How to outperform, outwit, and stand out from everyone else
Have you ever wondered how to get special treatment in the workplace that sets you apart from your coworkers? Want to be the go-to for everything and be trusted by your boss or company founder? After working with many successful business owners, I have found a little-known secret that can be used to outshine everyone else in the company you work for.
It’s important to note that seeking power and special treatment at work can be viewed negatively by coworkers and managers, and can harm your professional reputation and relationships. But what are you doing this for anyway? Isn’t the whole idea of work and being a professional to get ahead and create more for yourself and for your family? When did going to work become about developing relationships? I understand that there is a certain amount of weight to maintaining a good working relationship and building a positive reputation. But isn’t that done better by being the best and outworking everyone else?
It’s important to remember that any attempts to gain power or special treatment should be done in an ethical and respectful manner. However, ethics and respect are only a matter of opinion. How is outworking, outwitting, outsmarting, and outperforming others seen as unethical or disrespectful?
That being said, there are ways to increase your power and influence within the workplace, as outlined in the 12 principles that follow. These principles are designed by entrepreneurs and company owners to be virtually impossible to go unnoticed by the biggest players in the company you work for. Put these principles into your workday and watch as your power and special treatment begin to rise.
After my interactions and dealings with very successful business owners over the years, I derived these 12 principles in what they would like to see more of from their employees. While few company founders will say it out loud, these are the workplace personality traits most wanted for promotions and getting a raise by some of the most successful people I know.
- When starting a new job or working with a new team, it’s important to study and understand the hierarchy and power dynamics within the company. You must begin drawing the kind attention to yourself or your accomplishments in a way that will make others feel threatened or insecure. Remember, it is always better to be feared than liked but feared for what you are capable of. People who are easily threatened and insecure already have insecurity issues. Once they see your insatiable drive for success shadows their own, they will have to up their game to keep up, or, get out of the way.
- Keep your goals and ambition hidden from others verbally and let them judge you by your outstanding results. Power through strength and exquisite results cannot be challenged unless they too are working at your level. You must appear eager and ambitious through your actions rather than your words. This will create an aura of power that surrounds you that is perceived by others that you are a threat. Watch how they pander to you to gain their trust and support.
- Actively seek out opportunities and attention. By putting yourself in the flyways of action and opportunities you will begin to make others come to you by building a reputation as a valuable and highly respected team member. Others only hope to be noticed by doing a good job but you will need to step out of the shadows and begin creating attention that makes the decision-makers come to you. Remember success is always attracted and never earned. Let others try and earn their way to the top. You will get there much fast by attracting the attention you need to let them come to you. This is your personal brand. Branding attracts, advertising only tells.
- People are often more willing to believe and trust in those who they perceive as confident and self-assured. By projecting an image of unconventionally high self-confidence and competence, you can make others more likely to believe in your ideas and follow your lead. Make them believe in what you stand for and do not fear looking preachy as you evangelically rally your disciples to follow you. Show them they are on the best team in the company and that you are their new leader.
- By creating a sense of urgency or a piece of theater around a situation, job, or project, you can make others more likely to take action or make a decision in your favor. All jobs and projects in your company are important and need a sense of urgency to back their success. Embellish the need for top performers on your projects. Anything worth doing in a business is worth doing with the highest form of excellence even if it seems insignificant.
- By delegating tasks and responsibilities to others, you can free up your own time and resources to focus on more important tasks and decisions for yourself. By giving others a sense of ownership and responsibility, you can gain their support and loyalty. People love to feel important and that they have a significant contribution to a project. Give them what they need and watch as they beg to do more work for you. You are the arbiter of power on your team. They want to seek favor in your court.
- Never fear appearing too perfect: No one is perfect, and people already know it so why is it so wrong to always be working to close the gap between great and perfection? People are often more likely to trust and follow those whom they perceive as relatable to themselves and more human. But relatable to what? The human side of their own lackluster results and uninspired apathy for their work? By acknowledging your mistakes and weaknesses, you are only lowering yourself to their level to build trust and credibility with others. Mistakes and weakness mean you’re human, – we are going for superhuman!
- By building a reputation for being a high-value employee and top-producing team member, you can increase your influence and power within the organization. This can include developing new skills, taking on additional responsibilities, and consistently delivering higher-than-ordinary quality in your results. Top producers are people who can be put in a bad situation with poor tools, virtually no training, and limited resources and still, begin to outperform even the best employees. This is the very essence of getting special treatment.
- Begin building a network of strong allies that recognize your insatiable drive for results. Having a network of allies within the company can help to increase your power and influence. This can include building relationships with coworkers, managers, and other key stakeholders within the company. While allying with coworkers and managers is great, you must demonstrate effectively to the owners and major decision-makers that you are the central source of power in the company with high levels of influence from your peers and reports.
- Learn to master the art of negotiation. Too often an employee fears asking for more because they have nothing more to offer in return. Being able to negotiate effectively needs to be backed by a greater return for your boss, whether it’s a salary negotiation or a promotion, you must learn to negotiate like a business deal with people who do business. By learning how to identify your boss’s needs and interests, you can craft a plan that benefits both parties.
- Be creative and innovative: Being creative and innovative in your work can help you to stand out and gain attention from your boss and other major decision makers. This can include coming up with new and unique solutions to problems, or identifying new opportunities for the company. Bosses want people who think big and are bold in exploring new ways of doing things. Stand out by thinking bigger than anyone else and watch how special you become.
- Be adaptable and flexible. So many employees begin their careers with rock solid expectations. In the fast pace of business, this will only lead to disappointment. Being able to adapt and be flexible in the face of change can help you to gain the trust and respect of your boss. This can include being open to new ideas and approaches, and being willing to make adjustments or compromises when necessary.
Fortune always favors the bold. You must begin by strategizing a plan and begin executing on how you are going to be different and more special. You need to show the decision makers there are still people in this world that get it. That you are a special bread of character that is a shining example for others to follow.
