By Creel
Price, LinkedIn
As a
fresh-faced university graduate I was eager to find a shortcut to fast track my
way up the corporate ladder. Though being from a rural background, the only
person around who had achieved distinction in a major organisation was my
imposing great uncle Gus—a second world-war veteran who reached an executive
level at one of Australia’s largest industrial companies.
So one Sunday
lunch I decided to strike. Strategically picking my moment after the lamb roast
had been devoured and the apple pie was safely in our bellies, I managed to
corner Gus in the lounge room alone. After some idle chitchat about his
illustrious yet now long-retired career, I plucked up the courage to ask, “So
Uncle Gus, what’s the secret to getting ahead in your career?"
The sparkle
in his eye evidenced the compliment I had paid him. And you could see his still
agile mind reminisce back to a time when he felt that same eagerness one has at
the start of their career where options and opportunity abound. With little
hesitation required for his almost ninety year-old brain to sift through the
thousands of possible answers—he gave me this gem:
"It’s
simple. Do the jobs no one else wants to do."
At the time I
was a little underwhelmed to be honest. I was hoping more for something like
“go abroad and learn", or “invest in continual education". Even a
simple “work harder than your boss" would have satisfied my hunger for an
insider’s tip to miss a few rungs on that daunting ladder of promise. But
seriously, was my youth about to be stolen from me, enduring year after year
doing the jobs no one else wanted to do?
Yet
twenty-something years later this simple career building principle has become
part of my business DNA and has helped frame my career in distinct ways:
1. DOING THE
UNPOPULAR JOBS MYSELF: The few years where I did work for another organisation
I always embraced doing the jobs no one else wanted to do and smiled inwardly,
safe in the knowledge that the karma it built would one day be repaid. I recall
landing in the UK as a 24 year-old and having to take a role as a filing clerk
despite having been a manager back in Australia. To replace the monotony I set
myself the challenge of becoming the UK’s fastest filing clerk, which saw me
photocopier hopping to make up time and running up the stairs rather than
waiting for elevators in my mission for speed. Soon the tasks that took my
predecessor a week to complete were finished in less than a day, and yes, the
‘powers that be’ wanted to know why.
2. LEADING BY
EXAMPLE: We often delay doing the tasks no one else wants to do such as calling
an irate customer, giving someone bad news or finishing that laborious proposal
on the weekend. Leaders who are prepared to lead by example and complete these
tasks themselves (at least initially) gain respect from their employees and
create a can-do culture where a strong work ethic is the norm.
3. PROMOTING
EMPLOYEES WHO GIVE BEFORE THEY GET: I have always attempted to go out of my way
to promote and recognize staff who have an inclination towards tackling tough or
inglorious tasks without complaint or promise of reward. I have passed over
many a self-promoter, over-resuméd type, in favour of those who are prepared to
invest before they are given glory, titles or rewards. And it is in the backing
of these types of employees that I attribute the enormous growth my companies
have achieved against the odds.
Whether you
are looking to get ahead in your corporate job or launch your own business,
remember this sage piece of advice from Great Uncle Gus—“Do the jobs no one else
wants to do". If that means chasing up overdue debtors, making a dreaded
phone call or delivering some bad news, do it today, not tomorrow. And if you
are already doing the jobs no one else wants to do, then allow yourself a
self-indulgent smile amid the drudgery, knowing you could be one mundane task
away from a view higher up the ladder.
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