Brown-Nosing 101

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.

Another Quick Brown-Nosing Tip - What are your Assets?

Today, I've got a quick tip for you to help you understand the power and the tools you have at your disposal when trying to outmaneuver brownnosers at work. 

The other night I watched a finance class talk about assets and how they are used to help a company make money.  Hum, I thought.  When it comes right down to it, we all have assets that we use to make money. They are called our skills, knowledge, abilities, education, perspectives, experience, expertise, attitudes....

Have you ever watched a brownnoser with his or her boss?  The brown-noser ALWAYS knows what he brings to the table in terms of his assets.  It may just be a word of encouragement with little substance behind it, but he knows when someone needs encouraging, doesn't he?  Isn't that why we dislike him so?  It's as if he's got a some sort of tracking device that can sniff out opportunities to get in front of the boss and look good.  Not so - he simply knows what his assets are and then puts them into play to help him make money, friends, influence people, get jobs, get your promotion, etc.

Here's what I want you to do.  Take an inventory or your assets.  How can you possibly position yourself or your ideas if you don't know what you have to offer?  Be careful - this requires some soul-searching and an honest attempt to assess yourself.  Don't discount anything and don't assume that simply because you aren't allowed to use an asset at this particular time that it should not be on your list.

Easy BrownNosing technique

On this Veteran's Day I hope you've spent a moment or two thinking about all the people who have served this great nation to help preserve and defend the freedoms we all too often take for granted.  Better yet, find a Veteran (or more than one) and thank them. 

Here's a quick tip for those of you who will have decided that it would be wise for you to use this freedom to live up to your full potential.  Get involved!!

There are plenty of ways to create a significant amount of visibility for yourself in most organizations, even if you believe you have a dead end job or if your work keeps you isolated from others.  Get involved.  Most organizations (other than the smallest mom and pop shops) are constantly trying to make the workplace better for their employees and position their businesses as good corporate citizens.  (If yours doesn't, time to update your resume). 

Involvement with the company newsletter, community events, internal councils, non-specific projects or programs or other volunteer options are all ways to develp the four brown-nosing skills.

Involvement boosts your visibility, is a great way to network,  requires you to connect with others in the process and forces you to position yourself as someone who can add value to the project.  It's not rocket science folks - it's the fundamentals of getting ahead in any organization.  I've been preaching this stuff to my students for years. The basics can be learned by reading previous blogs or reading Brown-nosing 101: A career survival for the rest of us.  You can find it online on Amaon, Barnes and Noble, or by clicking on the Buy the Book link here www.brownnosingonline.com. 

Think about it,

Linda

Brown-nosing and Politics

Over the weekend I heard a story on our local public radio station that cracked me up. Apparently there was some guy in the city who was running for office in his precinct but having trouble getting the required number of signatures necessary to eliminate the hefty filing fee. So, because HE is having trouble he decided to sue, claiming that the requirement is unfair and a hardship on some people. Wahhh…..wahhhh.

What a whiner. “It’s too hard. You need to make it easier for me.” One of the commentators made a good point. “Politics is tough. If it were easy everyone would be doing it. And it certainly isn’t fair.”

That’s pretty much what getting ahead in business is all about, too. It takes effort beyond the basics. It’s not always easy and it certainly isn’t always fair. It means getting out of your office and pressing the flesh (visibility and networking) , getting to know others (networking, connecting and visibility) and letting them know what you stand for (connecting, visibility, positioning) and how you can help them achieve their goals (positioning, networking connecting).

Brown-nosers are Change Agents

One of the best ways to make yourself visible in an organization is by becoming a Change Agent. For purposes of this discussion I’ll define change agent as someone who supports, even actively encourages change events that are happening in the company.

We all know people who balk at every suggestion that something be done different. But without change nothing gets done and progress is not made. Change is the antitheses of the status quo. Companies and organizations are constantly looking for ways to do things bigger, better, faster, stronger, cheaper, simpler and changing the way things are done is how this happens.

Instead of being someone who resists the inevitable changes that will occur, act like those brownnosers in your organization who not only support the change but support those who are proposing the change and those who are accountable for delivering the results. We snicker at brownnosers when we hear them say, “That’s a great idea boss. I’m glad to be part of your team. You can count on me.” We laugh at them, but who keeps getting what we want????

 

Don't beat brown-nosers, join them!

While reviewing the key words that people search to find this site, I discoverd that the phrase 'beat brown-nosers' comes up quite frequently. I find this interesting because it says that people perceive Brown-nosers to be some sort of a threat; otherwise why bother trying to beat them at anything?

My thoughts on this are very unambiguous.  People want to beat brownnosers because they are winning the game.  What most people fail to recognize is that these corporate brown nosers who are schmoozing the boss and getting ahead are using critical business and people skills that the rest of us need to master. The only way you can actually beat someone at their own game by actually playing the game!!  DUH!!!