How One Mistake Can Ruin Your Career
Have you ever thought of the repercussions of your actions in professional settings? Katy didn’t, and it cost her a promotion.
Meet Katy, a 23-year-old brilliant fresh graduate who has just secured her position as a junior associate at a big company. Her objective is to climb the corporate ladder and be the best junior analyst the company has ever seen. To do that, she sets SMART goals for herself and discusses them with her manager to be aligned with the mission and the vision of her team’s scope. And on she goes! Katy focuses mostly on improving the metrics she owns by working on as many projects as she can fit into her schedule. She pours her heart and soul into every initiative she undertakes, she stays later than everybody and comes earlier than most. Katy is determined to get her promotion!
One day, Katy needs crucial data from a senior manager in the reporting team to advance her deep dive. However, the manager repeatedly dismisses her requests and deprioritizes her needs. Despite her persistent messages, she receives no response.
As the deadline approaches, Katy’s frustration grows exponentially. How could she, the top performer, miss a deadline?! Plus it was not even her fault! Unable to remain calm, she lashes out at the senior manager, criticizing their lack of support and labeling them as useless.
Not only does this incident ruin her ability to collaborate with a critical department from which she needs important data, but it also jeopardizes her chances of climbing the corporate ladder. The senior manager that Katy lashed out at is a key stakeholder whose input is crucial for advancing young associates to senior positions. Moreover, he is widely respected within the company, with his insights carrying significant weight with leadership.
As a result of this incident, all that work went down the drain. Stakeholder feedback is important when making promotion decisions. Katy couldn’t move up to an advanced role despite her stunning performance; all because of that incident.
Katy is you, Katy is me, Katy is everybody.
Your attitude determines your altitude.
You will not go through your corporate journey without some sort of conflict in the workplace. Toxic managers, uncooperative departments, or unbearable colleagues, you will have to deal with it whether you like it or not. Handling conflict at work is an art to be mastered. Only the smartest advance faster. Communication is your best friend. Yes, there are going to be tons of obnoxious people that you will have to collaborate with. You’re either going to sink or swim depending on how you deal with them.
Why is this important?
#1 — Dependencies
If you work closely with different departments, their work might be an input to your output. Your whole performance, projects, and deliveries will depend not only on their input but also on the quality of the latter. If your relationship with said department is not the best, a) they are not going to prioritize you when you need them b) they might not provide you with the best insights. However, if you manage to build a robust, good relationship with them, that nightmare disappears and you are able to work smoothly on your projects.
#2 — You never know who you’re dealing with
The stick you underestimate is the one that blinds you. Never underestimate anybody at work. Everyone you work with brings a unique value to the company. Also, you never know who knows who. Because of one specific conflict, your reputation might be ruined; that can cause you to lose credibility. Building trust with stakeholders will become a lot harder for you because they will have preconceived ideas about the kind of person you are. Consequently, you might be overlooked, dismissed, and disregarded when opportunities pop-up. Do your best to keep your image and relationships as clean as you possibly can.
#3 — It’s just a job
Sometimes, we care so much about the work that we are doing that we can do crazy things to be on top. Some people do not hesitate to bad-mouth or sabotage the work of their colleagues. Some people might get a little bit more hostile and gatekeep information because they’re scared of being outperformed. For what? A few more dollars in the bank? A status? Is it really worth it? Of course not. Do not lose your dignity trying to be the best by stepping on other people just to prove that you’re tough. At the end of the day, if you’re in the corporate world, chances are you are probably just saving PDFs, not lives. Conflicts are really not worth it.
Does this mean you become a doormat and let people walk all over you?
Of course not. You need to find a balance.
In the case of Katy, after 2 strikes of the senior manager not responding, she should have simply started an email thread with her supervisor in CC. If the senior manager still does not answer, either let her own supervisor take it over or CC the senior manager’s leadership asking for updates.
Easy, clean, elegant.
Find below a few tips & tricks that can help you:
- If a stakeholder is failing to deliver: A. Try to settle it in private B. If the first option fails, escalate.
- If a stakeholder is disrespecting you in a large setting: A. Call them out. B. If the first option fails, drop from the call and escalate to HR.
- If a stakeholder is trying to dismiss your work for whatever reason: A. Make sure you push back with viable data; this is where your knowledge and expertise play a big role. Be confident in what you are saying. Have backbone and disagree. It could be that they just do not understand your insights. B. If the first option fails, take the conversation offline and involve your manager if necessary.
- Do not take things personally. A stakeholder pushing back does not necessarily mean that they have something against you. They may simply need more clarification.
- Keep things strictly professional no matter what level of disrespect comes at you. At worst, leave the conversation.
- Have allies that can support you.
- Do not take kindness for weakness. Being kind could open doors for you.
A common mistake that fresh graduates make when they just enter the job market is saying “Yes” to almost everything people request from them. BIG MISTAKE. The second you start saying yes to everything, it is just going to keep piling up. You’re not an independent contractor. You’re an employee. Your compensation is not a factor of the amount of projects you take in. Pick your battles carefully.
That is why, if you’re embracing the corporate lifestyle, you need to filter, prioritize, and push back. Pushing back is not synonym of conflict. Everything is a negotiation. Negotiate with your stakeholders on a common ground. Have backbone, disagree, and commit if necessary.
For every conflict you face at your workplace; be self-aware of your actions, and the consequences of them. Before reacting, perform a small pre-mortem analysis to weight in the pros and cons. On the bright side, any conflict that you’re facing is forcing you to become better at handling difficult situations.
Last but not least, stay authentic to yourself, and build a brand you would be proud of!
What about you? How do you handle conflict in the workplace?
