by Stever Robbins

Today's topic is how to get noticed by your CEO or managing director.

Alex writes in: I have a question: I am a hard worker in a large CPA firm, but I can’t seem to get the managing director to notice me. How do you recommend I engage him in conversation?

 
Alex, the quick and dirty tip is to engage him around a topic he cares about where you can add insight. Help him meet his goals.


How to Get Noticed at Work

In order to get noticed by the CEO at work you should ask yourself this question:  what does your CEO care about?

Is his idea of a good time sitting around talking about himself while people bow, scrape, and suck his toes? If so, he's probably motivated more by ego than business. Flatter some stupid decision he made. Or praise some recent success. Tell him how much you admire him and that his Armani suit is just fabulous. If all else fails, offer to suck his toes. At that point, you've got nothing to lose.

I think I'm kidding, but I'm not sure. There are a lot of CEOs out there who know their perks better than they know their business. And with those folks, you're on your own.

So let's assume your CEO knows his stuff.

Adopt Your CEO's Perspective



1950s Ward-and-June-Cleaver logic would be, "Do a good job." Your manager will notice you, her manager will notice, and her manager... And eventually the head honcho will hear the legends of the hardworking you, invite you to the executive dining room, and promote you to grand czar. As if. Many managers don't showcase their employees. Heck, they don't even notice them. So you'll have to do it yourself.

Start by adopting your CEO's perspective. Imagine for a moment that your job isn't to succeed, yourself. Your job is to make the company succeed as a whole. That's the CEO perspective. He knows all the pieces of the firm and makes decisions according to the needs of the business, not of any one area.

He lives in the world of strategy: Who are our customers? What are our products? Who are our competitors? Strategy answers questions like: Should we keep our Aardvark Food Manufacturing Division now that we're a Fortune 50 tax firm? It could be a distraction. ... Ya think? It's the CEO who makes those decisions.

Share Your Insight

Do you have insight that could help the CEO with strategy? Share it! Have you spotted a novel trend he should know about? Or a navel trend? Your customers are all getting pierced belly buttons. You could find a way to make the belly-button rings deductible and offer that as a new tax service. The possibilities are endless. And if you use the piercing idea, I want a piece of the action, thank you.

My second job was for a company that made artificial intelligence workstations. I trained customers and watched them wrestle with the product daily. I saw their problems and their triumphs. After class, I wrote up my observations and e-mailed them to the CEO as suggestions for how we could improve the product. That's meeting him at the level of strategy.

Talk About Company Culture

CEOs think about more than just products and services. They also mold and shape the company culture. I'm not just talking about holding events like employee picnics or mud-wrestling days. CEOs shape culture through decision-making, who they promote, how–or if–they ask for feedback, and so on. If your CEO makes culture a concern, that's another great place to start a conversation.

Consider Office Politics

Remember politics, though. In startups, CEOs are approachable. Heck, you can short-sheet the CEO's bed and everyone will just laugh and laugh. You'll get fired, but them? They'll laugh and laugh!

Larger companies can be political.  People can think you're sucking up, currying favor, gunning for their job, and trying to get ahead. It may be true, and you still work with these folks. The company's success depends on everyone working together (that's your new viewpoint, remember?), and that means that you need to understand the agendas of your peers, bosses, and subordinates. When people at all levels know you "get" their concerns, not only will they want you to meet the CEO, they just might want you to be the CEO.




This is Stever Robbins. If you have a question about how to work less and do more, e-mail getitdone@quickanddirtytips.com or leave voicemail at 866-WRK-LESS. You can also find a transcript of this episode, the wonderful listener survey, a link to the CEO articles–all of that–at getitdone.quickanddirtytips.com. 

Work less, do more, and have a great life!

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