Already a member?
Welcome to Brazen Careerist!
Emily Ma is using Brazen Careerist to share ideas. Join now to become a member and start networking with Emily Ma and other professionals just like you. Learn more.
Brazen careerist
Where ambitious young professionals connect and grow
Email
Print
This week, among the many projects and deadlines, we were asked to fill out anonymous peer reviews of select coworkers. Before I knew who I was assigned to review I was very resistant to the idea.
My position in the company is quite unique, in that there are several departments and teams of people and I (kind of) don’t fit in any of them. I am THE marketing department. Ya know… blogger, copy editor, layout person, ad designer, print work orderer, sales message generator… yep all me. So, why would I be reviewing anyone? I don’t directly work with anyone in particular, yet I interact with everyone. I don’t report to one executive (like the rest of the company) as much as I take assignments from each of them. Again my thought was “how can I evaluate anyone else’s job or performance if I don’t really know what it is like to ‘do what they do’ on a day to day basis?”. I could rationalize how one sales person could evaluate another in comparison to themselves. (Have you figured out I’m an extreme analyzer yet?)
I had these conversations with myself for the entire 12 hours in between the time I found out we would be doing this and when I received the list of 5 people I was to review. For some reason, as soon as I receive the list it all become crystal clear to me.
I’ve always had the gift of being able to see someone’s strengths (even when they didn’t always see them). So, this was just an assignment of pointing out what I saw to be an attribute in my peers (and supervisors *scary*) and where I thought they could use a little improvement. I completed the assignment in much less time than it took me to analyze why we were doing it in the first place.
Out of it… came a desire to (in my best 5 year old voice) to ‘do it again!’. AND so I did! Tonight I hopped on LinkedIn and wrote recommendations for 2 coworkers and 2 other people I’ve had the pleasure of working with outside of my “day job”. I had so much fun doing that I think I’ll make this a regular event in my down time. I am blessed to come in contact with many talented people through my job, and the social media club I belong to, and even this blog. It’s inspiring to look at these people through the eyes of “what is great about this person.” I challenge you to try it. Maybe you’re not ready to do it publicly but what would happen if you sent an email to a friend telling them what you appreciate about them? You never know, today might be the day they needed to hear that.
For more timely, relevant, and engaging articles,
subscribe to Brazen Careerist.
- The Anti-Stalker’s Guide for Converting Online Contact into Real World Collaboration
- How To Find a Writing Partner Who Can Help You Achieve Your Goals and Make More Money
- Continuing Education: Extending Learning Beyond Your Campus Years
- Why You Might Be Better Off Without a Job After College
- A New Kind of Business Mover and Shaker
Comments
04.22.10
Great post. In my 8 years of management (similar to you; took on numerous roles and eventually grew into an executive with people reporting to me), I've managed thousands of people and projects and while money and positive reinforcement is 'good' and 'nice', many people are often more motivated when their boss or colleague is willing to do something "publicly" (like post a recommendation on LinkedIn). Inspiring post, thank you.
04.22.10
I love writing recs on LinkedIn. To me, while some may not see it this way, I feel that's the public declaration we all don't get. If I ever wanted real recognition, especially if rewards are limited, a rec on LinkedIn would be the best.
04.22.10
I'm kind of envious of you. You know your coworkers well enough to recommend them.
I'm rather isolated myself. While I'm technically part of a 'team', in reality I am alone on the projects I work on. I prefer to relate to my coworkers on a professional level, so working by myself on my projects means I don't know much about my coworkers.
I wonder if anyone else out there has this problem?
04.22.10
I think that is great! I know getting an unexpected letter of recommendation is one of the greatest compliments a person can get and the fact that you are doing that is really quite admirable.
04.22.10
Great idea! I'm not on LinkedIn (wasn't sure what I needed it for), but I heard someone say once, "If you believe in mentoring but you're not recommending people, how much do you really believe in growing those around you?"
04.23.10
Thank you for the post! I'm on LinkedIn and enjoy recommending people who make help my projects shine =)
04.23.10
I'm not terribly great at writing recommendations but I am a fan of the concept of paying it forward.
Got Something To Say?
Got Something To Say?
Not a Member? Brazen Careerist is a career management tool for next-generation professionals. Set up a free account today to comment on this post and start sharing your ideas. Learn more.
Login to view your networks!
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
