🤫 Whisper #14: Do you inspire others to work with you?
Don't be the anti-hero. We all need a hero (or an underdog) to root for.
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Whisper #14
Do you inspire others to work with you?
I had a rough patch in my career a few years back. I was working so hard, and yet I felt invisible. I wasn’t getting any acknowledgment for my impact. No high fives, no shout-outs, no promotions or bonuses, no help or resources. Nothing.
I doubled down and tried to work harder for a while, but that didn’t work either.
The impact was there, and I knew it. The projects that I worked on were successful. They were top priorities for the company, and I was nailing them.
I couldn’t figure out why I felt so invisible, so I took the easy route and blamed it on my role. I decided that my role was misunderstood and undervalued. That was the issue.
I got on the phone with my brother, who is in a similar work environment in tech but in a different role (he was a staff engineer, and I was a technical program manager at the time). He worked closely with TPMs, though, and he was baffled when I declared that the issue was that “no one appreciates TPMs.”
His words to me: “Well, we have a technical program manager on my team, and everyone appreciates him. When he talks, we all listen. Even our director.”
We spent over an hour talking about the issue. I shared examples of times I felt run over, unappreciated, or unheard.
At the end of our conversation, my brother offered: “Maybe people just aren’t inspired by you.”
“Maybe people just aren’t inspired by you.”
That conversation was a revelation. I realized I had been so focused on creating value that I forgot we all inherently have value. I realized that it was on me to take the time to inspire others to hear me and to find a reason to root for me.
It’s on us to inspire others.
Inspire them to work alongside us and to lend a hand when we need it.
Inspire them to read our design docs and comment.
Inspire them to contribute to the conversation and improve our ideas.
Inspire them to root for us, whether we win or lose.
a low-stakes experiment for you
Imagine that your team at work is to be divided into two teams. The boss picks two people to be captains, and they must pick who they want on their team for the rest of the year.
There is always one person who would be the top pick for both captains.
As yourself: Who is that one person?
Now, ask yourself: Why is that person on the top of the list?
No doubt they are talented, sharp, and hard-working. But to be the first pick for both teams, there must be more. This person must be the kind of person who inspires trust, loyalty, and confidence. They are more than just raw horsepower, they are a horse people are excited to bet on.
Then, ask yourself: What is it about this person that inspires you to root for them and want to work with them? Do you have any of those traits? Do you bring them to the workplace? Could you? Can you?
Will you?
💌 When you try this intellectual experiment, share your experience in the comments.
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