Why Staying Heads Down Prevents Us From Getting Ahead

Written by poornima | Published 2016/12/30
Tech Story Tags: public-speaking | career-advice | communication | women-in-tech

TLDRvia the TL;DR App

Happy new year!

Every new year bring us all hope.

Our parents, professors, peers, and mentors tell us that this is THE year that all our hard work, countless hours, and efforts will pay off.

But didn’t they tell us that last year?

And did those efforts pay off then?

Or are you still waiting?

Are you hoping that someone will notice how you learned a new skill in a just a few weeks or months?

Are you hoping that someone will mention how instrumental you were in the last product launch?

And are you hoping that once they do, then you’ll receive the recognition you deserve?

I wish I could tell you that will happen, and that it happened to me, but it didn’t.

Nope. I was in the same boat as you probably are right now. I kept telling myself the following for years:

I’ll just stay heads down…

I’ll just learn new technical skills…

Then people will notice me…

… and then I’ll get promoted!

Sadly, it didn’t help. I just kept getting passed up for promotion after promotion.

Then one day a little voice in my head said, “You need to speak up and say something!”

I told it, “Shut up, speaking up is scary!”

It didn’t help that I was just a few years out of school — certainly not an expert!

I was worried about:

  • What my colleagues and boss would say
  • How they would react
  • Whether I’d actually be heard
  • Being shy, nervous, and introverted

If you’re stuck in your career and think that more skills, more hours, and more effort will get you to the next level, then you need to pay close attention to today’s video lesson…

In it, I’ll share how I went from being passed up to being recognized by communities that cared, and wound up with an inbox full of opportunities.

And more importantly, how I did it without feeling like I was selling my soul!

Once you’ve watched this video, I’d love to hear from you! In the comments, share one recent accomplishment with me.

Looking forward to continuing the conversation there!

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Published by HackerNoon on 2016/12/30