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OVER THE LAST few weeks we’ve had politicians knocking on our doors asking us to vote for them, hoping we remember them on election day. This is essentially an extended job interview or performance review; a series of candidates looking to their ultimate bosses to give them a job.
People at work often worry that they’re not being taken seriously – what they do isn’t being appreciated and that others are getting the limelight that they deserve. The same thing is running through the heads of election candidates.
“Do the voters know what I’ve done? And what I hope to do?”
It’s fair to say that most of us want our politicians to do good work, keep their promises, look out for us, show a bit of initiative and plan for the future. A boss’s expectations don’t differ much from that. It’s important for the politician, and us, to let the boss know what we’ve done. And how you communicate that plays an important role.
To be taken seriously at work you need to figure out what your boss cares about and then deliver on it, and make sure they know you’re doing it.
There is no zero option in work; you’re always being assessed by colleagues, peers and your boss. You may or may not understand what is being rated but every boss makes judgements about the people working for him or her.
These judgements could be based on you showing up on time, or being constantly late. They could be based on the colour of your shoes, whether you smile or present a grave face to the world, how quickly you react to instructions and how much care you take over projects given to you, whether you are outspoken or quiet. It doesn’t matter.
To be taken seriously at work you need to figure out what your boss cares about and then deliver on it, and make sure they know that you’re doing it.
Every day you are conditioning your boss to view you in a certain way. That can be hugely positive, or negative. Like a politician, if we feel that they were a lazy clown for almost five years, the fact they’re telling us that they’re great two weeks before an election won’t make a difference. That impression starts being formed from the get go, but you can also make a good one at points of transition.
For example, if a new boss starts, or a new team, or new role, or during a restructuring, you’ve got fertile ground to start afresh. Work on it.
Think about the places where you can impress
You should also think about the specific places where you can impress – on projects, at meetings, in a presentation, dealing with clients and supporting colleagues.
Politicians have a chance to shine on local initiatives, media, on committees, in debates and in Dáil Éireann.
Clothes matter. Maybe they shouldn’t, but they do. How you dress and present yourself every day can have a huge impact on how you’re perceived. Dress how you want to be viewed. And bear in mind how your boss would like their team to be viewed. A three-piece suit can be just as inappropriate in work as jeans and a t-shirt if it doesn’t fit the ethos of the workplace. Take Mick Wallace or Richard Boyd Barrett.
Their casual dress style in the Dáil drives some people nuts, but their voters are anti- status quo so they dress as they want to be perceived.
Use your job description as a starting point, not a destination.
In every role delivery is crucial. If you have nothing credible to communicate, the style or timing of that communication won’t make a huge difference.
You could be totally likable but if you aren’t doing the job properly, you’re not going to be taken seriously. Imagine yourself almost as a little company. You provide a service. You should deliver it well. You should be good at marketing it. But delivery of the service is the crucial factor.
One way that can help you perform more effectively and stand out in the workplace, is to show a bit of initiative, taking on something nobody else will tackle, and delivering on it. Use your job description as a starting point, not a destination.
If you want to be taken seriously at work, it has to be an ongoing project, not just the three weeks leading up to a review, just like a politician shouldn’t just focus on the three weeks running up to an election.
You know how voters say “we never seem them except at election time”? The equivalent happens in the workplace: bosses hardly notice someone until their annual review happens. Not good. You need to be a positive, and a visibly positive, presence in your work place all of the time.
Eoghan McDermott is a Director of The Communications Clinic and is Head of Training and Careers there. You can follow him on Twitter @EoghanMcDermott
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First went to London in the early 80′s working in bars , met so many Irish who hadn’t been home in years , men like these ….God rest them.
With the funds raised , it would be nice to bring them home to Cork and bury them in their hometown , together .
“They are believed to have been estranged for a number of years”. Being buried together might not be what they want!
I worked in London for 20years and there are a lot of old Irish over there who worked very hard in a time when Irish weren’t welcomed and have lost touch with home and have no family around , very sad .
RIP lads
An example of how disposable that generation of immigrants were for ireland. It really does seem we dumped people out like trash on the edge of english society.
Well austerity has managed to do the same to several generations in the last five years. This country likes to hurt it’s own
they have paid enough taxes and PRSI to cover burial cost
How did you work that out ? according to the article they went to London when they where about 18
Like many Irish people who have gone before me, I made North London my temporary home and saw some very sad cases of older generations falling through the gaps. Always lend support to London Irish Centre and other welfare organisations that provide support and comfort to people living in isolation. The once bustling Irish communities such as Kilburn, Cricklewood, Willesden etc are experiencing dwindling Irish populations that contribute to isolation of older people who might not be able to afford to move.
“Two Irish twins”? Two twins suggests four people, am I being pedantic? Don’t mean to be.
Pedantic and incorrect.
Pedantic?? More like D!ckhead
Joe, you’re not being pedantic. Pedantry is excessive or slavish attention to rules. You’re simply ignorant of the basic meaning of simple words.
“Two twins” simply means two people who are twins. It might be redundant, as the fact that they are twins tells us that there are two of them. But “twin” doesn’t mean “set of twins”, nor does “two” mean “four”.
the problem to me reading all these stories nowadays is that the effort should be put in before they die, I never heard too many complain about the size of their own funeral
When is the funeral. Ill go of I can get off work.
If I understand this correctly, the brothers emigrated in the mid-1950′s and since then their country of origin didn’t care about them – and they didn’t care about their country. In the intervening years they became estranged even from each other. This is sad, but why all the hullabaloo now, when they are dead?
Good point Rashers but a lot of time older Irish people feel that they cannot go back to Ireland for psychological reasons. They feel that Ireland has moved on, England being the country they lived most of their lives in and Irish people were not always accepted in this society either. Another thing is that Irish people sometimes feel that they didn’t make a success of their life over in England and couldn’t face going back home without a huge incinerate and having made a success of themselves. Not saying that this is the case here but it happens more often than not.
Unidentical I assume
Because the authorities do not want to pay for the funerals and that is a main reason for this?
have your say