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Hi ! Who’s at 3% in person in Atlanta this week!
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Get ready for layoffs
Why are you a consultant?
Sit down, be humble ♪
anyone tried to travel weekly out of Montana?
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You're a good person OP.
Not confident, and I get passed over for work because my colleagues who are more vocal would insert themselves into every meeting and tasks and be the first in line to get new projects. I realize this is something I need to work on, but now feeling like maybe I don’t have a shot in this industry? 🤔 I’m terrible at brown nosing, even though I’m great at socializing and being friendly with everyone. I’m just terrible at “playing the game”. I wish I was better or that I could ask for my seat at the table instead of waiting to be invited to sit.
I’m just on here looking for insights on how I can change things or if it’s time to bow out from consulting.
Although it helps to be more assertive overall, if you don't want to do all of that, I think you can just work with and for people you really like. With your general goodness I think the people around you will pick up on that and good things will happen for you. Also you should probably talk to people you work for/with one-on-one so they know you want those opportunities. It doesn't always have to be in a big meeting with a bunch of colleagues calling for first dibs.
Not sure about the type of projects you do...but if avoid tense situations, why would a client hire you? In most cases they want people who can help them improve and say how it is. Communication is a core consulting skills set. You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room, but you need to make your voice heard. I mean, if you’re better than your colleagues then your one good point will overshadow all the noise. However, if your colleagues are equally capable + they are more vocal, then you have a bigger problem
The US has an individualistic culture. Playing the game != “brown nosing”
I’ve been in the same boat for years.
Are you an introvert? There’s a great bowl here with some great input
What makes you not want to do any of the things your describe your colleagues doing?
I feel you OP. My advice would be to keep your nose down and work hard and let them come to you. Brown nosers are aka people who think they can “network” their way without working as hard. In my experience effort trumps natural ability 9/10. Keep ur head down, work hard, make sure ur deliverables are crisp and add value. If you do this u won’t be invited to the table, they’ll pull out a chair for you!
I've been working for years like OP, and in retrospect, all the "niceness" on the job has been for naught. It's not benefitted me at all to my perception, since, while I may be well liked, I'm not well-respected. And what counts more when you're being considered for promotion to executive?
I think about this a lot -- is there a balance? I'm not sure. What I do know is that the US NE workplaces are full of individuals who seem to lack empathy, yet they have what it takes to get promoted. What fuels them?
think about it from the perspective of those around you. to them, you may be someone who they never hear from so how can they know what projects you're interested in or if you have anything to contribute? you may come across as disengaged even if you aren't. while the others come across as the opposite. you don't need to turn into a hyper aggressive person but just do a little more in a consistent way and people will notice. you don't want to miss out on opportunities just because people didn't know you wanted them