Grow with Your Job

9 Parts:

Your Relationship with Your Boss

How to Handle Problems with your Boss

Your Relationship with Your Co-Workers

How to Become Part of a Team

How to Handle Problems with Your Co-Workers

Your Relationship with Culturally Diverse Co-Workers

Tips for you to Gain a Competitive Advantage in Your Job

Tips Tricks & Warnings

...More

Through your career, you will be required to interact with people at different levels in your organization and with those outside the company. This interaction will range from dealing with your boss and associates to dealing with customers. Each of these situations always requires professionalism, but each requires a slightly different approach.

Contents

1 Your Relationship with Your Boss
2 How to Handle Problems with your Boss
3 Your Relationship with Your Co-Workers
4 How to Become Part of a Team
5 How to Handle Problems with Your Co-Workers
6 Your Relationship with Culturally Diverse Co-Workers
7 Tips for you to Gain a Competitive Advantage in Your Job
8 Tips Tricks & Warnings
9 Comments

1
Loyalty sets the stage of trust
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You can be loyal to your boss and to yourself even when you both don't agree. Be up-front and discuss the issue honestly with him or her only.

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2
Do not talk negatively about your boss or the company you work for to other people.

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3
Do not waste your boss's time.
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4
Be aware of your boss's priorities.

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5
Incorporate the boss's point of view in your decision making
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Try to see his or her point of view, and you may make better decisions.
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6
Accept criticism from your boss as a learning experience.

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7
Admit your mistakes.
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8
Ask for feedback.

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9
Do not ever upstage your boss.
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10
Avoid presenting your boss with bad news early or late in the day or week.
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11
No surprises!
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Remember you are part of the management team regardless of what position you hold. Your relationship with your boss should be mutually beneficial. You should foster an environment of cooperation so that you help each other achieve personal and company goals. Being a team player with your boss makes both of your jobs more productive and meaningful.

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Problems with your boss can stem from a variety of sources but most often will lie with your boss, with you, or a combination of both. Common problems that lie with the boss include his or her inability to do the job, lack of experience with the job, poor communication skills, insecurity, or poor leadership skills. If you think your boss has one of these problems, you should be professional in your approach to resolving or improving the situation. First, you should avoid being disloyal and talking about the problem to others before you have the chance to talk directly to your boss about it. Before meeting with your boss, ask yourself what you expect from the meeting. Maybe you are looking for more direction, more authority, more responsibility, more involvement, or simply more support from your boss. Try to pin down the reason for your frustration so that you are able to tell your boss how the situation may be negatively impacting your productivity or morale. Also be ready to ask how the situation can be improved. Very often differences between bosses and workers are the result of different expectations. Always take the high road and let your boss know that you are anxious to improve your relationship and try to agree on a plan that will help both of you benefit from your meeting.

Imagine that you are at the top of your graduating class and are used to being number one. You have earned the job you have now, but something is different. You have been hired along with a lot of other "number ones," and suddenly the skills and talents that once put you on top now put you in competition. Yes, there are other people who are smarter, who can do it better, and who will challenge you. Learning to work with others and to respect their opinions, talents, and contributions to your organization can be difficult. Perhaps one of the hardest things you will face in your career is having to work with people you really don't like. Learn to separate your personal feelings and preferences about people and situations from your professional life. The person you dislike the most might be an important line your team. Tomorrow's jobs require the ability to get things done with other people. You will actually be measured on team efforts as well as your individual accomplishments. You will be treated the way you treat other people.

1
Be a team player.
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2
Build working relationships with those at your level and in other departments.
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3
Realize the power of praise.
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4
Say thank you.

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5
When other people talk, listen.
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6
Always respect other people the same way you want to be respected.

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7
Be objective.
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8
Deal with pressure.

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9
Look at competition as an opportunity to do the best job you can.
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10
Use common sense.
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11
Have an interest in other people.
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12
Be courteous.
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13
Cooperate.
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14
Be humble.
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A large part of your professional development will depend on your ability to handle conflicts with co-workers. Problems with your co-workers are best dealt with immediately and professionally. You should focus on the person involved in the conflict with you. Go directly to that person and ask for a meeting to discuss the situation. You may want to do this over lunch so as not to interrupt your work. Also, being in a neutral environment usually helps to diffuse a tense situation. In your discuss, take the initiative to state the problem between you and what you think the cause is. Do not place blame on the other person. Direct your comments toward the situation, not the person. Then ask for the other person's viewpoint. This is very important because if you listen carefully you may learn that the other person's perceptions are much different than you thought. Active listening is important to any conflict resolution, so work hard at it. After you have both explained your viewpoints, state that your goal is to come up with a resolution that is agreeable to both of you. Discuss what that might be and resolve to make it happen. If the problem continues after you have truly tried to resolve it, seek the advice of your boss or another person of authority at the company.

