How do I succeed in a corporate environment?

[davidv90]

What traits or personalities works best in a corporate environment? Should I kiss ass, be humble, be agressive, be passive, be nice or what?

To me it seems like there's a lot more to climbing rank than just be good at your job.

[scorpio1980]

Why would you want to? The corporate world would be hell to me, having to dress up everyday, acting like a drone, kissing the bosses ass for raises, stressed for deadlines, limited amounts of time off, having to ask permission for said time off, all this to work for a giant greedy corporation, no thanks. Granted not all companies are greedy, but from my experience the vast majority don't seem to care about the employee, nor the customer, everyone is a number with a dollar sign, I am mostly talking the large multinational firms. Not meaning to rant, just had to get that out. If you do desire to "climb this ladder" being extroverted would be the best thing possible, being introverted like me would hate that work enviroment. Show up early, dress sharp, show up to any/all buissness functions, be seen by the boss taking initiative, completing work before it's due. Kissing ass does work, but IMO treating the boss as a peer works much better. Be confident, if the boss is wrong let him know it, and then take initiative and show him how to fix it.

[davidv90]

Originally Posted by scorpio1980

Why would you want to? The corporate world would be hell to me, having to dress up everyday, acting like a drone, kissing the bosses ass for raises, stressed for deadlines, limited amounts of time off, having to ask permission for said time off, all this to work for a giant greedy corporation, no thanks. Granted not all companies are greedy, but from my experience the vast majority don't seem to care about the employee, nor the customer, everyone is a number with a dollar sign, I am mostly talking the large multinational firms. Not meaning to rant, just had to get that out. If you do desire to "climb this ladder" being extroverted would be the best thing possible, being introverted like me would hate that work enviroment. Show up early, dress sharp, show up to any/all buissness functions, be seen by the boss taking initiative, completing work before it's due. Kissing ass does work, but IMO treating the boss as a peer works much better. Be confident, if the boss is wrong let him know it, and then take initiative and show him how to fix it.

so u have your own business now?

[spirit4711]

For a cynical view read The official Dilbert website with Scott Adams' color comic strips, animation, mashups and more!

In most corporations you need to develop political skills next to expertise in your job. Mind you, political skills I mean neutrally!

If you want a career, it helps to decide what your next step on the career ladder will be, and take actions to gradually perform work in that area. Also, recruit and train your successor. If you get a promotion, who will take your place? If you show your boss who can do that, your promotion goes quicker than when there is no one to take your spot.

Example:

You are a team leader. Your boss is a department manager, a job you like to have. So you ask his advice, take over (with his support!) some of his duties, meanwhile spotting in your team a possible successor for you. Also you support your boss to achieve his next step.

Having a career is in PD terms not better or worse than being an entrepreneur. Both can be done aligned with your principles and values, or not.

[ssandra]

I would say be yourself is the only way to go.

Anything else will cause you a burnout in the future.

This doesn't mean that there are certain traits you can develop or certain traits that you might not want to express while at work.

For example, things you do not want to express is your love for sexist joke or dumb blond jokes.. those are a bit frowned upon (unless you know your co-worker very well, and you know it is ok).

Things you might want to develop is being political, saying things in a way that don't offend people and standing up for yourself

Contrary to popular believe here in the forum, I believe that if you really want to make it for yourself in a corporate environment, you have to learn how to stand up for yourself in a way that is not complaining or sounding entitled.

Another thing you might want to develop is self-confidence. Not being afraid to speak up when you have a good idea.

Work on your stubbornness. Although it can be a good thing, it can also be too much. Find the middle ground, where you can admit when you made a mistake.


You see, not so different from any other thing you do to make a living.

[Curtis2011]

Originally Posted by davidv90

What traits or personalities works best in a corporate environment? Should I kiss ass, be humble, be agressive, be passive, be nice or what?

To me it seems like there's a lot more to climbing rank than just be good at your job.

