Surviving and succeeding in the corporate world becomes challenging for every individual at some point and time in their lives. From the moment a person enters the corporate life, he/she has to tackle and cope up with a lot of challenges of the professional world. It takes a lot of effort for them to adjust to the environment as well as with the people coming from different mindsets. There are a lot of traits and characteristics that can help a person succeed such as having a clear vision, creativity, innovation in thoughts, and ability to express themselves well, etc. Employers all around the world value and respect all these traits a lot especially when it comes to people skills, ability to mingle in the network, and leveraging over influence.
People moving over to a different culture face a lot of challenges as well. Moreover. Fresh grad students, who were raised with a lot of pampering from their parents' side, have a very hard time adjusting to the cutthroat cultures of the corporate world. No matter if we want to accept this fact or not, the corporate world id the most real of them all and that is exactly where we spend most of our awake time. Here are a few proven lessons followed down by experienced professionals that a person needs to have in their bag in order to succeed in the harsh corporate world:
a. Your Evaluation/Performance Ratings are What Make You worth to the Firm:
Experts say that a person is as good as their last/latest appraisal. It does not matter if you used to be or have been the top performer for years, if you are not performing just as good today, you are not worth anymore to the company.
b. People Love You Only When They Need Something From You
You would never believe yourself when the people who you spend your days with and who claim to be your best friends in the world would not even want to say a mere “Hi” as soon as your designation changes or you get promoted. In the corporate world, people will be sincere with you as long as you have an influence in the firm or they need something from you after that you would seize to even exist for them.
c. Promotions are never Performance-Based But Based On the Perception of Your Performance:
No matter how hard you work, if your boss does not think you are working hard you are doomed anyway. You are as good as your employer and boss think you are. If you cannot prove your potential to your boss, no matter if you work a hundred hours a week you would be denied any chance to excel. Your hard work and the quality of your work need to be perceived well by your bosses.
d. Take the Right Opportunity at the Right Time:
We have all come across that one person who was on our team with us and produced mediocre results but still got promoted before anyone else would. That is because he/she knew when to slide in and get credit for the work at the right time by getting a job done. Sometimes, it is not just your boss that will play a role in promoting you, you need to make a network of your own among the influential people and the leaders of the company.
e. Stars Make Mistakes That are Forgiven Easily:
Now, this is a huge one. When you are the company's star performer, your mistakes are often overlooked as a compensation for all the good work you do for the company. Some of us make mistakes and get fired immediately for it while others make mistakes and get away with them only because they are the highest performers and are worth a lot more.
In a nutshell, it becomes very important for a striving employee to be careful about these little things and stay on the lookout for the things that can prove to be harmful to their careers at the firm just as Sherif Dweek says in his book, 30 Leadership Tips to Thrive in Corporate America (978-1951630904), that how leaders and bosses behave in the corporate world in America. At the end of the day, performance and people skills both matter a lot and one should learn to find a balance between both in order to succeed.
Author Bio:
Sherif Dweek is an Operations Executive and business analyst that develops strategies and agendas for struggling as well as emerging business ventures. He writes and strives to empower teams to achieve a high level of performance and success.
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