Win at Work: Navigate the Nasties, Get Things Done and Get Ahead

193 Pages·2010·1.28 MB·English

by  Shaun Belding

WIN AT
WORK
Navigate the nasties,
get things done and get ahead
SHAUN BELDING
Publisher’s note
Every possible effort has been made to ensure that the information contained
in this book is accurate at the time of going to press, and the publishers and
authors cannot accept responsibility for any errors or omissions, however
caused. No responsibility for loss or damage occasioned to any person acting,
or refraining from action, as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by the editor, the publisher or any of the authors.
First published in Great Britain and the United States in 2010 by Kogan Page
Limited
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or
criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents
Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted,
in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the
publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the
terms and licences issued by the CLA. Enquiries concerning reproduction
outside these terms should be sent to the publishers at the undermentioned
addresses:
120 Pentonville Road 525 South 4th Street, #241 4737/23 Ansari Road
London N1 9JN Philadelphia PA 19147 Daryaganj
United Kingdom USA New Delhi 110002
www.koganpage.com India
© Shaun Belding, 2010
The right of Shaun Belding to be identified as the author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988.
ISBN 978 0 7494 5711 2
E-ISBN 978 0 7494 5914 7
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Belding, Shaun.
Win at work : navigate the nasties, get things done, and get ahead / Shaun
Belding.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 878-0-7494-5711-2 -- ISBN 978-0-7494-5914-7 (ebk) 1. Success in
business. 2. Career development. 3. Employability. I. Title.
HF5386.B367 2010
650.14--dc22
2009048335
Typeset by Jean Cussons Typesetting, Diss, Norfolk
Printed and bound in India by Replika Press Pvt Ltd
Contents
About the author vii
Introduction 1
Part 1: The winning attitude 3
1 Winning attitude characteristic 1: The positive attitude 7
The three traits of a positive attitude 7; Attitude check 11
2 Winning attitude characteristic 2: Understanding yourself 13
and what’s important
Know your priorities 15; Put things into perspective 17;
Integrity check 17; Your internal devil’s advocate 20
3 Winning attitude characteristic 3: Believing 23
Accept responsibility 24; Personal power and the blame
game 26; Opportunity is everywhere 28
4 Winning attitude characteristic 4: Continuous 31
improvement
Wisdom is everywhere 33
5 Winning attitude characteristic 5: Passion 35
iv  Contents
Part 2: Achievement and success 39
Beginning the journey 39; What success isn’t 40;
Aligning personal success with business success 42
6 Your 100-day plan 45
Set a goal 46; Create a map 47; Set a timeline 48;
Take action 49
7 Your winning personal image 51
1. Position yourself 53; 2. Live it 55; 3. Be
consistent 56
8 Earning respect 57
1. Be respectful 59; 2. Be good at what you do 59;
3. Be a ‘go-to’ person 60
9 Surround yourself with good people 61
10 Action is louder than words 63
The pleasure and pain of procrastination 64; Group
procrastination 67
11 The power of patience 71
12 The power of focus 75
Beware the rat race 76
Part 3: Winning in the workplace 79
13 The myths of workplace success 81
Myth #1: Look out for number one 82; Myth #2: Crazy
hours lead to success 84; Myth #3: No time for time
management 85; Myth #4: I’m multi-tasking 89
14 Be a champion of change 91
15 Big picture, little picture 95
Contents  v
16 The line (and how not to cross it) 101
1. In conversation, wait for other people to introduce
topics 102; 2. Listen more than you talk 103; 3.
Focus on facts and avoid your opinions 103; 4. Avoid
alcohol 103; 5. Use humour carefully 104
17 Ten important etiquette tips 105
Behaviour and workplace etiquette 106; E-mail and
telephone etiquette 107
18 Political correctness 109
19 Being a good team player 113
1. Focused on the goal 114; 2. Aware of others 114;
3. Puts the team first 114; 4. Competent 114; 5. Positive 115
20 Rules for building better workplace relationships 117
Be a rock 117; Lighten up 118; ‘If you can’t say something
nice…’ 118; Celebrate the success of others 119; Win with
grace 120; Make a difference 121
Part 4: Winning with people 123
The one immutable secret to connecting with people 124
21 First impressions 127
Five rules for making good first impressions 128; When
you’re hot, you’re hot 133
22 Outward focus 135
Charisma factor 135
23 Two big hot buttons 139
1. Listen 139; 2. Praise 142
24 Cold buttons 145
One-upmanship 146; Remaining expressionless 146;
Correcting people 146; Lack of interest 147; Lack of
effort 147; Lack of humour 147; Being opinionated 147
vi  Contents
25 The way of words 149
1. ‘Excellent’, ‘Outstanding’, ‘Brilliant’ 151; 2. ‘Absolutely’,
‘Of course!’, ‘It would be my pleasure’ 151; 3. ‘I want to
get this right for you’ 151; 4. Speak in sandwiches 152;
5. Words of empathy 152
26 Networking 155
1. Connect people 156; 2. Laugh 157; 3. Be a source of
information 157; 4. Be involved 157; 5. Remember 157;
6. Be a mentor 158; 7. Be there for the ‘little people’ 159;
Social networking 160
Part 5: Dealing with stress and difficult people 163
27 Difficult situations and people 165
First Response 166; Confirm, Clarify and Continue 168;
Feel, Felt and Found 172; Say No Nicely 172; Change
your priorities 174
28 All stressed up and nowhere to go 177
1. Put things into perspective 178; 2. Focus on what is
going well – not what is stressful 178; 3. Identify your
cold buttons 178; 4. Focus on the issue 179; 5. Create
a ranking system 179; 6. Create a new morning routine 179
Conclusion 181
About the author
Shaun Belding is the CEO of The Belding Group of Companies,
a performance development company with three divisions that
include customer service training, mystery shopping and
employee performance measurement. Shaun speaks interna-
tionally, and is recognized as one of the leading global experts
on customer service, service recovery and building positive
workplaces.
You can subscribe to Shaun’s weekly newsletter Winning at
Work! by visiting http://www.beldingskills.com/winning-at-
work.htm. You can find out more about his speaking availabil-
ities by e-mailing [email protected].
To Margo and Cory
The best part of your journey is just beginning.
Enjoy the ride!
Introduction
Don’t let successful people intimidate you. Let them teach you
There was a small manufacturing company in Southampton,
England that had been going through some tough times. Reve-
nues were down almost 30 per cent, and every department was
feeling the pinch. Jonas, a 24-year-old salesman who had just
been called into the president’s office, wasn’t expecting good
news. He was the youngest and least experienced of the four-
person sales support team – five-person, if you count the
manager who had been laid off two months previously.
Five minutes later, Jonas left the office in shock. Not because he
had been let go, but because the president informed him that as
of that day, he would be the only one left. They’d had to make
some very tough decisions, he’d been told, and could afford
only one person in the department. They had felt that he was the
one who could best find ways to make a difference during this
tough period. His modest salary increased by £10,000.