Communication

You’ve seen them – the brown nosers, sweet talkers, bootlickers, goody two-shoes, kiss ass, suck ups, yes-men, and the like!

How can they live with themselves? How come your boss doesn’t see through them?

This morning I wondered about that very thing while my husband brought me breakfast in bed. Kidding!

Recently I had a conversation with some friends about brownnosers in their office. They talked about favoritism, stupid people getting promoted, and people getting thrown under the bus. We could all relate – been there, been burned by that.

Then just this week I found a website praising the skills of brownnosers. Yes, that’s right – praising the skills of brownnosers. That got my attention.

A Website for Brownnosers – Really?

The website, Brownnosing 101, was created by Linda Teza, corporate refugee, and currently writer and professor. Linda had an interesting perspective that I hadn’t considered: brownnosers are simply using some fundamental business skills – visibility, positioning, networking and connecting.

What is it we despise so much about brownnosers? It’s what I perceive as their motivation that bothers me: self-serving, competition, superficial, manipulation.

I certainly don’t want to imitate those types of behaviors, but I’m open-minded enough to know that I can learn from anyone – even if it’s what not to do.

Brownnosing Skill for Your Career Development Planning – Visibility

When it comes to career development planning, being skilled at visibility is critical. In my experience, it’s something almost everyone struggles with. People know they need to be visible, but they aren’t sure how to do it in a way that feels authentic and not slimy.

I’ve had many conversations with my clients about visibility. Here’s a sample of them below. How would you answer these questions?

• How often do you meet with your manager, engaging her/him in your vision and strategies … not talking about tactics? What I hear from the executives I work with is that too many of their employees want to talk about details.

Leaders don’t need the details; they’re more interested in your ideas, vision, and strategies. You figure out the details.

• How often do you speak up in meetings? I know some people are just naturally quiet or like to process their thoughts internally, but I continue to hear people say their managers want them to speak up in meetings.

Don’t sit there all smug saying, “Well, I would talk, but you can’t get a word in edgewise with Diane in the meeting.” Try writing down an idea, suggestion, or perspective while others are talking. Then find a way to say it – even if you have to interrupt with something like, “Pardon me, Diane. I have an idea I’d like to share with the group. May I jump in here”?

• When you’re at a networking event, what is the quality of your conversation? Are you looking for ways of connecting to people on a personal level? Or are you just talking business, keeping the conversation superficial? Your products and services don’t differentiate you from others, who you are will.

And speaking of networking, how do you follow up with people? Something I learned in business development was to send an email or note after the meeting to recap the salient points of the meeting and thank the person for their time. That extra step is a big one.

• How do you talk about what you do well? Whether you’re interviewing for a job/role, discussing your performance, pitching a product or service, or running for office, you have to talk about yourself.

A huge roadblock I see people struggle with is they either go on and on, or they don’t say enough. I’ve even heard people say, “Well they should know what I do well. I work 10 hours a day.” NOT!

• Think about who is in your inner circle – people you go to lunch or dinner with, people you go to a game with, people at your church or club, people in your industry. How wide is that circle? Are you only hanging out with people like you? If you are, you’re missing out.

When it comes to your career, it’s important to be connected to a diverse group of people from all walks of life and all levels. When you do, your life is enriched, your perspective expands, and many times you get free informal mentoring.

You don’t have to get run over or pushed aside by the brownnosers in your office, group, or family (yeah, they exist in families too). You can learn these skills too and not be the one everyone wants to be run over by a bus on the way to work!

When you think about career development planning, what have you found to be helpful with visibility? What has challenged you?

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