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6 Ways to Advocate for Yourself at Work

Live a while and you will find yourself in a situation at work where things don’t go the way you expect. When these challenges hit, a natural response is to flee or to lose hope. Remember, you don’t have to do either. You have a lot more power than you think when it comes to managing your success in the workplace. If you are intimidated by the thought of advocating for what you need in the workplace, follow the 6 work plays below to advocate for yourself and get the most out of your current work situation.

Play #1. Believe in you and what you bring to the table

The first step in standing up for yourself in the workplace is to believe that you are worthy enough to represent your interests. Start by believing that your skills, abilities, and talents that helped land your current role. When you realize you were enough to get where you are, you’ll be in a much better mindset to move forward and advocate on your behalf.

Play #2. Remember the only one that can read your mind is you

Never assume that anyone knows how to support you or know what’s bugging you – you have to speak up to get the right support. All managers don’t manage the same way and all team mates don’t behave the same. If you are struggling in a particular area at work, and you need feedback and guidance, you have to ask for it.

Play #3. Understand the big picture or ask for it

When things happen in your organization that you don’t understand, know there is usually some history behind the situation that explains why things are the way they are. In order to advocate for yourself, you need to see the situation from the other side’s vantage point. Get organizational context as you assess your situation. If you don’t have that information, take some time to ask a few questions to those who have that perspective.

Play #4. Evaluate the good and bad

Are you unhappy about everything happening in your work situation? Probably not, try not to lose sight of the benefits of every situation. A negative perspective of your situation can quickly overtake the positive aspects. So when you feel like giving up, take stock of both the good and the bad. Most likely, there are benefits worth considering and possibly fighting for.

Play #5. Identify your ask and position your message

When you identify what isn’t working, make a list of your specific work requests. Frame your concerns in a way that show how these issues, when resolved, will help the team, the manager, and the entire organization. By leveraging your talking points this way, you can effectively turn what may sound like complaints into something much more positive for everyone on your team.

Design a conversation with your manager or team member where you can calmly and clearly present your specific talking points. 

1.     Outline your current situations

2.     Share what is going well

3.     Share what you want to see change

4.     Propose a resolution that will make you and your boss more successful

Play #6. Note that resolution doesn’t always come immediately

Resolution doesn’t always come immediately after “the talk” and you may not always get everything you want but after a well-crafted professional conversation you should get a lot more than what you had before the conversation. You should now have a little more idea of the opportunities you have to change your situation and empowered that you made the choice to stand up for you.

Don’t leave your power on the table because you feel frustrated or defeated. Conquer your fears and manage how you receive the type of support you need to be a more valuable team player.

What ways have you used to advocate for yourself at work? Comment below and share your ideas.

3 Ways to Rephrase “No” and Not Get Fired

Even if you pride yourself in being a team player, you may run into a situation where you have to turn an assignment down. Have you ever said, “I don’t have time for this right now,” or “I’m busy right now.” to your boss or colleague?  Ever think about how to reframe these responses so you don’t fall out of favor?

Unfortunately, these two direct responses don’t inspire.  You can be honest but you also want to foster an environment of collaboration.  To build better office relationships, take another approach to saying “no.”

  1. Never start your reply with no. It is helpful to consider responding to a request with a “Yes, and …” format. Never blatantly reject the idea. Always embrace the request and pivot the request in a direction you like better.
  2. Offer an alternative If you are in a situation where it is not possible to do the requested task and meet your current deadlines, you could say: “Sure, I can do that — do you want me prioritize it over this other assignment?”

Or maybe you’re willing to perform the task, but another person may have the flexibility to get it done faster. If so, diplomatically make that suggestion.

Instead of rushing to say no, consider offering your assistance in a different way or at a different time.  Say instead: I’d be happy to discuss this with you after my morning meetings. May I stop by your office around 2 p.m.?”

The point is to be clear and positive — and to offer a realistic picture of potential alternatives.