Cultural diversity is the coming together of people from different races and ethnic backgrounds. Cultural diversity in the workplace is increasing as the number of people with varied backgrounds increases rapidly throughout the United States. Building relationships with people from diverse backgrounds may take an understanding of their culture and require different communication skills or motivational techniques based on those differences. In the workplace, we cannot communicate with everyone the same way and expect the same results. Sensitivity to differences helps to foster positive relationships between diverse groups. You need to become familiar with the people in your workplace and develop an understanding of how to relate to them. Many of the relationships you build throughout your career are important because the people you interact with form impressions about you and the company by how you deal with them.

One way to build successful relationships with co-workers from different cultures is to practice the skills of an effective cross-cultural communicator. Some of these skills include:

Showing respect. We all like to be respected by others. You express respect for others when you listen to their ideas and acknowledge their accomplishments regardless of whether you agree with them or not. While it is certainly acceptable to express your difference of opinion,, respect ensures that you do not ignore the other person's viewpoint or try to impose your ideas on him or her. Respect for others from different cultures is important because what is right or true in one culture is not necessarily right or true in another.
Tolerate Uncertainty. When you are uncertain of or unfamiliar with a situation that is different from your personal experiences, try to react to situations with little visible discomfort or irritation.
Relate to the person not just the job. In the workplace we are usually concerned with the job at hand. When transferring knowledge about your job or skills to a co-worker from another culture, expect that there may be differences in performance even if you have showed that person how to do the job just as you do it.
Be nonjudgmental. The ability to withhold judgment and remain objective until you have enough information requires an understanding of people's point of view.
Show empathy. Showing empathy involves really putting yourself in another person's shoes. Most individuals enjoy communicating with those who attempt to understand things from their point of view.
Be Persistent. Sometimes your first attempts to communicate effectively may not produce the result you hoped for. It may take several interactions, in which you practice some of the above communication skills, to break through cross-cultural barriers.

You may be happy and content with your current job or occupation right now, but it's too risky to be complacent. You always have to push yourself to develop a competitive advantage over others. You should remember that the corporate jungle is always open to others. Be careful not to assume a false sense of security. It will always work to your advantage to prepare and be ready to seize any opportunity for career advancement.

Nevertheless, for some people, growing in one's job could just remain as a desire. Ironically, people with higher positions and more crucial responsibilities devote a shorter time for professional growth and development. Most of the time, they are too preoccupied with the pressure of delivering 120 percent to meet the demands of their current job. If you are happy with merely plugging into your existing role in your company, you will definitely lag behind. When an opportunity comes for you to climb up the ladder, whether inside or outside your current workplace, you would be faced with no choice but to let it pass because it caught you off guard. Here are a few tips and suggestions to help you explore new skills and areas of growth without neglecting your existing responsibilities.

1
Be more attuned to your environment
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Go beyond your meetings and business presentations. Understand the culture and underlying needs of your company. Without a thorough understanding of how your company works, earns money and gains profit, it will be difficult for you to position and align yourself and your potentials in the direction that could significantly benefit the company. During lunch break, take time to mingle with people from other departments. You can even offer to drive them home after work so you can catch up and get to know each other better. Spend a few minutes of your non-peak hours to walk through the halls. Do not be imprisoned inside your cubicle. You have to know what's going on outside your office.
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2
Make time work for you
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More often than not, employees try to catch up with time. Some even end up bringing their work to their home. This is truly an unhealthy habit. Time management has been an overused concept, but what most professionals actually need to learn is to be a master of their time. Setting of priorities is very crucial. When priorities are not set properly, you could spend the entire day doing a task that should have been completed in just an hour. Plus, you will surely end up missing most of your deadlines or cramming just to beat the time.
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3
Make a strategy for your job, regardless of your position
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It has been a common misconception that developing a strategy is in the jurisdiction and on the shoulders of top management only. However, this is not the case. It takes good professional maturity to create and develop a strategy to maximize the output of even the most routine tasks. You do not have to be a manager to come up with a strategy. In fact, not all managers are even good at it. By creating a strategy, you will understand the bigger picture of things. You do not have to worry because this skill can be learned and practiced. Read and brush up with your knowledge. The internet is a vast source of reference materials. You can even consult some of your colleagues. Surely, you can learn a thing or two from them.
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Criticism should not be interpreted as a threat.
Criticism should be seen as a desirable challenge.
Keep your boss informed.
Control your temper and emotions and remain level headed when the going gets rough.
Play fair as you compete to reach whatever goal you have set for yourself.
Work is more difficult when the climate is tense.
Cooperation builds spirit and is often more productive than individual effort.
If you are humble, you will still receive the credit you deserve.
Don't be caught up in always having to win.
Relating to others in a positive way helps them build a positive image of you.