How to be a * performer at work?
I have no clue. There is neither a master list nor a blueprint. At least I have not seen one. However, based on my 16 years of experience, I can share things that added value and helped my advancement on the rating ladder.
During the early years of my career, I joined a new company, and I worked very hard at my new job. I delivered assignments on time, and during the year-end feedback, I was expecting a top rating, but I was surprised and disappointed when I got a rating below my expectations. So I questioned my manager that I had completed all assigned tasks and deserved a better rating. To that, my manager replied, “You delivered your expected work, right? We hired you for that work. Did you do anything over and above?” I could not decipher what my manager meant by “Over and above.” What does that mean?” As a new hire, I lacked the boldness to voice that question. So, I considered it a profound self-reflective question.
Passion and Commitment
The cornerstone and bedrock of any success and accomplishment are passion and commitment. Give your 100% to your assignment: evaluate, break it down, discuss, ask for a suggestion, and take the feedback. Until you are passionate about your work, you won’t give your best. Likewise, the result won’t be near perfect until you are committed to deliverables.
What’s the Big Picture?
“Why are we doing this?” That is one question I like to ask my team and even before kickstarting a project. I detest the reply, “John told me to do this.” You must know what you are doing, why you are doing something, and where your work will fit in the broader scheme of things and strategy. In summary, “Before starting on any assignment, pause and ask if you understand the big picture.”
Look for a mentor
Check out my article #Mentorship. Do you need one?
Innovate & Automate
BAU (Business As Usual) jobs don’t get you top ratings or promotions. Trust me, there is room for innovation and automation in legacy systems too. Build tools that can automate manual and redundant work or do existing things differently; find new ways of working. Write white papers and explore opportunities to patent your innovation.
Clear your doubts bcoz “No questions are stupid”
Often, discussions don’t make any sense to people, but they don’t speak. Fear of being judged can be self-sabotaging. Ask your doubts and if you are not clear, feel free to say, “I still don’t understand. Could you please help me understand after this meeting?”. Trust me, most folks will like it.
Continue the learning curve
Technologies are evolving at an incredibly rapid pace. A few years back, Hadoop technologies, a high-paying job, is now labeled a legacy. As a new joiner, you first need to learn the tools and technologies used in your team, but you need to keep updating yourself so that your qualifications are all set if an opportunity arises.
Soft skills - Hard to Learn
No, it’s not about your command of a language. You don’t have to be a tutor. It’s about effectively communicating your work to your audience. Learn to prepare engaging presentations, master your storytelling skills, practice in front of the mirror, record your voice and trust me, you will hate your voice initially.
My advice to my team is, “Learn to present or else someone else will present your work.”
A few quick tips are: avoid essays in your slides, make it visual storytelling, engage your audience, add a dash of humor, and don’t wait for a laugh or reaction to your wit; you are not a standup comedian. Would you like to read my next article on “How to create an impactful and persuasive storytelling deck?”
Check your attitude
Attitude is critical. I always look for someone with a positive attitude and a growth mindset. Everyone loves to work with someone eager to learn, experiment, deliver best-in-class results, and be a team player.
Participate & win
We participate to win the event, and you should always give your best. However, participation matters more than winning or losing. If your company is organizing events like a hackathon or tech talks, you must participate. If it’s a team activity, reach out to others, create a team and mark your presence. If nothing else, you will learn some lessons for the future, and in the worst case, you will build some networking.
Opportunities & Initiatives
I always say, “Opportunities are available everywhere; learn to identify them. Once you know how to identify, pluck as much as you can digest.” Once you start identifying opportunities, I am confident you will agree with me “Opportunities are available everywhere.”
Take the initiative and don’t just wait for directions. If you are a new joiner, don’t assume your lead/manager will constantly ping you, assign daily tasks, and follow up on the status. Instead, it would help if you got onboarded as soon as possible. Onboarding isn’t just about access to different internal tools and software; it’s about understanding your project and team members.
Have a solution-oriented mindset
How does it feel when you hear someone constantly complain and whine? Does it evoke sympathy? Perhaps, initially, you might want to reach out and help an individual express a problem. However, once you realize that complaining and whining about everything is inherent, you would avoid such an individual. The same applies at the workplace too. Try to think of a solution before reaching out to your manager, offering it and not just a problem. Don’t always go to your lead/manager with a bag of issues.
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The above article doesn’t guarantee anything. Treat this as a checklist. Most notably, “You need to deliver assigned work on time with topmost quality,” and if you don’t do these basic but essential things, you will be done and dusted.
