Boost your PR at work

 

“We all have ability. The difference is how we use it.”    ---- Stevie Wonder

Don’t you want people to endorse your actions? Don’t you like to be popular? If yes, you have to promote yourself. You cannot shrink back from it, particularly if you aim to advance in your work and career because your progress is contingent on the impression you create on not only your colleagues and subordinates, but also on your seniors.

Before you actually embark on increasing your PR at work, you need to be clear about the image that you want to portray of yourself. Do you seek to be regarded as a creative thinker or a farsighted individual? Do you want to be talked about as an influential person with leadership qualities? Or do you want your image to be that of a conscientious employee that is high on integrity? Remember that these images will compliment your career objectives and hence you have to do appropriate planning.

The planning referred above implies active participation in goings-on that will provide you apposite publicity. Actions that are warranted are:

·     Let the mantle be on your shoulders:  If you intend to display your leadership qualities, you have to show make known your enterprising skills. You have to take on a role that involves leading from the front. Remember that leadership is practiced not so much in words as in attitude and in actions.

·     Share your knowledge & experience:  It is of no use if you keep your knowledge and experience close to your chest. You need to pass on the benefits to the environment. And there is no better way than to share them with your co-workers and company’s clients. Your company would be publishing a journal – in print or e-format – and you could always contribute articles. Top corporate leaders read such publications and if you write, you will come into limelight for your expertise and automatically increase your PR. 

·     Stand for your organization:  This could be done by taking on inter-department responsibilities or representing your company in external forums. You will get to interact with a wide cross-section of professionals and expand your network. Additionally, you will also gain recognition for your abilities, knowledge and people skills..    

·     Have a mentor and exhorter:  You cannot climb up the success ladder unless you have someone to properly guide you. Therefore, if you have somebody who can project you and your potential, you stand a better chance to be on a firm footing vis-à-vis your capacity and competence.  Having somebody to sing your praises will make things turn out best for you. But you need to select such people with care so that your abilities are positively highlighted.

·     Catalogue your attainments:  When you for your performance appraisal, it is best to carry a list of your attainments with you. You need not blow your own trumpet loudly but a smart and calm way in promoting your capabilities is definitely beneficial. You know exactly what you have done and what you have achieved; and hence sharing the information at an appropriate moment will showcase your capabilities. 

·     Work with devotion & dedication:   All companies have a system of rewards for their employees. Remember that you get the best exposure and publicity if you have outstanding performance to your credit. If you excel at work and surpass your targets, you could be recommended for such awards; needless to say such recommendations by themselves bring you into limelight. And since performance awards are approved by the top management, you are automatically offered an opportunity to place your identification in the eyes of people who matter. You, thus, without any other intervention give a boost to your image.

            To be able to boost your PR, you have to make a difference. In attempting to think about how you can make a big difference, you should ignore the small daily differences you can make which, over time, accrue to big differences that you otherwise cannot anticipate. Remember that you can build your image alright, but maintaining it is a difficult task. In the words of Gore Vidal, “Heroes must see to their own fame. No one else will.”  So you need to think highly of yourself before others do so.