May Busch* says some workplace compliments can actually keep people from progressing in their career.
It’s one thing to be a strategic thinker, and another to be seen as strategic.
In fact, even the most strategic thinker can be misconstrued as not being strategic.
Like my colleague who sat quietly in the corner, never daring to speak up and share his brilliant insights.
Or the team member who’s too busy working to attend the key meeting where the results of her work are being presented.
The thing is, you’ll find it hard to progress beyond a certain point in your career if your managers don’t see you as strategic.
It is up to you to figure out whether people see you as strategic or not.
The easiest way is to start noticing how people describe you, especially your key stakeholders whose opinions matter most in your career.
For example, what do they say when they compliment you? How do they introduce you in a meeting with new clients or senior managers?
What are the most common themes from the feedback in your performance review?
If they’re saying you’re someone who’s insightful, sees the bigger picture, connects the dots, or is a systems thinker, you’re in good shape.
However, if you’re primarily hearing the following terms, your strategic thinking capabilities probably aren’t being seen.
Do you recognise yourself in any of these phrases?
Safe pair of hands
This is often code for someone you trust to reliably execute an assigned task or handle a tricky situation.
While it sounds like a good thing, it’s a double-edged sword.
On the one hand, you’re trusted, but on the other hand, you can get pigeon-holed into being merely ‘reliable’ rather than someone who can lead the organisation to the next level.
The go-to person for a specialised topic
It’s great to carve out an area of expertise.
However, if it’s for something highly specialised that’s not core to the organisation’s mission, there’s the danger you become seen as a narrow expert, not someone who can grow to contribute in a strategic way.
Hard worker with a great work ethic
If your distinctive difference is primarily how hard you work, that could signal you as the person who grinds out the tasks others assign you rather than being a strategic thinker.
Organised and attentive to detail
Important traits in the workplace, but make sure it doesn’t keep you from being seen as a strategic thinker as well.
Early on in my career, these descriptions were part of my feedback reviews. At first I was proud to be recognised for these abilities.
Then I realised the same could be said of my talented secretary — but I wanted to be the managing director one day.
Gets things done
Again, this is a great trait to have, especially when you’re coming up through the ranks.
Just be careful it doesn’t mean you’re great at executing projects or tasks others assign to you at the expense of being perceived as someone who can also see the bigger picture and set directions.
Of course, these phrases and descriptions are positives, but as they say, our strengths taken to extremes become weaknesses.
The key is to make sure these aren’t the only things you’re known for.
If the phrases above are ones people use to describe you, don’t worry.
Once you’re aware there may be a gap in perception of how strategic you are, you can do something about it.
Those were all labels I’ve had during my career and had to work hard to change (by the way, I ultimately led part of my organisation’s strategy team).
If you want to be seen as strategic, start sharing ideas, make comments and ask questions that show you are strategic.
It can take time to change perceptions, so the best time to begin is now.
What phrases do people in your organisation use to describe you now and how do you want to be known?
*May Busch works with smart entrepreneurs and top managements to build their businesses. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at maybusch.com
