Be the One Who Get the Promotions

Found the following Articles from Yahoo! News... Thought it is enriching for those working hard in corperate like me... :p

Re-published courtesy of Forbes.
By Susan Adams

Prepare your replacement
It also helps to nurture skilled lieutenants who can take over your job when you move up the ladder. Companies have an institutional bias toward hiring from the outside, because promoting from within produces two staffing changes, he points out. If you’ve trained the perfect candidate to step into your position, then your bosses will be more likely to pick you for a promotion.
This may seem counterintuitive, but Asher counsels workers not to make themselves indispensable in their current jobs. If your bosses can’t do without you, how will they move you into another job?

Keep your ears open
Good timing is also essential. For instance, if you know that your company is getting ready to open an office in Las Vegas, you might wrap up the project you’re working on in time to put yourself forward as the prime candidate to head that new outpost.
Asher tells the story of a woman who worked in the human resources department of a major company. She thought her career was looking up when she received a critical assignment to help the company move its headquarters. But in the middle of the headquarters relocation, she learned that her employer was opening its first-ever office in Asia. That would have been the ideal chance for her to shift into a high-profile overseas assignment. But she was too burdened by the headquarters move to throw her hat into the ring for the Asian job.
Company intelligence is worth its weight in gold, says Asher. If the HR professional had known about the Asian plans, she might have been able to delegate or even pass the headquarters assignment off to a colleague. Asher advises going even further. He suggests the HR manager could have scheduled a vacation to the region and started language courses.

Use “Trojan horse” compliments
Asher counsels clients they should never go over their direct supervisors’ heads, unless they do it by paying their boss a compliment. “Praise is a Trojan horse for information,” he says. As an underling, you can send a message about yourself to senior bosses, in the form of kudos for your supervisor. Example: You and your boss return from a trade show in Chicago and you write a quick, enthusiastic note to the top brass saying how much you learned at the show, mentioning that your boss did great and you accomplished your goals and more.

Accept all promotions
If you are offered a promotion within your company, always take it, advises Asher. If you don’t, you will run afoul of the unwritten rule that if you turn down a promotion offer, you will not get another.

Be willing to relocate.
“You have to move to get promoted,” Asher insists. People working in nice places like San Francisco, New York or Seattle don’t want to leave, he notes. “But if someone says, ‘we want you to go to Lower Dusty Nowhere,’ and you say, ‘I’ll pass,’ you’re really passing up on everything forever.” Later in your career, you can be picky about location. “There’s a difference between age 28 and 38,” says Asher. “If you don’t move in the early years, you’re losing the opportunity to break out of the pack.”

Find a mentor
Another tip from Asher: Attach yourself to a superstar, who can give you plum assignments and help you surge ahead. The quintessential example of this is a president in his first term. Obama’s cabinet can count on thriving careers in the private sector. George Stephanopoulos rose from obscure congressional staffer to Clinton press secretary to chief political correspondent for ABC News.

Learn new things
It also pays to learn new skills, says Asher, particularly at a time when your economy is in transition. Asher describes an HR professional who saw the recession coming and trained herself in downsizing. As her company laid off workers, she was promoted to help run its downsizing effort.

Worst Words to Say at Work

I extracted the following from Yahoo News today... Cos I think they are very interesting:

Re-published courtesy of Forbes.
By Linnda Durre.

Let’s look at some specific words and phrases that are used by some people to buy time, avoid giving answers and escape commitment. If you use these words and phrases yourself, take a scalpel and cut them out of your thinking, speaking and writing. Words like these only weaken you and make you sound noncommittal, undependable and untrustworthy.

“Try”
Try is a weasel word. “Well, I’ll try,” some people say. It’s a cop-out. They’re just giving you lip service when they probably have no real intention of doing what you ask. Remember what Yoda says to Luke Skywalker in Star Wars: “Do or do not–there is no try.” Take Yoda’s advice. Give it your all when you attempt something. And if it doesn’t work, start over.

Put passion into your work and give it your best effort, so you can know that you did all you could to make it happen. So if the outcome you were expecting didn’t come to fruition, it’s not because you didn’t do everything you could to make it happen. It just wasn’t the right time for it or it wasn’t meant to be.

“Whatever”
This word is a trusted favourite of people who want to dismiss you, diminish what you say or get rid of you quickly. “Whatever,” they will say as an all-purpose response to your earnest request. It’s an insult and a verbal slap in the face. It’s a way to respond to a person without actually responding. When you say whatever after another person has said his or her piece, you have essentially put up a wall between the two of you and halted any progress in communicating. It’s a word to avoid.