First off, you need to find a good company that is the type that rewards good performers, and is able to recognize them to begin with.

A Vice President of something at Hewitt (car sales place) spoke to my business class, and he told us the #1 thing we should do is find a company that fits with our values. He says that their company will actually operate without enough employees if they can't hire people fast enough, rather than hire new employees that don't fit the values they need in their company. So find a company whose integrity fits with yours.

Aside from that, be a proactive do-er. If you finish a task early, go and find your boss and ask him what there is to do next, rather than just wait around for someone to tell you what to do. If you picked the right type of company, your value will be clear as a proactive person who gets things done fast and right, and you'll be promoted/rewarded for it. (if you aren't rewarded for it, you might want to find a new company)

I would guess that every SEO's tale begins with a story of years of hard work beforehand.

[CoolBee]

CoolBee's somewhat cynical look at the corporate world:

If you want to play politics subtley:

If you don't smoke, and there's an 'outside smokers group' who meet together in a windswept car park - JOIN IT - go out for 'fresh air' or whatever excuse. In my experience this is the most powerful network in any corporate company uniting the postboy who is in and out of every department with the CEO or other senior board members. As a non-smoker it took me quite a while to realise this. As a smoker having difficulty giving up, you may unconsciously realise this and sabotaging efforts to quit.

Try and identify what constitutes 'team player'. Depending on your country and other values - in corporate Britain not going out for the Thursday / Friday evening drinking binge alienates you. Here, I know people who are forcing themselves to smoke shisha several evenings a week because the evening sit round a shisha is where all the important stuff is decided.

Creativity and innovation is NOT admired unless someone being paid a £squilliion by the Board do it. TEAMWORK is all important - ie no 'tall poppies' no 'independent thinking' no room for those very good at their job who don't say good morning and take a turn at making the tea. (Had one of those work for me once, it did cause problems - he was extremely good at his job - what I was paying him for, but his total lack of social skills affected the team - frankly I didn't give 2p whether he said good morning or not, but everyone else did so I had to take it on board and attempt to deal with it. Not too easy I can tell you! In the end I said 'offer to make tea 3 times a week whether you understand the reasons or not' so he put it in his diary 3 times a week along with things like 'remember to ask X whether they had a nice weekend'. Used to make me cry to see him ticking his 'how to be a teamplayer' check list off.

If you have information, the Board would rather pay £50k to a 'consultant' to come get the info out of you and type it out nicely than have you give it to them. As an employee you are naturally not as gifted as someone more expensive. This happened to me about 15 years ago - the Board of the company I was with paid £50k to a firm of consultants who came over to my office for a day, interviewed me for several hours and took all my data away on a disc. When I realised what was going on, I said to one of the Board members, you know, you could have had the info off me for the price of a disc and a few hours of my time. "Yes, but noone would have believed it because you work for us" was the answer! EVEN when they had paid for you to go get qualified in something, you got one of two distinctions in the entire class and the consultants were using people from the same course who barely scraped a pass!

And understand this: everyone is absolutely terrified of telling the CEO the truth about what is going on.

I saw a brilliant cartoon once.

The man at the bottom says "it's s**t"
His boss says "it's manure"
His boss says "it's fertilizer"
His boss tells the man at the top "it's all growing well"

so you tell your boss something critical and slightly modified versions climb up the tree until what hits the CEO is rubbish.
If you are truly concerned about something, tell the CEO yourself (and be prepared to be fired).

[Margarita888]

Ditto what Curtis2011 said. Find a good company first. Each company has their own set of value systems. There are some where a lot of ass-kissing and being a 'yes-man' can get you a long way. But I think that in today's economy where a lot of companies are downsizing down to their bare minimums, you really have to bring your A-game & show/prove your indispensability. In my company, it's never been enough just to show up for work. I can see through the BS & complacency too easily. Be proactive, think 2 steps ahead of your superiors. Think how you can make their jobs easier & certainly be productive with your time. If you're in the right company, they will value any input you may have to make the company better/more profitable. Show that you're willing to go the extra mile without the extra pay.