  1. Focus your response on the right points. If you are feeling overworked, don’t focus the conversation on that aspect. Rather focus on how you want to help solve the issue of being overworked.  Always make sure you emphasize your willingness and ability to help the department. You might even ask for advice about the best way to handle competing deadlines in the future. Either way, minimize discussion of being overworked to avoid coming across as non-collaborative.

Can you think of other ways to tactfully say no and keep favor at work? Comment below and share your ideas.

7 Ways to Banish Professional Overwhelm

If you were to survey a room full of professionals, there wouldn’t be too many who would say they don’t feel overworked or overwhelmed, at least some of the time. Managing our professional and personal lives is a problem we all struggle with. At the end of the day, the only person who is going to keep you from feeling overworked and overwhelmed is you. To pull it off, you must commit to intentionally managing your time so you have a fighting chance of showing up and doing your best work or being your best self. Here are some strategies to rid professional overwhelm and get control of your life.

Play #1: Ground yourself in the present.

Schedule specific times to look ahead and make plans for the future. When you are outside of those preset times, focus on what you are doing in the moment. 

Play #2: Prioritize continuously.

Challenge your daily tasks. Don’t do things because that is what you’ve always done or because it is tradition. Do it because it helps you get closer to your most important goals. Do you need to respond to the email right this second? Do you need to schedule this meeting? Do you need to stay late tonight?  In many cases you don’t, but you do anyway simply because that’s what you’ve always done or you haven’t taken the time to brainstorm alternatives or other options. Remove as many “nice to do” tasks from your routine and you will find more time to focus on tasks that really matter.

Use the Franklin-Covey method of assigning a priority tag to each task:

A—urgent and important

B—important but not urgent

C—urgent but not important

D—not urgent or important

Categorize each task with one of these tags. At the beginning of each day, focus on your A’s first. If you get those done, move to the B’s, then the C’s.

 Play #3: Delete or delegate.

When looking at your to-do list, become comfortable with deleting or delegating tasks that you keep putting off and have no consequence if they do not get completed. Not sure what to delegate? Take a look at the delegation decision map below.

delegationdecisionmap

Play #4: Periodically place your brain on pause.

No one can or should be on 24/7. When your brain runs overtime with thoughts it gets tired just like your body does when you exercise for a long period of time. Switch your thoughts off occasionally. Take a walk. Do a mindless chore. Do some exercise. Do something where your body goes on autopilot. You’ll be surprised how productive and creative you be when you allow your brain to pause. Consider brainstorming a “pleasure list.” A pleasure list consists of activities that make you feel phenomenal when you do them. Here are a few ideas to inspire you:

  •  Catch a weekend matinee movie
  • Take a hot yoga class
  • Make a playlist of your favorite songs
  • Go the beach and read a book
  • Buy a beautiful card and stamps, then write a letter to a friend
  • Buy your favorite magazine and read it cover to cover
  • Browse travel websites and create fantasy itineraries for a future trip
  • Schedule an hour to gab and catch up with a girlfriend
  • Play afternoon catch with the dog

Play #5: Set personal and professional boundaries.

People will not respect your time unless you respect yours first. So, you need to set some boundaries for yourself. Set a time where you will stop working, a specific time where you will go to lunch or take a tea break, certain times you’ll do things with your family, certain times you won’t take calls, etc. Then, let people know those boundaries.

Play #6: Be strategic with saying yes and no.

Always consider the effect of a request on your most important goals. To ensure your yes doesn’t automatically take time away from what you need to get done, consider creating some guidelines by saying, saying, “Yes, but only if…” The same is true with a no response. You can say no but add some stipulations such as “No, but I can…” to make sure the right expectations are set and you don’t deviant from your planned course. 

Play #7: Control your distractions.

The list is endless with the amount of distractions you encounter per hour: phone calls, emails, texts, office drop-ins, etc. Schedule blocks of time when you’ll turn off the distractions. The only way to stay on schedule is to work on your own schedule–not on that of other people.

Make conscious shifts in your daily habits and choices to keep overwhelm from taking you down.

What about you? How do you deal with feelings of overwhelm? Have you tried any of these strategies yourself? Let me know in the comments section below.