“Maybe” and “I don’t know”
People will sometimes avoid making a decision and hide behind words and phrases like “maybe” and “I don’t know.” There’s a difference between legitimately not knowing something and using words like these as excuses. Sometimes, during a confrontation, people will claim not to know something or offer the noncommittal response “maybe,” just to avoid being put on the spot. If that seems to be the case, ask, “When do you think you will know?” or “How can you find out?” Don’t let the person off the hook so easily.

“I’ll get back to you”
When people need to buy time or avoid revealing a project’s status, they will say, “I’ll get back to you,” and they usually never do. If people say they will get back to you, always clarify. Ask them when they will get back to you, and make sure they specify the day and time. If they don’t, then pin them down to a day and time and hold them to it. If they won’t give you a day or time, tell them you’ll call in a day or week and follow up. Make sure you call and get the information you need.

“If”
Projects depend on everyone doing his or her part. People who use if are usually playing the blame game and betting against themselves. They like to set conditions, rather than assuming a successful outcome. People who rely on conditional responses are fortifying themselves against potential failure. They will say, “If Bob finishes his part, then I can do my part.” They’re laying the groundwork for a “no fault” excuse and for not finishing their work.

There are always alternatives, other routes and ways to get the job done. Excuse makers usually have the energy of a slug, the vision of Mr. Magoo and the spine of a jellyfish. You don’t want them on your mountain climbing team up K-2 or Mount Everest.

“Yes, but …”
This is another excuse. You might give your team members suggestions or solutions and they come back to you with “Yes, but . . .” as a response. They don’t really want answers, help, or solutions. You need to call the “Yes, but . . .” people out on their avoidance tactic by saying something like: “You know, Jackie, every time I offer you a suggestion you say, ‘Yes, but . . . ,” which makes me think you don’t really want to solve this problem. That’s not going to work. If you want to play the victim, go right ahead, but I’m not going to allow you to keep this up and I may have to report you.” After a response like that, you can be assured that the next words you hear will not be, “Yes, but . . .”!

“I guess …”
This is usually said in a weak, soft-spoken, shoulder-shrugging manner. It’s another attempt to shirk responsibility–a phrase is only muttered when people half agree with you, but want to leave enough leeway to say, “Well, I didn’t really know. . . . I was only guessing.” If you use this phrase, cut it out of your vocabulary.

“We’ll see”
How many times did we hear our parents say this? We knew they were buying time, avoiding a fight or confrontation or really saying no. It’s better to be decisive and honest by saying, “I need more information. Please present your case or send me the data–both pro and con–so I can make an informed decision.” That way the interested parties will contribute to an in-depth, well-researched “verdict.”

This column is an excerpt of Surviving The Toxic Workplace (McGraw-Hill, 2010) by Linnda Durré, a psychotherapist, business consultant and columnist.

What I have Loss and What I have Gain??

Last nite went for a gathering with my ex colleagues (my first batch of colleague when I just started work). Come to think about it that was about 10 to 11 years ago... We have all move on, mostly in life and at work in other projects (except for some of us who change company or quit and rejoined)

During the conversation, I realise how different each of us are now. A few of them did not come for last nite gathering (and they are mostly the high flyers in office and is busy - that explain why they couldn't make it)

Somehow I feel a bit set back... cos since school days I have been worrying that I cannot catch up with others and is not as good as others, and today when I do a reflection, I am indeed slower in a sense.

Among them I am consider fast only in term of setting up family cos I am now into my 2nd Pregnancy (most of them is either just married or with 1 kids), but this only proof to slow me down in my career movement. I am not complaining that I regret, just that somehow somewhere within me I need to balance this feeling of being slower in career progression.

I feel the dilemma of wanting a happy family, spend time with my family and kids, and being a high flyer at work (if I ever can) and commit much of my time at work.

Pen Pal Wedding

Last Sunday went to attend a Pen pal wedding, think she is about 2 years or so younger than me… :)

Wow… How time flies. I was sitting in a table full of strangers and their conversation make me feel out of touch, I feel like an aunty, they remind me of few years back I will think like them (not the drinking part though).

They talk about drinking, nite life, work as internal for STA to enjoy carefree lifestyle and travel. For me at this stage are all about family, kids, better housing and career prospect (Really feel different after being a mum).

And I think friends around individual do play a major part in influencing one another...