Underrated Career Skills

I recently ran across a meme on LinkedIn by a man named Dave Kline. He listed four underrated career skills and it really hit home for me because it listed some subtle traits that I have found to be helpful in my career. It also reinforced a lot of what I have preached about being an effective team member. So with his help, let’s explore those career skills and maybe throw in a couple of our own.

Raise the energy in the room: Be a positive force and put yourself out there. Walk in the room like you know everybody. Even if you disagree, make each interaction productive and purposeful. While it is easy to find fault or put people down, expend the energy to lift people up. There is a great Maya Angelou quote that touches on this: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Be enjoyable to work with: Make people look forward to being around you. Be someone that focuses on solving problems, rather than complaining about them. Don’t get caught up in the drama, and do not create drama. While it can be helpful to be a devil’s advocate, people would much rather be around a Tigger, than an Eeyore. Make things fun.

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Keep your commitments: Focus on execution rather than making excuses. Don’t overpromise and underdeliver. Be the person your leaders and team know will deliver in the end. Trust is the foundation of all relationships. In the workplace, trust is like gold. Once you have it, you never want to lose it or give it up.

Lead regardless of title: I call this using implied leadership. You do not need to have a title to make things happen. One of the best things that happened to me was owning a business early in my career. Ever since then, I treat every job like I am an owner and make my decisions through that lens. Take initiative and make things happen. You will be surprised how people will start to look at you differently.

Be present: In today’s world, there are many distractions, and we are encouraged to multitask. When you are meeting with people, set your phone down and focus your attention on the person who is talking. Turn on your camera on a video call. When it is off, we all know that you are doing something else and not paying attention. Show interest in what they are saying, and don’t think about what you are going to say next while they are talking.

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Respect people’s time: Don’t schedule a meeting if it can be handled with a quick conversation. End meetings early once you have accomplished what you set out to do. Don’t hold everyone up because you still have time on the clock. Don’t bore people with a huge PowerPoint or spend the first 10 minutes of a meeting going over what you are going to be talking about in the meeting. Ask kindly for the information you need. Don’t ask for a bunch of extra information because maybe it would be nice to have. Find a way to simplify a process. How many of us have filled out multiple forms at a doctor’s office where they ask you for your name and all of your detailed personal information over and over on every form? Why can’t they use it from the first form and just tie it to your name on every other form?

Communicate in the most personal way available: A text is more personal than an email, a call is better than a text, and an in-person conversation is always the most effective way to connect with another individual.

What other underrated career skills are you aware of? Send me your thoughts to russ.kathrein@icloud.com. Maybe we will get enough ideas to put together Chapter 2 of Underrated Career Skills.

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