Top 10 Tips for Claiming the Corner Office

Editor’s Note:  Dr. Lois P. Frankel is the President of Corporate Coaching International , an executive coach, speaker, and best-selling author.  She has just released an updated and revised 10th anniversary edition of her book Nice Girls Don’t Get The Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers.  In it she reveals a distinctive set of behaviors that women learn in girlhood that ultimately sabotage them as adults and discusses how to eliminate those behaviors.  Today, she has shared her Top 10 tips with us.  Some you may agree with, some you may not.  Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Top 10 Tips For Claiming the Corner Office

1.      Body Art: Don’t get a tattoo or an unusual body piercing if you’d had even one drink, toke, or snort.  You’ll be likely to regret it.  Similarly, don’t be goaded into getting one by your sorority sisters, girlfriends, or someone you’re dating who thinks they’re hot.

2.      Communication:  Resist the urge that screams incomplete when you don’t say everything that’s on your mind.  Women, fearing they haven’t explained well enough, can use about twice as many words per day than men (and then wonder why they’re not listened to).  We think when we talk more, we make a better case – when in fact the opposite is true.  This is a case where less is more.

3.      Inappropriate Use of Social Media:  Once you post something on the internet, getting it off is like trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.  You have no control over where it goes.  Play it safe.  Put nothing on the internet that could cause someone to doubt your values, your brand, or your reputation. 

4.      Giving Away Your Ideas:  Get in the habit of asking a question after expressing an idea or making a proposal.  Something like, “Are there any objections to immediately getting to work on this?” is ideal.  This increases the likelihood of acknowledgement and discussion.

 5.      Feeding Others:  Unless your name is Betty Crocker, don’t bring food to work or have it sitting on your desk.  It softens the impression others have of you.  Of course if it needs softening because you’re a tough broad, it could be a good strategy!

 6.      Skipping Meetings:  If you think meetings are just a big waste of time, think again.  They’re called “meet-ings” not “work-ings.”  Even when a meeting seems unproductive, it provides you with the opportunity to market you brand, get information, and be on the radar screens of those who making decisions about your career.

 7.      Being a Doormat:  Pablo Picasso said, “There are only two types of women – goddesses and doormats.”  Avoid being the latter by learning to manage expectations about what you can and can’t realistically do (take a negotiations class if you have to), asking for what you want or need rather than waiting to be given it, and trusting your instincts.  If you think you’re being taken advantage of or abused, you likely are.

 8.      Protecting Jerks:  Women are like jerk flypaper.  Not only do we attract them more than men do, we tolerate them longer than we should.   Consciously distance yourself from jerks (and jerks can be men or women) so that you’re not found guilty by association, when you get blamed for the actions of a jerk re-direct the blame to where it belongs, and when the jerk is your boss it’s time to look for another job.  You won’t change a jerk, so protect yourself.

 9.      Making Miracles:  Miracle workers get canonized not recognized.  In every organization there’s a baseline for hard work that everyone is expected to toe.  If you consistently work beyond the baseline you’ll be seen as a worker-bee and just be given more work to do.  Learn to not only do your job well, but also be strategic in how it gets done so that you’re seen as more than just a worker-bee.  Use all the extra “free” time on your hands to build relationships that will serve you throughout your career.

 10.  Branding: We are all brands in the workplace.  It’s what distinguishes you from everyone else.  Write down 3 – 5 words you want people to use to describe you.  Then identify the behaviors in which you must engage for others to actually see those traits.  When you act in concert with your brand, people will come to trust you.