Don’t Blow up Your Brand
Corporate ladder, elevator or step stool — cut the right wire!
Self-worth is a funny thing. Negative or positive in nature. It comes from within and is created over a lifetime of personal experiences. It molds a person’s identity, shapes feelings and alters behaviors; bonding together like gorilla glue to form your personal brand.
My first impressions are usually based on an individual’s brand projection. I immediately categorize, sort and prioritize individuals in my life; slam-dunking these newbies into little buckets. The respect bucket, the good person bucket, the incompetent bucket, etc. — you get it! Many many buckets.
I pride myself on reading people quickly and accurately. Corporately, most employees I encounter have an accurate self-assessment of their value to the organization. They have a realistic evaluation of their abilities, strengths, weaknesses, skill set, goals, and financial expectations and wear their worth like a badge of honor.
Then we have Kevin.
Now, what bucket did he land in again? Oh Yes! There he is…
Kevin thinks of himself as a superstar; miming out “mic drops” around the office. Excellent work is a daily occurrence in Kevin’s world. He toots his own horn with “Boo Yah’s” and victory dances as he completes tasks. Followed by a collective eye roll in the office.
As his manager, I receive average quality deliverables. When questioned on issues or shortcomings, Kevin blames everything and everyone else. Common feedback such as “I did my piece correctly” or “if Jennifer had…”
Feedback meetings with Kevin are like a game of Whack-A-Mole. When I present him with constructive criticism, Kevin swings his mighty “excuse hammer;” whacking them one-by-one. He yields his hammer like Thor — The God of Thunder.
He eagerly hurls his “corporate grenades” in the direction of co-workers or other divisions. In doing so, he tears down their work ethic and work quality. He inaccurately compares his superior skill set to others’ lackluster abilities.
Superstars don’t make mistakes nor do they need improvement. Right?
Wrong!
Fact of the matter is, Kevin has abilities. Average abilities that need development. His productivity is in the normal range.
But what do all self-professed superstars want? Compensation as they are obviously underpaid and overqualified for their current roles. They want sexier job titles.
They think being undervalued and underutilized is a common problem for the likes of them in the corporate world.
So they begin the climb. The climb up the corporate ladder.
Unfortunately, due to his over inflated sense of value, Kevin wants to rocket past the corporate ladder and teleport straight to the elevator. Beam me up Scottie.
In my opinion, a rickshaw followed by a step stool is the more accurate course correction.
Career Growth vs Career Development
Recognizing his desire to grow, I pitched focusing on his career development rather than career growth. Following the motto of “build it and they will come” and “walk before you run” was the way to go in this case.
I suggested he let his career develop organically through training, stretch assignments and most importantly building and maintaining his brand.
Brand? What brand? What’s a brand?
Kevin and I discussed his brand for several minutes exploring image and impact of how he was being perceived by his peers, senior management and myself.
Kevin did have potential. I saw it in him. With a little career development, some self-reflection and guidance, Kevin’s superstar persona could match his skills set.
Kevin, as usual, agreed with my direction and action plans during our meeting. His response, however, revealed a different story.
Setting the charge
Regardless of his agreement in our meeting, Kevin wanted to immediately shoot his career forward. Instead of focusing on development, he hounded management with passive aggressive comments about being underutilized and overlooked.
He pitched himself for every possible promotion scenario as the one and only candidate; the perfect fit for every role that paid more that his current position.
Always the victim of bad luck or corporate conspiracy to hold him back.
Kevin did what every self-professed professional superstar does when stuck in an “under role;” underpaid, underutilized, and underappreciated. He looked for other opportunities!
Lighting the fuse
He started applying for jobs in every other division in our organization. I’m talking EVERYTHING!
Positions he was not qualified for. Positions in other fields. Grasping at career straws. He was making it rain with resumes. Mastering interview skills was quickly becoming his forte.
Worthy experience individuals should have.
The negative? If notified of his unsuccessful attempt in the hiring process, Kevin would always request feedback from HR.
This was a great idea — Awesome job Kevin!
The negative? Not accepting HR’s feedback was a major flaw. Not only did he not accept the constructive feedback, he challenged HR’s obvious error in overlooking his qualifications, skills and experience over the successful candidate.
Driving the point home further by declaring the short comings of the successful candidate based on the candidate’s LinkedIn profile.
Now you’re a creeper Kevin?!
KABOOM!
Kevin had single handedly blown his corporate brand to smithereens!!!
He lost all credibility with peers, divisional managers and senior management throughout the organization. He became known only by his tarnished brand and landed himself in corporate career exile.
Way to go Kevin!
Over the next few years, I continued my efforts to coach and mentor Kevin out of this deep, dark hole. However, the attempt to rebuild his brand were unsuccessful primarily because Kevin’s sense of systemic blame and outward negative attitude continued.
A lot of effort was expelled in training, mentoring and developing his skills. Work quality constantly improved as he completed stretch assignments, and he eventually accepted a lateral move to a new company.
The Promised Land
Striking gold and escaping the chains of his current corporate prison, Kevin was eager to start his new role, waiting to shine like a star. A Superstar. Oblivious to the fact he was his own worst enemy and, without change, his bad brand would continue to grow and thrive.
Success!
Kevin eventually built the brand he worked so hard to achieve. It wasn’t the best brand and it wasn’t working for him in the manner he had hoped but hey, onto greener pastures. It’s a new beginning….Right?!
“Boo-Yah!” and victory dance!
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Scott Kennie is a metro-redneck. He’s worked in corporate information technology management for over 15 years. He considers himself a sarcastic realist. He’s also a Dad. He lives with his wife, three dogs and his alter ego; Bat Hubby who’s a racecar driver. His motto: live life and laugh all the way to the grave.
