Comments (0)

My high school English teacher had a particular affinity to the above phrase.  As demoralizing and harsh as it seemed at the time, it is now clear to me what he was trying to communicate.  Our teacher wanted to make us aware of how what we say affects others’ perceptions of us.  A question you ask can be more telling about you than a statement you make.  Along those lines, if you’re asking dumb questions, you’re not exactly projecting yourself in the best way.

A sample scenario in which this becomes very relevant in the workplace is during the initial months an employee is performing a new job function.  No matter how well the subject matter and your responsibilities with regard to it were explained, a trainer couldn’t possibly have covered every contingency and/or detail relating to the job.  Therefore, there inevitably comes a time when every new hire hits a road block and comes to a crossroad.  Should you ask the question of your manager or trainer or struggle a little more?

There are two schools of thought on the subject.  The first believes that you shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions and that all questions are valid.  The theory is that it’s a waste of time for you to bang your head against the wall in trying to figure something out when you could easily save yourself the time, effort, and pain by simply asking someone who can instantly provide the answer.  The second school of thought, however, states that you should struggle and work towards a resolution as much as possible on your own before asking for help, because that struggle in and of itself is often a huge learning experience, even if at the end it doesn’t yield you your desired answer.

I am a strong proponent of the second opinion.  Opportunity permitting, struggling first to find the answer yourself can give you insights into aspects of your job that you wouldn’t otherwise learn and prevents you from asking stupid questions.

Firstly, what is a stupid question?

It is one that…

• had you thought about it for 5 more minutes, you could have answered yourself
• had you looked through all available resources, you could have found the answer to yourself
• was answered for you multiple times before, but one you apparently did not feel the need to write down or remember
• someone on your level or with your experience should really not be asking (like 5-year finance associate asking how to add the numbers in two cells in Excel)
• you ask 3 minutes after asking another question, instead of waiting and bundling with your next or previous question(s).

There are many reasons why the above are signs of a stupid question coming and why they make you look stupid.  If you’re asking a question that could be answered with slightly more thought, asking it instead of thinking about it shows that you are not willing to put in the mental effort and that you lack work ethic– if things don’t come instantly and easily to you, you just give up trying.  Another signal of a lack of motivation is a question to which you can find the answer among resources at your disposal and of which you are aware.  An example of this is if you’re asking something that was answered in an instructional manual, which you failed to read, or in a clearly labeled file in the same network folder, which you chose not to browse.  Along the same lines, asking trivial questions too frequently shows disrespect for the person you’re asking them of and I’m sure it’s self explanatory to not ask questions that you are very much expected to know the answer to unless you’ve truly exhausted your own attempts to figure it out.

So, before you ask your boss your next question, check first that it cannot be classified in any of the categories above.  This is good advice both for people who are too eager to ask questions versus figuring it out and for those who are hesitant to ask questions for constant fear that they’ll seem stupid.  Asking questions is a good thing and is a vital part of your learning process.  However, it’s important to make sure that you’re asking valuable questions that signal to others that you are a thoughtful, hardworking individual.  When you ask great questions, not only do you increase the likelihood that they will be answered, but you also increase your reputation.  However, when you ask bad questions, you only encounter frustration, sarcastic responses, and doubt in your abilities.  Therefore, both the timid and the eager question-askers should check themselves.  If it’s a “stupid” question, go back and sweat it out a bit more.  If it’s not, you should ask it without hesitation.

(Let me know if I’m missing any qualifiers in the list above) .

Comments (0)

There are things that many of us have been raised to believe, one of which being that if you work hard, you will progress in your career.  Of course, those of us who have worked in the corporate world know that is usually no longer enough (women are especially guilty of this).  Yes, it’s important to work hard and work well but what good does it do if no one notices?  (If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a sound?)

That is why working hard is only Step#1.  Step#2 is making sure it’s seen.  Some people, because of the nature of their jobs and positions, have less control over that than others.  Most people who feel like they are not being appropriately recognized for good performance are usually those with the kind of work higher-ups don’t regularly see.  I’ve already touched upon how important it is to not only stick to your predefined job specs, but I want to specify what kind of additional work you want to take on – the visible kind.

Some tips on getting yourself some visible work:

• Make sure that all your required work is done and done perfectly.  Your first priority should always be to complete the work you’ve been assigned.  That is what you’ll initially be judged on and it is a prerequisite for getting more or better work.  You need to be able to make sure that you can answer “Yes” to the question “Well, is your other stuff done?” that I will guarantee management will ask.  Not having those ducks in order will really hurt you in your advancement attempts otherwise.  It might seem as if you think you’re too good for the job you’ve been given and are just a ladder jumper.
• Start by offering to help your direct manager. Your boss has the power to either be your biggest cheerleader or your cruelest executioner.  Offering your services to your manager therefore accomplishes many things: it earns you his/her favor, it shows you to be a “team player” and always willing to help, and it definitely prevents backlash you’d get for “going over his/her head” if you were to skip your manager and go higher up in search of more work.
• Ask for macro projects that management has wanted to get done but has not been able to do due to capacity. The key word in that sentence is “macro.”  The results of big-picture projects are paid more attention to and are more visible to bigger wigs than nitty-gritty projects.  Therefore, do not volunteer to sort 3 years worth of sales data that will be used by someone else in a presentation you won’t be a part of, but definitely volunteer to analyze and present on which business units are the most profitable and why.  There are always at least one or two non-essential-but-would-be-great-to-accomplish projects managers have been asked to complete by their managers but for which they just have not had the time.  Again, though, make sure that you don’t become senior management’s data crunching monkey.

