6 positive ways to stand out in the workplace
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One of the most frequent questions I’m asked is how to stand out from the crowd at work. With that in mind I wanted to share six easy ways you can raise your profile without annoying your colleagues!
- Make a habit of introducing yourself. Whenever you walk into a meeting, go up to someone you don’t know and introduce yourself. People with the confidence to do this stand out. Work out a few questions to ask to get to know people, and you’ll quickly boost your visibility.
- Sit next to new people. As an extension of tip one, if there’s an opportunity to sit next to new people at a meeting, a talk, at lunch, on a training course – you should take it. Often the shared experience creates an opportunity to build a relationship. Not only does this again demonstrate your confidence, but it’s also a great way to show senior managers you take an interest in other people and have the skills to develop a widespread network. If you can show that, it will be noted.
- Be first to act. If you’ve heard someone ask for a volunteer, or open the floor for questions after a presentation, you’ve likely experienced the awkward silence that follows. But by being the person to stand up and volunteer to be the one at the flipchart or taking the action points, or by having a question ready to start the ball rolling, you show you’re willing to get into action when the structured part of the meeting stops – something senior managers equate with leadership ability and the ability to make a career leap successfully.
- Put items on the team agenda. Make a habit of going to your manager with items for discussion, that you feel could move the team forward. By taking the lead at part of the meeting, and making progress on an item, you are showing that you are not just a passive follower, but are a useful lieutenant, helping to lead the team. Putting items on the agenda is a great way to demonstrate you’re thinking about the future, capable of planning for the business, and that you see things in terms of the whole team and not just yourself.
- Send people useful information. If you do any reading and come across a useful article, send it to colleagues who would be interested – “I saw this and thought of you”. This conveys that you have noticed what people are interested in, and it also showcases your own ability to keep in touch with what is going on in your sector, business, or profession. Try to keep the passing on of “office funnies” to a minimum however! If you are seen to be passing on too much frivolous content, you may find people stop taking you seriously.
- Don’t wear camouflage. Take a good look at the message your clothes are sending. Are you ‘playing safe’ by wearing traditional office wear designed entirely to blend in and be ‘average’ rather than stand out? What would show that you have the confidence to be noticeable? This can be easier for women, who can opt for a bright scarf or red jacket! For men, think about whether you need to look better groomed and have immaculate presentation, and how you use the tie/shirt/suit contrasts. What action could you take to stand out from the crowd?