Brown-Nosing 101

Brown nosers take a moment to reflect

We often go through our days doing things we don't like to do, giving less than our full capability and capacity, presuming that we have all the time in the world to get it right.  But that's just not true and the sooner we realize this, the sooner we can do whatever is necessary to live up to our full, God given potential.

Two years ago on this very evening I was made painfully aware of this.  As my cousin, Dan,  and his wife, Nicky, drove to what was to be a routine, family dinner with Nicky's mom and their youngest son, they witnessed a young driver lose control of his vehicle.  As anyone who knows them would expect, they stopped to help.  As they walked towards the accident victim they became vicitms themselves as they were both hit by a driver in an SUV that was going approximately 45 mph.  In an instant, their lives and mine, and the lives of countless others in the family and in their community were changed forever.

After a severe head injury, along with arm and leg injuries that have forever changed his physical abiities, Dan continues to show remarkable improvement and works through the trauma as best he can.  On Christmas day, 2007, Nicky turned 48 years old, in a drug induced coma to keep her from the pain of her injuries.  She died 30 days after the accident having never regained consciousness.  I can't help but think what they might have done differently had they known what was about to transpire. 

What if ---- what if today was your last day?  One day it will be whether you want to believe it or not.  Would you really care if someone called you a brown noser?  If you were using these skills I've been writing about from a position of strength and competence, could they be moving you closer to your goals?  Closer to living up to your full potential?  Would your full potential include the capacity to give back to the world in which you live and work in some meaningful way? 

Nicky's last act on earth was in service to another.  I am sure that when she stood before God he smiled and said, "Well done."  Are you doing all you can do so that you will hear those words, too? 

Peace to all of you this evening....enjoy this blessed time of year.

Linda

 

Take Inventory of WHO you need to know

In previous posts I've hammered the point that people need to know you to insure that you remain on the radar screen when choice jobs, assignments and projects come around.  Equally important is understanding who in an organization can make things happen for you and who you need to know.  Watch Brownnosers in action --- they are masters at this.  You should be, too.

I heard a great story last night from a friend who spent just under 10 years in the military.  Just before he left home his Dad gave him some great brown-nosing advice.

"Son, no matter where you go, not matter where you are stationed around the world, there are three people you need to get to know immediately.  Get to know someone in the mess hall.  Then get to know someone in supply, and then get to know someone in the company commander's office.  That way, you'll always have the food you need, the supplies you require and most important, information."

This guy's dad was teaching him some basic survival skills which aren't much different than those  needed for survival in Corporate America, or for that matter, in any organization on the planet!  Understand this and you can move from survival to thriving in very little time.

Brown-Nosing is Not a Dirty Word

Most people who don't know how to Brownnose equate the skills involved with negative behavior. They resist learning the skills out of fear of being called a "Brown-Noser" and having what they perceive as that negative label attached to them.

To calm your fears about being called a Brown noser, you need to understand why Brownnosing skills are good for you--- and good for your company or business. Understanding why helps us see that when executed from a position of competence and knowledge, Brown-Nosing skills aren't negative. In fact, they make good sense for your career (and your company).

You can use these skills with confidence to help you share your ideas with people in such a way that they immediately see the value of both the idea and what YOU bring to a particular situation and the organization.

First, and probably most important, you need to realize that work is not like school. There is no teacher constantly evaluating your work and automatically promoting you to the next level once you meet a certain set of requirements. Unlike school, where the purpose of the effort is to develop you and help you learn, the purpose of an organization is to achieve its mission, whatever that may be.

I’m not going to debate the point that developing you is also good for business. But the fact of the matter is that  your development is ancillary to the primary objective. (Face it, it may be cheaper in the long run for the company to hire someone with the skills it needs rather than to allocate the resources to train you).

What can Positioning skills do for your career?

Here's a story that gives you an overview about the importance of positioning skills to your Brown-Nosing arsenal.

Once, while I was working at the Director level in a healthcare organization, I had an idea for a new approach that I wanted to share at the weekly management meeting. I was in charge of marketing – a misunderstand function in many medical organizations in those days, and I suspected that the concept would be perceived as too radical and too commercial for most of my clinical colleagues.

Though ultimately the CEO would approve or deny my request, I knew that she valued the input of her team, so I set to work  building a coalition for my cause. Using all four of these brownnosing skills, I found myself walking the halls of the facility, slapping backs and kissing babies, acting like I was running for political office. 

 

Are you a Brown-Nosing Cynic?

I've received some interesting emails from readers of this blog who seem to think that these Brown-Nosing skills are not needed for you to get a promotion.  In fact, some of you continue to believe that being good at your job is all that should be required and you are even whining about the fact that your organization is full of brownnosers and you can't get anywhere and I'm doing nothing but promoting the behavior.  No, I am not promoting being a brownnoser.  I am promoting the use of the skills that brownnosers use which is a BIG difference.  