Frequently encountered problems and how to turn those obstacles into opportunities:

• You have too much work and therefore no capacity for taking on more.  This happens all too often, especially now when employees are doubling up on duties to absorb the personnel cutbacks caused by the economy.  There are 2 ways of possibly dealing with it.  First, if you’re able, stay an extra hour once in a while to get additional work done.  It sucks, but the payoffs may be worth it.  Second, it might be worthwhile for you to reassess your process and see if you can automate any of it to free up more time.  You can even use this as an opportunity to take on a project to make your functions more efficient, something management will most likely very much appreciate.
• Your manager is a work- and/or credit-hog and thereby never lets go of anything. Your manager is just as concerned about visibility as you are.  Unfortunately, there are still managers who do not realize that you are an extension of them (at work) and that having you do more sophisticated tasks makes them look better and frees them up to do even more advanced work.  If that is the case, and you’ve tried and failed at getting your manager to let go of meaningful work, it’s fair to go elsewhere.  I would start by asking other managers (perhaps in other departments) who are on the same level as your own manager.  Tell them you have capacity that cannot be utilized in your group and you’ve always wanted to learn about [insert what they do].  This automatically gains you visibility outside your group because that manager will know, even if he doesn’t have work for you now, that he should come to you when he needs help.
• All you’re given is more busy work.  You’re elated to hear that there are in fact 3 projects that your manager would love your help with.  Unfortunately, they all involve filtering accounting entries and dropping in some calculation columns.  Unless you’re obsessed with 3-line Excel formulas, this is definitely not what you want to be doing.  There are a couple of ways to handle this.  If you have a really strong and candid relationship with your manager, you can say that, honestly, you were hoping for something a little more challenging than what you’re currently doing.  However, most of the time, I’d say to do it once.  Just once.  Again, you want to come across as helpful and so if this is what really needs to be done, do it as a favor.  However, if you’re being given BS work again, it’s totally legit to say, “You know, I’ve already done something similar, Project X, and I would really love to do something more challenging.  I think I could add the most value to something that requires me to be more analytical.”  You earn credibility by saying this and management will see that, because you have helped them with not-so-fun projects in the past, you’re not just doing it for you (but not sucking up either).

I would love to hear peoples’ experiences with the process of trying to make themselves visible.  The above are just a few thoughts and I’m sure others have additional great advice.

Comments (0)

I feel like I should take a little break from telling managers what to do and focus my attack dogs on peons trying to stop being peons.  Therefore, I decided to start a little series aimed at showing peons a way out of their plight.

The goal of this series is to give some hard-learned and taught tips about how to get out of the role of peon and get yourself [a] respected and [b] on the road to something greater.  I’ve compiled some lessons from former peons and managers alike and will share them one by one.

Here we go.

Lesson #1: Don’t [just] do what you’re told.

If you still think that buckling down, doing your work and doing it well is what’s going to get you noticed and/or promoted, you are living in the wrong century.  If you’re only doing what you’re assigned, you are only meeting expectations.  In order to stop being a peon, you have to exceed them.  Once you’ve whizzed through your work, seek out and take on more complex work.  Don’t ask permission to, just do it.  It’s always easier to ask forgiveness than permission, trust me.  If you have options, take on projects that are both difficult and visible.

Another part of ending your tenure as peon is to stop thinking and acting like one.  Say that you’re given an assignment but you’re already working double overtime.  I know you want to impress your boss and all that, but what you should really be doing is pushing back. If you allow them to treat you like a workhorse, that’s how they’ll think of you.  Obviously, there are good ways and bad ways of pushing back.  You should never sound holier-than-thou or exaggerate your workload, but you should make them understand that your time is important and valuable.

As a continuation of the concept of pushing back, it’s also important to push forward…with your own career and the track you envision as furthering it.  Make sure that you voice what you want to be doing, both short term and long term.  Don’t let your career goals get lost in the burden of your daily work.  Tell your managers what you want to be working on.  Tell them you’d like to know what it takes to get to the next level.  The reality is that some of them might not care, but either [a] you will eventually come across some that do or [b] if you annoy enough people with your career goals, some of them may help you out just to shut you up.  Supervisors I’ve talked to call this tactic “managing your own career.”