The #1 Question to Ask to Catapult You Ahead of Peers At Work
The best piece of career advice I’ve ever received came from a senior executive at my job, and struck me like a lightning-bolt.
I learned from her that getting ahead at work is simple. It may not be easy but it can be simple.
A year or so into my second job out of college, this senior executive of the company I work for asked to meet with me during her next visit to our Chicagoland office. Her department is no small department either — at that time the company was already a global Fortune 500 company operating in numerous countries across the world, and is still growing.
A quick sidebar — this in itself is a great leadership technique. She requested meetings with teammates on the front-lines, those actually executing the daily operations of the business, instead of meeting only with other executives and leaders. It was in sharp difference to the senior executive whom she replaced. Many in my department had never met him.
It admittedly watered my vanity but also was motivating. A Senior Vice President a global Fortune 500 company knew my name and wanted to spend some time with me in an informal discussion about our area of the business. She showed that she cared about and valued the time of the employees in lower-level positions. Most importantly, she wanted unbiased, unfiltered feedback that wasn’t distorted by self-interest and company politics as it traveled up the ladder through many layers of middle-management.
Good companies and managers likely provide feedback in short cycles. Other companies or managers may give feedback only one to two times per year during performance appraisal. You may be in the dark for much of the year which is unconducive to developing your skills and strengths. Do not sit back and wait for it to come to you.
The senior executive asked what the company could do better to make our employees happier; how she could help clear paths to allow our team to excel; what was important to me. I, as a millennial, naturally told her that flexibility and work-life balance were key. We already had one work-from-home day per week. If she wanted to attract talented millennials in the workforce increasing the work-from-home allotment would help.
Within a week my manager announced that we now were allowed two remote days every week. My teammates were astounded (not to mention my friends who are still jealous I work in pajamas every Thursday and Friday). We were all used to the previous executive’s style: seemingly unaware of the existence of front-line employees. Suddenly, the senior executive of our department wanted feedback directly from employees other than leaders. Most surprising of all, she immediately implemented the feedback she had received.
If you want to stand out among your peers at work, the key is proactively seeking feedback. This was the first thing I learned from her, which I’ll never forget. Feedback is a gift. When you receive it, use it like your life, or in this case your career, depends on it. Because it really does depend on it.
When asked if I had any questions for her, anything at all, I was stumped. During the whole meeting she sought feedback and asked questions. Her track record was quite impressive — Senior Vice President of a global Fortune 500 company, overseeing a department of more than 500 teammates around the world, and recently recognized in the annual Top-Forty-Under-Forty list by a business journal in the state of our company headquarters. She clearly had a knack for excelling in her roles and advancing quickly.
I wondered what she had done differently than her peers and asked if anything stood out in her mind as greatly contributing to her success. Her response was so simple. It sticks with me still years later. It wasn’t hard work or having a mentor or luck — it was a question. Specifically, the one question that she consistently asked every single one of her bosses:
What can I take off your plate?
Since that meeting years ago, which still crosses my mind often, I’ve been fortunate enough to progress into a managerial role in the company. Seeing things from manager’s perspective calcified the effectiveness of the question which the senior executive told me. Its simplicity lies in it being just a question. Implicit in it is something I see few do, something which can be implemented immediately. By meeting with me and asking questions, she sought direct feedback. She didn’t wait for the feedback to come to her but proactively sought it out.
Let’s put on the manager’s hat for just a few moments. It’s time for the periodic performance-review process. You have a bucket of funds for raises and maybe even an approval to promote someone on your team. You have decisions to make.
The level of performance of Steve and Amy is almost equal. There is one key difference between them. Amy proactively seeks out your feedback. Steve does not seek feedback but rather waits for it. Amy asks about her strengths and weaknesses, and how she can improve. She asks consistently what she should prioritize to meet the changing demands of the work. She gathers the feedback and immediately implements the suggestions, improves her shortcomings, and bolsters her strengths. Steve keeps his head down and is competent but complacent. Never does he proactively ask you for feedback on his performance but waits for it and hopes you can remember to share consistent and frequent feedback while managing many other teammates and projects.
All other things equal, does Amy or Steve get the promotion or the bigger raise or more responsibility? Easy decision.
The importance of being proactive and having an internal locus of control was illuminated for me thanks to Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. An internal locus of control means you are in the driver’s seat on the road of life. You ask for recommendations and suggestions from people who have already reached your desired destination. What is the best route and which to avoid. If you make a mistake and crash, you take responsibility for your mistakes, for you were driving. You don’t blame it on the tree that has been there for 50 years. Granted, random circumstances sometimes do dictate life. For the most part, you can control your path.
My meeting with this senior executive perfectly demonstrates this essential practice of seeking feedback and implementing it immediately. Building on this, she not only wanted upward feedback from her boss, or even feedback immediately below from her direct-reports, but skipped many levels to get an entry-level teammate’s view of the business.
Let’s say Amy also asked her own teammates for feedback, or even employees in other areas of the business with which her department works. The decision you have to make gets even easier. As a manager, if your team works closely with Sales or Finance, you may ask leaders in those areas for feedback on your direct reports. It goes without saying that one will stand out over the other. Two teammates are strong performers, but only one constantly asks how she can make working together more effective or efficient — what she can do to make their jobs easier and have less headaches.
Ever since that meeting I’ve made a practice of seeking feedback from my immediate manager and teammates, other areas of the business my work touches internally, as well as external stakeholders like our suppliers or distributors. It’s so simple: they will tell you how to improve. This includes often asking my managers along the way the same question that most contributed to the senior executive’s career advancement: What can I take off your plate?
Think about the manager’s position from a human, personal perspective. In addition to managing employees, he or she has projects to manage, a boss to report to, and wants achievement and recognition, just like you.
You are manager deciding whom to promote, or whom will get the biggest percentage of the small bucket of funds allotted to your team for raises, or who will lead the high-visibility project. The level of performance is relatively similar across the team. Only one person on the team is doing their job well but also making your own job easier. Again, easy decision.
The best part of this practice? It’s free, and can be started today or tomorrow.
This article was originally published at thoughtmedley.com.
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