Truth, Coworkers, and Credentials

Anonymous-
Thank fricken *.deity that I’m the #1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10 results that Google pulls up. All that loot I’m paying Larry and Serge to keep it that way is payin’ off!
It’s funny, because if I worked for most corporations, I think you’d probably be spot on. Actually, not only do my coworkers read my blog, they account for nearly 20 percent of the traffic on any given weekday (stat counters are grand, eh?). Now, if only I could get the bastids to sign up to my RSS feed so I’d count them as “regulars,” I’d be in business.
First, I follow the blogging policies my company has laid out. I never mention the company name. I rarely mention even which industry I’m in. If you review my posts, I keep my work-related talk to borders containing mostly myself. I have never said a negative comment about my organization (not for fear, but because I love the place). I’ve worked there 9 plus years and counting (though I told them in my first ever interview that I’d quit after 2).
Oh, and one quick sidebar: most (but not all) the folks at my company don’t play cutthroat games that I’m aware of. If they do, they’re subtle. If they are overt, usually they find themselves working elsewhere eventually. I only have one bona-fide person I know of talking smack about me at work, and her opinion of me is unimportant.
I’ve held five positions within my organization. My first job? I had no experience whatsoever. I went from managing a call center to managing several accounts. My second job? I had no experience except maybe a general technical aptitude. I went from account management to technical product support. My third job? I had LOTS of experience. I ended up managing the people doing what I do. My FOURTH job? No experience. I became a project manager, based on the strengths of my previous role.
My current job is a mishsmash, so it doesn’t count. Basically, my current job is: Chris has been around awhile so he can do a lot of things.
The new role will be (if I follow through and completely pursue it) will be working for a brilliant man, who is also not afraid to criticize someone in public. I think his comments are always fair, though sometimes a little off-tone. He seems reasonable. The third thing I said in the job interview was that my strengths were in x, y, and z, and that I would work to bring a, b, and c up to a level where I’m useful. Oh, and when I was done with him, I spoke to the Director of Human Resources and talked about this, too. He said, hey cool, go for it. What’s to lose?
One thing I’ve said when applying for any position within the company has been this: if you find someone better qualified, than please hire them, because I want the best people on our side. I believe this. It’s not hype.
If you re-read the last post, I’m mostly saying that with confidence, you can accomplish anything. Believe me, my current boss is a great example of that. He’s done three deals in two months, that when all is said and done, put my company in a tremendously better position to accomplish something than what went on before. I personally couldn’t have done what he did. I couldn’t deal myself out of a paper bag.
Self-deprication, I’m learning, isn’t really useful in lots of business contexts. People smell it as a sign of weakness. Thus, my post about confidence and authority is saying, “stuff that lack of confidence down in the sock drawer for later; people want to see your Captain America game face!”
Does that help?
(PS, if you’re my CEO, can you pass my website around at conferences?)
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