9 Ways To Be Respected for Your Cool Attitude at Work. I’m Not the One To Judge You.
How I adopt the right postures at work
Once the message has been sent, it’s impossible to go back to one person to correct my idea.
And in fact, it was even more improbable that this person would go to other people to correct this message.
Having the right posture at work is complicated. Even after years of practice, sometimes it’s hard to know where to stand.
When I was a junior, I was overwhelmed by the desire to train and become autonomous quickly. I was clumsy and didn’t realize it.
You don’t learn that on the job, it’s experience that comes in little by little. You develop a different posture, a different mindset.
Respect starts to take root in the team, the department, the company.
And even that extends to your professional network. The partners you work with.
Having the right posture and attitude at work changes everything.
Even if you’ve been to the best schools and are the best in your field, you can’t learn how to behave on the job.
In this article, I share with you the best advice I’ve learned from my twenty-year career. Ten of which were spent in IT.
I’ve been at the operational end of project management, but also in the managerial posture of team leadership.
Everything I share with you can be applied even with zero technical or project knowledge.
Be good at your expertise, but have the wrong posture
An expert profile…
In fact, you can be very good at what you do, as an engineer or a designer for example. You can have very good results and be recognized for it.
These colleagues are invaluable resources when it comes to problem-solving and the rapid completion of complex tasks.
Genuine rock stars in their field.
A special context…
The life of a project can also be full of ups and downs:
The arrival of new people to be trained, the unexpected departure of a key person, or a heavy blow for one reason or another.
When you have to act in a hurry, under pressure outside your comfort zone, it creates a new situation.
The point I’m trying to make is that even those with the best expertise can find themselves in trouble and completely lose their bearings.
Experts in a particular context can do crap.
Those thought to be the best can find themselves in a bad position.
And they don’t recognize this when they experience it.
So what happens?
People who aren’t ready for pressure overreact.
In reality, they don’t realize it, but they’re really losing their shit. They’re clearly caught up in emotion, speaking without thinking and without imagining the consequences.
Because you have to remember that the people you work with today are the same people you’ll be working with tomorrow. If an unfortunate word is spoken, woe betide you and the team relationship.
In reality, it’s very difficult to stop people talking behind your back, and once trust is broken, it’s complicated to regain your credibility.
No technical expertise, but a good attitude (it changes everything)
Good managers are not necessarily good operators. So, of course, if you’re familiar with the difficulties, you know what you’re talking about. It’s much easier to show empathy and get the right messages across.
Here are the good postures I take, even if I’m not an expert in my field.
(It’s always good to know)
1. I prepare my speeches and interventions
You rarely get the chance to make a good impression twice. If I’m trying to get a message across or convey an idea, I prepare a draft before I start.
Once the message is out, it’s impossible to go back to someone to correct my idea.
And in fact, it was even more unlikely that that person would go back to other people to correct that message.
In fact, once you’ve talked, it’s too late.
My advice is to take five minutes to jot down your ideas, and when you feel ready, communicate. But not before taking a step back.
2. I communicate priorities and respect them
There’s nothing more irritating for a team than constantly changing topics and priorities.
If I don’t know what the priorities are myself, the easiest thing to do is to say so.
I’ll come back to the team in due course to share the list of actions, note them down and remind them every day if need be.
Because yes, it may be very clear to me in my head, but it may not be to others. So there’s no need to get annoyed if people ask me to repeat myself.
It’s my job to express myself clearly and make sure the message is understood.
Once I have my priorities, and I’ve shared them, I don’t change them.
If there are imponderables, I plan them after the priorities.
If there are emergencies, I discuss them with the team and explain why the program has changed along the way.
But it really has to be exceptional, otherwise it’s no longer a priority, but a laundry list. This easily leads me to the next point.
3. Doing what you say you’re going to do, and ideally doing it ahead of time
Trust is hard won and quickly lost. So if I say I’m going to do something, I do it.
And if it’s too complicated to do, I break it down into smaller parts.
Otherwise it means I’ve spoken too soon or to say nothing.
And if I haven’t prepared my communication, that’s just too good for me.
4. I listen to what others have to say, and I really listen to them.
If someone has something to say, whether it’s technical or about team relations, it can be important.
You know it, I know it, we all know that communication is the key to good team cohesion.
It’s easy to do, and you don’t need to have studied hard to pay attention.
5. I respect meeting times and don’t saturate my colleagues’ schedules with meetings.
In France, companies love meetings.
If you don’t have a meeting, you’re not doing enough work.
And when the meeting’s over, what do you do? We schedule a new meeting to continue the one that’s just finished.
I’m the first to stop paying attention when the meeting time runs out. It’s unbearable that people can’t keep to start and finish times.
In practice, I force myself to respect my work and that of my colleagues by limiting meetings.
And if meetings aren’t enough, there’s always time to write down what I want to share.
6. I respect my fellow man
It seems obvious to say, but in reality, few people respect each other.
You can’t choose who you work with, but you can choose to make a mess of a team.
And that’s really bad for productivity and morale.
In 100% of cases, at least one person has left the project of their own accord or against their will.
7. I use common sense in my decisions
I’m realistic in what I ask the team to do.
Yes, even if it’s my superior who asked me to do it.
If my little voice tells me that it seems unrealistic, strange or out of touch, then it’s my duty to talk to the manager before imposing it on the team.
At best, I’ll be able to explain to the manager what seems strange to me, and at worst I’ll have something to respond to colleagues’ objections.
8. I make mature decisions
Epidermal reactions are often frowned upon and misunderstood at work.
Reacting impulsively and aggressively has never worked.
I’m an adult, I have to be as professional as possible.
However, I have the right to disagree with my colleagues.
At work I can wear a mask, that’s OK. That doesn’t stop me from being different in my private relationships.
So I’m careful not to mix the two.
9. I’m constantly learning
I’m not the most expert on my team. However, I do have the right to train myself in order to keep up to date.
With my experience, I can provide information from a different angle.
An IT project team is like a soccer team. There are forwards, defenders, the goalkeeper and the captain.
Each with their strengths, each with their weaknesses.
In conclusion
I’ve just shared with you my vision of good team posture in the context of an IT project.
I’ve learned this through 10 years of project experience, but also through human relations.
We’re not machines, and there are days with ups and downs.
You can’t learn the right attitude at work overnight.
I’ve gained experience over the years.
I’ve also paid the price, and little by little, I’ve changed my attitude.
In reality, you don’t have to force yourself, things just happen naturally.
The best thing I can advise you to do is keep this in mind, and when you’re ready, put one of these tips into practice
You probably have other beliefs, and if so share them with me in the comments. I’d love to learn from your experiences too!
If you like my content, you can :
- subscribe to my profile
- subscribe to receive new articles by e-mail
- join the first subscribers to my newsletter
- follow me on Linkedin
