I was reading the white paper “How CHROs Deliver Business Impact: 5 Things the C-Suite Should Know About Talent and How HR Can Deliver It,” available through Workplace HR & Safey, and it got me thinking about how HR employees are not the only ones who often feel the need to prove their worth at work. Who hasn’t occasionally felt undervalued in the workplace? Managers and executives, of course, should recognize their employees for the value they add to the organization, but the majority of the onus still falls on the employee to prove his or her worth. Follow this advice to communicate your value effectively:
- Keep a record of your accomplishments. Occasionally tooting your own horn doesn’t automatically turn you into an obnoxious braggart. Shoot your boss an email when a project you’ve worked on does exceptionally well; your boss will want to share in the excitement of your success. Keep your LinkedIn profile updated with your evolving skills and achievements, and don’t be afraid to ask others to write you recommendations for the site as well. (Naturally, you should offer to return the favor.) Keep a journal where you jot down notes about workplace accomplishments big and small that you can reference as you fill out self-evaluations and prepare for performance reviews. It’s easy to forget what you’ve done over the course of six months or a year, but those specific anecdotes and data can make a big impression on your boss and leadership team.
- Understand the big picture. Being really good at your position is important, but it won’t take you that far if you don’t understand how your position contributes to your organization as a whole. Practice articulating why what you do matters to the big picture. And keep the organization’s overall goals in mind as you work, always making adjustments to do what’s in your organization’s best interest rather than what’s easiest for yourself.
- Assert yourself in meetings. Don’t be shy about sharing ideas and joining discussions. Having great ideas is worthless to your organization if you don’t share them. They don’t have to be completely fleshed out; you can work with others to turn your spark of an idea into a winning concept.
How do you communicate your value at work?
[Image Source: USACE Europe District]
