Book review: 10 Proven Strategies for Thriving in the Workplace (part 2)

Carla Harris offers “Pearls” of wisdom to survive and thrive in the workplace – 6 through 10

In last week’s post I outlined the first 5 of Carla Harris’s 10 strategies for thriving in the workplace. This post outlines strategies 6 through 10.

6. Leverage Your Voice – Articulate your views and your expectationsCover of the book, Expect to Wini

Think actively about how you want to use your voice.

  • Do you want to use your voice to be constructive or to complain?
  • Or do you want to use your voice to be supportive or to be contrarian?
  • Do you want to interrupt people all the time or be the one who summarizes everything to show your listening skills?
  • Don’t just talk; listen. Silence is just as valuable

Speak up!

7. Have a Penchant for Taking Risks – You can’t go wrong

You cannot get ahead in life or business by playing it safe. There are 2 categories of risk:

  • Latent risks –out of your control; for example your company gets taken over in a merger, or your mentor leaves suddenly
  • Forward risks – risks that you can take to positively affect your career – take as many as possible!

There are also 3 types of risk:

  • Calculated risks – those that have clear pros and cons (take as many calculated risks as possible)
  • Studied risks – consequences of actions taken are not immediately clear
  • Step-out-on-faith risks – those for which you can identify the outcome but not sure of how to get there

The risk in making change as it relates to a new job…ask yourself these questions:

  • Is this new opportunity going to give me skills and relationships I would not have if I stayed in my current position for the next 12 months?
  • Will the new position expose me to people and relationships that I would not otherwise be exposed to if I stayed in my current position for the next 12 months?
  • Will the new job create new branches on my decision tree of opportunities going forward that will give me more choices after I leave the new position at some time in the future?

Just like saying yes to a new opportunity can be a risk, so can saying no. Have a solid rationale for turning down a new job or opportunity, and be willing accept any potential repercussions and you’ll likely be successful.

8. Power in the Network – A competitive advantage

Relationships are key to success in any industry. Your network gives you power and is one of your most important competitive advantages

A network is a series of connected relationships – 4 types:

  • Upward relationships with people senior to you
  • Lateral relationships with peers and the assistants of your senior people
  • Downward relationships with people junior to you
  • External relationships with people outside of your company or industry

Be willing to offer your assistance and also to receive it from others. Networking is a two-way street.

9. Balance is a Necessity – Use your passions to achieve it

  • Integrate giving back with your passions in your professional life; you need to have passions that contribute to your happiness
  • Your job cannot be all you have in your life
  • If it brings you joy, it should be a part of your daily life (family, significant other, church, etc.) You need to have something that you are passionate about that gives you an opportunity to interact with others, feed yourself emotionally/spiritually, or lift someone else up
  • In giving back you also multiply your own blessings and your own success
  • It reminds us that there is a world outside of our jobs where our gifts, talents and abilities can be useful to ourselves and others

10. Expect to Win – Show up with your best self every day

Your thoughts influence your success. Mediocre thoughts produce mediocre results, so know that you will win.

Spend time in self-reflection.

  • Decide who you want to be and assess your successes and failures
  • Have goals to accomplish in the year ahead
  • Allow your lists to guide your life and refer to them when you need to stay on track

To stay motivated bring all of yourself to the table every day.

  • Keep abreast of what is happening
  • Come up with fresh ideas

No matter what stage you are at in your career, you must look at your job, at your life, through the lens of a winner.

  • Challenge yourself every day to be creative and masterful
  • Expect to win and you will!

Carla Harris is Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Morgan Stanley. Her book Expect to Win offers tips on succeeding in the workplace, and is based on her own personal experiences in moving up the corporate ladder.

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