If you think that building relationships and alliances, creating visibility for yourself and your work, positioning yourself and your ideas in ways that make people see their value and being able to make fundamental human connections with others is all a bunch of bunk, allow me to enlighten you by sharing a lesson - one I like to call Organizations and Careers 101.

As you continue to take on increasing levels of responsibility in your organization the skills required to be successful at those levels changes.  There are three types of skills that people need at work; technical skills, human relations skills, and conceptual or strategic skills.

Another Brown-Nosing tactic for your PR campaign -- SPIN

Assuming you’ve created a (positive) impression with important people in your organization, you’ll need to be sure that each idea you share is positioned in such a way that it serves your ultimate purpose – to get you noticed and to move you ahead in your career, whatever that looks like for you. This means that you’ll need to put some SPIN on your idea that reflects your position.

Let’s say I have a glass of water in front of me – one that has not been filled to the top. If I were to tell you that the glass is half empty – it is the truth. If I were to tell you that the glass is half full – it is the truth. Either way, there is no lie.

SPIN’ing should be used in the same way. If I tell you the glass is half empty, I can incite a riot. “Oh my God, we’re running out of water. The glass is half empty! Quick, fill your glasses!” However, the same situation presented in a different way, the glass is half full, can invoke an entirely different response. “Oh, gosh, there’s plenty of water. Look, that glass is still half full. There’s no need to rush or panic.”

Did I lie? No. But if my objective was to be sure everyone had a full glass of water, by positioning the glass as half empty, I created a sense of urgency. If my objective was to be sure that no one had a full glass of water, by positioning the glass as half full, I created a sort of complacency. You can create excitement or complacency for your ideas in the same way. Watch a Brown-Noser in action – they are SPIN masters.  

Career Tip #17 Personal Public Relations Campaigns

Most of the wealthy and wise people I have had the good fortune to know or read about have one thing in common; they believe that everyone has something to teach them. What if you are ready to do something that will make a difference in your career?  What if you're ready to learn from brown-nosers rather than just get angry with them?

One of the best ways to take control of your career, which means taking control of your future, is by creating a Personal Public Relations.   I started this discussion a couple of days ago and over the next week or so I'll try to walk you through a mini-course in creating one of these plans for yourself.

The definition of Public Relations is varied, but in general it is the process that is used to help an organization (or in this case, an individual) and its constituents (often called 'publics') mutually adapt to each other.  You can learn more about this definition and more about Public Relations by visiting the Public Relations Society of America's website.   

The first step in the development of this campaign is research.

Are you a Brown-Noser?

My experience with the breast cancer diagnosis  left me realizing that not only can I recognizie good brown-nosing skill, but I apparently have some of it, too.

I was talking with a friend about the experience and I had a good chuckle when I told this story.  While coming out of anesthesia after surgery, I recall looking up at the nurses in front of me and telling them what angels of mercy they were, how kind they were, how they perform a job that is so critical to the well being of others, that they have hearts of gold and I would never forget them (I still haven't!), blah, blah, blah.

My friends and family  who were around me in the recovery just smiled and said, "The quintessential brown-noser - even now."  Then and amazing thing happened.  The nurses quickly dashed off to get me extra blankets,  juice,  water, crackers and candy.

OK, so maybe the drug induced state had something to do with my ability to easily offer compliments to people I thought were doing a good job.  But just yesterday I found myself doing it again - no drugs!

Career Tip #14 - First step in your Brown-nosing Public Relations plan

Everyone needs a promotion PR plan.  Have YOU identified those people in your organization and industry who may have influence over the path your career takes?  Once you have done this, the next step in this process is to identify your objectives.  What do you want?  Do you want new job? A promotion?  A raise?  A move to a different department?  To work on a particular project?  To change companies or industries or fields of endeavor? 

This will require some soul searching on your part because your plan must be calculating and yet authentic.  Why?  We all know when a brownnoser is being deceitful, don't we?  Do you want to be counted among them?  Or do you want to beat them at their own game?  To beat them at their own game and to reap the benefits that are rightfully yours you must be sincere about your effort.  You must truly believe that the promotion, raise, project, job, etc. are in the best interest of EVERYONE involved, not just you. 

Brown-Nosing is all about Communication

Many of my younger students, those with limited work experience,  often ask me, "What is a brown-noser?"

Hum...a tricky question.  Most of us know brownnosers to be corporate suck-ups who seek out people of influence and then try to gain some sort of favor from them by kissing up, fawning and being overly agreeable and compliant.  The worst of these sorts do this instead of doing what they were hired to do - i.e. their jobs. 

When I started digging into the brownnosing phenomena I learned that there truly are very few of these people in the workplace.  They are the people we love to hate because they typically leave us with extra work to do and many of us have work a ethic that dictates we pick up the slack.

In fact, the vast majority of people we call brownnosers are people who are actually decent at their jobs but simply happen to be very good communicators - better than the rest of us.