If you work in a large organisation one of the most important things you can do to support your career success, is to build influence.
When you have influence, everything just gets easier. You know who to call when you need help (and you can be pretty confident they will help you). You can garner support for your ideas and projects and you find it easy to reach the people you need to. You have your 'finger on the pulse' and therefore have early access to the news that matters - good and bad.
When I was in my 20s I was working for LloydsTSB, a large UK based financial services firm. The company was expanding at a fast pace and I had risen through the ranks very quickly, I was young and immature but very good at my job.
Will you do (almost) anything to avoid conflict at work?
You're not alone. Most of us (particularly women) are conflict avoiders. I know I was for years.
After all we've been brought up to be 'nice', to keep people happy, to smooth things over when they get heated and to walk away when emotions flare. As a result we'll postpone a challenging conversation, dodge a difficult colleague, stay quiet rather than offer opinion and withdraw completely when a debate gets heated.
The problem with avoiding conflict at work is that it's BAD NEWS for your career, team and business
We’re all fast to complain about a situation, challenge or problem that we don’t want - it’s human nature. How often have you assigned the blame for something that’s happening in your life, to someone or something?
Whether it’s the economy, our boss or the weather, we'll find a convenient and comfortable way to park the problem beyond our control.
Back in November last year I really wanted to start creating videos on LinkedIn.
I could see that video was a really useful tool for getting short, engaging messages across and I thought it might suit my communication style. I was excited about how I could use short video clips to provide useful tips on subjects I can offer advice on - and topics I coach my clients on, with the intention of adding value and sharing my message.
Once I got this idea in my head I went into research overdrive.