Work, career, profession is important to everyone.  

We all need to pursue something larger than ourselves to feel connected to a wider purpose, to feel connected to other people and (most importantly) to foster connection to ourselves in our work.

While this connection is important, it can also be very illusive; it’s difficult to see how completing a task, or a sitting in a repetitive meeting, is really moving the bar forward for your organization (or your career).

Fundamentally, your work is important (why would someone be paying you to do it if it wasn’t?).

Here are some strategies to connect more deeply to the many ways your work makes a difference.

1. Listen to the stories.  Your organization serves a purpose and a specific group of people (be they investors or end-clients using your products/services).  Deep organizations with complex hierarchies and highly matrix-ed working environments don’t often give every employee visibility to the ways these clients benefit – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t being collected somewhere.  Check in with your sales and marketing team (do some internal networking) and ask to hear client feedback and stories on the ways your organization has impacted them by meeting their needs.
   
2. Thread the stories back.  When you have a better idea how the organization makes a difference, the next step is to connect how what you do at work supports that difference.  On the surface it may be difficult to see how attending your weekly team meetings contributes, so thread it back.  Attending that weekly meeting ensures your team stays in alignment with organizational needs, allowing you to be informed and your team to make priority calls on what work gets completed, when and how.  You are in a better position to ask questions, and to highlight areas of concern, or impact, in the work you do. Maybe that team meeting doesn’t have a direct correlation to those client stories, but without it, your team would not be as effective in supporting them.
   
3.  Look at it in reverse.  If you are still unclear how your work makes a difference think about it another way; what would happen if the work you do just didn’t happen?  What would be the impact then?  Think of this not in terms of someone else having to pick up the slack (although that is an impact) but more in terms of the down-flow issues this would create in the way your organization operates.  Would not having this work done create a capacity issue?  Would your works’ absence mean there will be health and safety concerns?  Can all the right decisions get made without your works’ contributions?  There is always an impact, what would it be?
   

It’s important to remember that how you are recognized for the work you do is different from the value of the work you do; they are not always equal or compatible.

Both are key parts of meaning, but in better understanding how your work makes a difference, you are able to connect to the value and meaning of it (absent of others thoughts, opinions and actions).

This is a vital first step, because if you can’t connect to the difference your work makes for yourself, no amount of positive feedback, or recognition, will make you feel good about yourself in your work.

Not getting the recognition from others you deserve at work?  

Giving a voice to the value of your work, using concrete examples, empowers your ability to foster the respect your work deserves from others

There is a misconception that likability is what fuels careers; while being liked isn’t a bad thing, it is not the same as being respected.

Think about it for a moment.

Make a list of all the people you like at work; now make a list of all the people you respect; who would you trust to support your career and work?  

I’ll bet it was someone you respected, and not just someone you liked.

So, how do you become well respected at work?

Here are 3 strategies that help you to stay liked AND be well respected.

1. Listen empathetically.  Empathetic listening is listening at a level where you connect to what another person is feeling, not just what they are saying, and you do so by reflecting both what you hear and what the other person feels, allowing collaboration on a much deeper level.  Listening with the intention to connect to another person’s experience fosters respect in your approach to the work.
   
2. Have your words pass three “gates”.  Before speaking, ask yourself: “Is it necessary?”, “Is it kind?”, “Is it more beautiful than silence?”  In this way, when you do speak, you will be listened to, heard and build respect for your consistent professionalism and contributions at work.
   
3. Be curious.  It is said “In the mind of the beginner there are many questions.  In the mind of the expert, there are few.” (Shunryu Suzuki).  Being curious and open to new ideas and experiences allows more possibilities, connections, creativity and humility – all things that create the conditions for respect to grow for the way you approach work and collaboration (your respect of others, and their respect of you).

You can like someone, without trusting them.

You can respect someone without liking them.

But you cannot respect someone without trusting them, even if is only in a specific context (i.e., not liking the payroll person at work, but trusting they will get you paid accurately and on time, respecting their work).

Likability plays less of a role in respect then most of us realize, so when you have to make a choice between building likeability and respectability at work, consider erring on the side of respectability to support your career and professional potential.

You are an expert in what you do, so you see things your boss (and possibly others) at work could not from your field of view.  

So, when you see a glaring flaw in leadership’s logic, it’s a tough decision whether to mention it or not; is this a career limiting move (CLM) or an opportunity to support your organization?

Here are five considerations to help you decide when to speak truth to power:

1. Speak when your motives are pure.  As easy as it is to play “devil’s advocate”, consider the risks to both mentioning it, and not mentioning it.  Your voice is a powerful tool, make sure you use it responsibly to be heard, respected and trusted (even if you’re about to make someone’s life harder at work).
   
2. Speak when you have timely evidence.  If you see something going poorly at work, have a recent clear example to support your concern.  It’s easier for others to hear something they may not want to when you can point to a timely example of an unintended (or negative) impact.  No recent examples?  If possible, wait until you have one (which can include getting ahead of an evidence-supported problem or mistake).
   
3. Speak when you’ve identified the right person to tell.  If its above your level, and your organization follows a hierarchical chain of command, you may need to bring it up with your manager first and let them take it from there (even when they are not the person responsible).  If your organization is “flatter” and culturally open to hearing perspectives from multiple sources (without reprisal), then speak with the person who most needs to know what you know.  
   
4. Speak when you can do so without judgment.  Nothing erodes your credibility faster than shaming or criticizing the work of others.  Focus on delivering your truth in a non-judgmental way that allows others a psychologically safe way into addressing the concern.  If you can’t do this with humility, then consider practicing until you can, or staying quiet (assuming that is an ethical option available to you).
   
5. Speak when there are options and/or possibilities.  When you present options and possibilities to address an issue it can help others to be open to what you are saying, but communicate mindfully.  Aggressively stating your point as being the only way, or the right way, does not influence others – it annoys them.  Being assertive, yet open, to the perspectives of others allows you to be thoughtful and supportive (even if in the end they choose not to address your concerns or pursue your suggestions).
   

Speaking truth to power is a delicate move, one only you can assess is right for you in your work and career.  

When done in the right way, for the right reason, at the right time, in the right organizational context, it can support your high potential, enhancing your career.

I am a consummate do-it-yourself-er (DIYer).  I like the challenge of learning new things, I love the creative process, and saving money/time is a great upside too.

While the DIY impulse is good for creativity, it has a professional downside; you lessen the capability to ask for help.

The availability of information on the internet makes it even more tempting to solve a problem immediately by looking it up; there are rich conversations we no longer have with our colleagues, friends and family on how to do things because we think we can find it all by our selves (or online).  

What this does is build the “muscle” of self-sufficiency, almost to a fault, as it can feel like you should know how to figure everything out - you get “rusty” at asking for help, feeling more vulnerable about doing it, so yo do it less and less.  

It also serves to diminish your patience with yourself, reducing your resilience to stick with the learning curve (everything should happen in easy-to-follow steps, just like on You Tube, or be as efficient as watching a TED Talk).

The learning curve is a really important tool in professional and personal development.  

It means letting go of “knowing” and become open to “not knowing”.  

This simple act is the first step in any kind of development, and it is rich.  

It helps you to be more accepting of uncertainty and your own limits, and in that acceptance, more able to connect with, and trust, others to share your challenges.  

The awkwardness you experience along the way means this is important, important enough to stay with discomfort in pursuit of something bigger than yourself.

Something you can only achieve by opening yourself to the wisdom and support of others