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Connie Podesta
Over the next few weeks Dallas Women in the Workplace Examiner (DWWE) will be featuring Connie Podesta, an award-winning speaker, author, Board Certified Therapist and Radio/TV personality. Connie’s book How to be the Person Successful Companies Want to Keep provides insight and advice on how to protect your job by bringing the highest value possible to your organization. Connie has an insider’s knowledge of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to being happier, healthier, wealthier and more successful. www.conniepodesta.com
Connie will be answering questions for the DWWE readers! If you have a question you would like to ask Connie simply email me at triciakagerer@gmail.com.
DWWE – Connie, I love the title of your book How to be the Person Successful Companies Want to Keep. How did you come up with it?
Connie – People need to face the fact that in today’s business world 2000 – 3000 people a day are losing their jobs. It is just not good enough anymore to just do your job. People need to have a reality check and understand that at any given moment within your organization, management will be reviewing your personnel file and discussing everyone within the organization to determine who they are going to keep. During these conversations and meetings you will fall into one of 3 categories:
1. No one will fight for you. Your name comes up and management begins to roll their eyes. The good news is they know who you are. The bad news is they have nothing good to say about you. As their eyes begin to roll, the stories and complaints followed by deep exasperating gasps begin to flow from not just one but many. You are known as a complainer, a low performer, someone who can't handle change, a person who brings their personal life into work, or simply an exasperating employee who wastes valuable company time. As a result, No one will defend you or go to bat for you and management will probably be relieved to be rid of you.
2. No one knows who you are. You’ve allowed yourself to become exceptionally average. You fly below the radar screen. You do your job, no more, no less. Management recognizes your performance as meeting the expectations of the job. You don’t create problems and maybe a few managers have a few nice things to say about you, but nothing in your resume, experience or current job really blows management away. In a great economy your performance and consistency may be enough. Unfortunately when times are tough, you are in jeopardy.
3. Everyone fights for you. You are the person that steps up to the challenge each and every time. You are positive, motivational and management knows who you are and what you bring to the table. When an entire department is decimated, they work together to find you a slot and keep you. You have created allies within the organization who support you and have your back in a downturn. They are willing to speak up and say you are worth keeping because you are a key performer.
DWWE – Most people think they fall into category 3 yet the reality is that many people don’t. They end up putting themselves in jeopardy of losing their jobs. How can our readers assess how management really sees them before it is too late?
Connie – I created a self assessment that is designed to help you identify how you rank among other employees, managers, business owners, and entrepreneurs. If you truly want to be “the person successful companies would FIGHT to keep”, you need to know what is expected of you and how you measure up to the TOP employees in every industry. The assessment is available on my website at www.conniepodesta.com/assessment.
Are you a natural born leader or prefer to let others be in charge? Do you enjoy your work or just show up to collect a paycheck? Are you excited about what you have achieved or worried that you need to do more to be recognized? One thing is for sure: your boss, your co-workers, and your customers have formed a “perception” of you that affects how they respond to you on the job and that, in turn, affects your ability to stay employed, get promoted, or reach the level of success you desire. The assessment will help you benchmark where you stand today. Once you have this information, I will then be able to help you take steps to deal more effectively with people and situations that often make work frustrating, stressful and difficult so you can ACT, rather than REACT to whatever life throws your way
My goal is to help you keep your career on track while you stay focused on being that person whose name and reputation triggers solid, positive feedback throughout your organization. YOU can become the employee that every successful company would absolutely FIGHT to keep--no matter what!
Stay tuned over the next several weeks where we will review the top 8 High-Performing strategies of
successful employees covered in Connie’s book How to be the Person Successful Companies Want to Keep (www.conniepodesta.com/products/books.)
Top 8 High-Performing Strategies of Successful Employees
1. Take charge of your personal life
2. Demonstrate value added
3. Have a positive impact on your company, customers and colleagues
4. Embrace and initiate change
5. Work harder, smarter, faster and better
6. Communicate openly and directly
7. Look for leadership opportunities
8. Commit to lifelong learning
You can also visit Connie’s blog at www.conniepodesta.com/category/blog
Comments (1)
During a job interview can you suggest a way to handle the question: why did you leave your last job? especially if you were laid off or asked to leave.
What do you think?
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