Ultimately though, you really have to enjoy working where you are or everything I've said will just take a toll on you.

[CoolBee]

Well I have just been reviewing a load of templates aimed at businesses and I can tell you what you need now:

Suit, arms crossed in front of you, stern look
Eye glasses, not on but being tapped lightly while head is adjusted to one side and looking into the distance
You need to hang around outside tall office blocks so people can look up your nose while you are photographed staring in to the middle distance or shaking hands with another guy / gal whose nose you can see up
Lots of calculators and pencils and folded back report covers to point at either with your spectacles or pencils.

[rhoeda]

To be the best you can be is all that really counts.

[aelle]

I second Ssandra and Curtis's advice. Be yourself first, find or mold an environment that supports who you are.

[danthony]

Originally Posted by davidv90

What traits or personalities works best in a corporate environment? Should I kiss ass, be humble, be agressive, be passive, be nice or what?

To me it seems like there's a lot more to climbing rank than just be good at your job.

I would say to not be too passive and take it one day at a time. Making an end goal in sight really helps with this. Where would you like to see yourself in a year, 5 years, or even 10? Would this make you happy? Learn to definitely be a team player as well as a go to person. Someone that gets things done. Those that have this attitude, is the one's that get to the top the fastest. Those that don't, sit back and get passed over, complain or even worse. You can learn to like or even love your job but it does take time once you align your goals properly. The smartest people use their corporate experience to eventually launch their own business and build relationships and not merely 'exist'.

[Curtis2011]

Dodge the poop until you are the one at the top.

[rhoeda]

..Thats when being the best that you can be counts.
I've been there.
There was something satisfying in seeing a top executive squirm and be out-manouverd in his own game.I just had to be one step ahead of his game.

[StacyT]

Originally Posted by CoolBee

Well I have just been reviewing a load of templates aimed at businesses and I can tell you what you need now:

Suit, arms crossed in front of you, stern look
Eye glasses, not on but being tapped lightly while head is adjusted to one side and looking into the distance
You need to hang around outside tall office blocks so people can look up your nose while you are photographed staring in to the middle distance or shaking hands with another guy / gal whose nose you can see up
Lots of calculators and pencils and folded back report covers to point at either with your spectacles or pencils.

OMG CoolBee - I love you, you are too funny!!

[CoolBee]

Why thank you Stacy - I aim to please.

[stavrosbezas]

Originally Posted by davidv90

What traits or personalities works best in a corporate environment? Should I kiss ass, be humble, be agressive, be passive, be nice or what?

To me it seems like there's a lot more to climbing rank than just be good at your job.

I am a strong advocate for being yourself and focus on building out your personal brand in your corporate environment. If you build yourself out to be just like the rest of the pack, you will get lost in the pack. Those who stand out, with good cause, will advance quickly and generally will have a higher sense of job satisfaction.

As for personality, as long as this is yourself, be all of the above. Be humble when it's appropriate, kiss ass when it is the right time and push when it's necessary. This post sounds more like you are grappling with finding your own identity rather than what 'works' in a corporate environment. Spend a lot of time on introspection and learn who you are, and then focus your energy on making that person do great things for your company.

[davidv90]

Originally Posted by Curtis2011

Dodge the poop until you are the one at the top.

epic. I've never pictured it like that before. hahahhah. I'm gonna go to sleep happy tonight. Thanks!

At my last job, I think I got screwed. I was laid off about a year ago and I felt like the reason why it happened is because of my personality. I'm shy and humble and thus I really don't like to showboat my skills. Because of this, the upper management didn't see any values in me. I also didn't make any attempts to kiss any asses so that made it worst . I'm surprised my boss didn't get laid off. I caught him browsing for porn a couple of times. haha