Before You Speak Up

I believe you can ignite your professional success when you boldly speak up.  But, no matter how incredible your presentation, product or proposition is, before you can get a seat at the table, your professional reputation has to get you through the door.

No one has to listen to you.  There may be some people who don’t have a choice but to hear you, but to truly listen, that’s their decision.  So whether you want a promotion at work, the chance to get in front of a prospective customer, or maybe you really just want the people around you to value your thoughts, before you speak up, make sure you’ve created a reputation that will earn you a seat at the table.  If you don’t, your bold ‘ask’ will most likely fall on deaf ears.

Reputation

I’m not all about Taylor Swift, but do you remember her song End Game?

Toward the end of the song she says ‘reputation precedes me’.  She hit the nail on the head with that phrase.  Before you ever get a chance to speak up for yourself, people are already going to have an opinion about you.

Should other people’s opinion of you matter?  Absolutely.

Why?  Their opinion of you matters because it drives how they treat you.

 

It Didn’t Work

I heard a story recently about an employee who wanted a raise.

If you’ve heard me speak before, then you know I believe you should speak up and ask for what you want to get what you want (I wrote a short blog on that, too: Ask for Opportunity).  

The employee did just that, he spoke up and asked for what he wanted. 

What happened? 

He didn’t get it.