Dear professional, over the last couple of years, you’ve had the privilege of being a part of the labour force. In your bid to stand out in your workplace, you have proven your value and you have been able to contribute to profitability and productivity in more ways than your CV can allow you to explain.
As a matter of fact, if you were to begin listing your achievements one after the other and your journey of personal growth, the audience might grow weary from sitting too long. Unfortunately, all these apply to millions of other employees across the globe. Even at your workplace, there are several others who have similar stories, experiences, and track records to share.
With the sheer number of competition you have, it’s normal not to stand out in your workplace. After all, what is left to offer if everyone else can match your skill and productivity level?
If you have these feelings, it’s our responsibility to stop you right there. Indeed, it is a bit of a challenge breaking new ground. However, with the right steps, efforts, and decisions in place, you can stand out in your workplace. Below, we will show you how.
Be reliable
These two words, as simple as they are, go a ridiculously long distance in ensuring that you are leaps and bounds ahead of your colleagues at work. It demonstrates your commitment to your bosses at work; it also shows that you are the type of person capable of handling different tasks.
Now, depending on your current circumstances, you might be inclined to believe that being reliable means consistently executing high-end tasks repeatedly with impeccable precision and accuracy. Well, that has some truth in it. But it is the definition of perfection, and humans have not quite attained that yet.
Regardless, there are still some little things you can aim for that would not necessarily cost you an arm and a leg but would achieve the same result. They are maintaining high levels of punctuality for meetings, shifts, appointments, and everything else in between. Even if you’re going to be late or absent, inform the appropriate person well ahead of time.
Keeping to your word on tasks assigned or volunteered for. Bear in mind that attaining reliability with this tip means that you must never bite more than you can chew. Only set reasonable and achievable tasks for yourself.
Staying in control of that which is within your jurisdiction. This could be as simple as keeping your work area tidy and clean. It would show your superiors that you’re as organized as they need you to when the time comes to handle larger tasks.
Be proactive
You see, at work, there are two essential types of employees. The first takes orders, does what s/he is told, and then gives updates if the line supervisor requests it. The second sees a task that needs to be completed. S/he gets approval to do the task or solve the problem if consent is necessary. Then gives timely reports as required on as many occasions as is reasonable.
The second set of people are always seen in a much better light by their bosses. Becoming proactive would set you so far apart from everyone else at work who simply wants to “get it over with” and be on their way. It demonstrates your passion, resourcefulness, and willingness to help the company grow.
If you want to stand out in your workplace, proactivity isn’t a mere option for you. It is a necessity.
Be independent… but great at working with teams
At this point, you might be a tad confused as to which one works best in achieving your goal of standing out. The answer is both. There really is not much else to it.
You should be able to perform tasks without supervision. So much so that even when a supervisor is assigned, they would find themselves asking about projects that you have completed or are on your way to completing already.
However, if all you wanted was to work alone, perhaps being a freelancer of some sort might’ve suited you more than joining the corporate world. Because if you are at work with other professionals, you will need to function as a team member at different points in time.
The key? Flexibility. Even if you can handle it all on your own, give your team members the opportunity to take care of tasks assigned to them. Your seamless shift from one end of the line to the other will make you stand out in your workplace.
Understand and respect company hierarchy
If you are to succeed in the corporate world, you must understand that the world doesn’t start and end with you. You could be the next Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking. But, as long as someone is still a significant number of steps ahead of you in the business, you need to be as respectful as possible. Only by doing so would you be able to stand out and climb the corporate ladder.
Now, as an alternative, you could go directly against all the advice we’ve just given here. You could simply choose to be a maverick, doing whatever you want whenever you want with no regard for authority. It’ll stand you out for several reasons, including the fact that there aren’t often too many rebels in many societies.
However, as fun and attention-grabbing as being a nonconformist is, it doesn’t always help you get ahead. You’ll stand out in your workplace, but you’ll do so for all the wrong reasons.
Click here to upgrade your career now!
Thanks for sharing these insights.