have won his/ her trust and  it will make your senior colleague respect you.

Be genuine and specific as you can. 

Make your name visible:

Have you thought of contributing to your organization's newsletter or Website or the journal that gets distributed within the organization? Since company publications are frequently read by top executives, you'll be increasing your personal reach while establishing yourself as an expert in your chosen area. It's a great way to blow your own trumpet, albeit in a sophisticated fashion.

Join a cross functional team or committee:

Organizations now a days take lot of initiatives for improvements and developments. Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) are formed and company either nominates employees to work or expect some volunteers to join the same.  Have you thought of volunteering to Join such CFTs?  Interacting with the same colleagues everyday won't increase your exposure; however, working on a CFTs with new people gives you an opportunity to make new contacts. It also gives you the opportunity to show your talent and skills to people who matter within the organization.

Handle and sustain with the Conflicts:

Workplace conflicts are most common and therein lies the opportunity to demonstrate your leadership and management skills. When done correctly, it can give you amazing results.

If you are trying to resolve a workplace conflict, do not get judgmental and take sides; rather, just serve as a facilitator and establish the ground rules for professional conduct at work. Keep resolution of the conflict in mind at all times; do not get involved or become emotional.

Offer a Support:

Fill it up. If you've used the last piece of paper in a shared copier or printer, fill it up again even if it means going to the supply room to get another ream. After you've poured the coffee into your cup, take a minute to make another one for the next person in the queue.

Offer to mentor that new recruit at work or share a trade secret -- something that will help a colleague look good before his/ her boss. Often, these small gestures help you build relationships and also spread a good word around about you at the workplace.

Your best performance:

There is nothing that will give you more exposure than getting the employee of the month or quarter award at the Rewards & Recognition event. Since these awards are often given by the top management, it gives you an opportunity to put your name before the key decision makers in your organization. Remember, you won't get ahead with mediocre performance, regardless of how many other steps you implement.

Keep updated:

Read industry publications, reports and magazines, and be aware of market trends. Your knowledge will reflect when you communicate with colleagues and they would look up to you for advice and information. They will also talk positively about you with other members of the team. There is nothing better than third party publicity, as it establishes you as a thought leader within your organization.

Be a Subject Matter Expert & Volunteer for conducting trainings: 

Organizations prefer internal SMEs for training employees and new recruits. Choose one of the area where you are strong and offer the module to new employee in the function or other department. Get the support from your manager for doing this.

Don't shy away from personal branding at work. If done well, it can have a positive impact and help you get ahead at work.

You may also like to read  Personal Branding .