By: Maurice Gilbert
Remember rabbit ears? Not the pink and white fuzzy kind that you might have worn to a costume party – I’m referring to the quaint contraption we all once relied on for television reception. Depending on how far you were from the signal, your ability to tune into your favorite show relied on how skilled you were at bending and contorting your antenna (which occasionally included adding a little wad of aluminum foil.)
These days we have more sophisticated ways of consuming media, but when it comes to staying tuned in to what’s going on in your company – for the sake of career success — the importance of a good “antennae” cannot be overstated.
Your company already has a formal network designed to funnel information throughout the organization, such as staff meetings, mass emails and the like. But for the sharpest picture of what’s going on – and how it might impact your career – you’ll want to make sure your personal antenna is always up. Improve your reception by doing the following:
♦ Be supportive of other departments and reject a “silo” mentality.
♦ Seek mentors and friends in other parts of the organization. Doing so could be a career-enhancing move for either one of you.
♦ Jump on it when your company offers continuing education or specialized training opportunities. You’ll get a leg up and receive advanced knowledge of skills that will soon be in demand at your company.
♦ Scan the horizon. You need to know what’s going on in your industry in order to understand or predict your employer’s decisions. Keep abreast of trends by reading industry blogs and journals. Identify the thought leaders in your niche – they’re often the first ones to pinpoint trends or predict developments.
♦ Attend industry events. You’ll rub elbows with people inside your company and elsewhere, including people at all levels of an organization.
Convinced? Pick up the phone now and invite someone from another department to lunch. You won’t regret it.
Maurice Gilbert is Managing Partner of Conselium Executive Search, which specializes in placing Compliance Officers and Legal Counsel for clients in the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. Maurice is also CEO of Corporate Compliance Insights, a worldwide publication devoted to governance, risk and compliance issues. Maurice can be reached at maurice@conselium.com or maurice@corporatecomplianceinsights.com.
