QUICK TIPS: BEHAVIORS

Be pleasant to everyone. This includes being pleasant to janitorial staff, security guards, etc. Why? Because it’s the socially appropriate behavior and because no one likes an a%s! Besides, you never know when you may need someone to unlock your office door or to walk you to your car during a late night at work. But, more importantly, you may need work-related favors from other staff at your job. Someone you mistreat may end up in a position of power or in a position to prevent you from succeeding on a project—just like Omarosa stuck it to Kwame on The Apprentice.

When I worked on budgets, very few people valued what I did, especially new employees. But, I knew how crucial budgeting was to the work being done by the company. My mindset was, “You’ll need something really important from me before I’ll need something important from you.” Sure enough, coworkers (who lacked an ounce of respect for me) would need a last minute budget for a high-profile contract or for an impatient client. Once they realized they could not get what they needed, without going through me, they’d come to my office smiling so hard I saw 64 teeth instead of 32! These coworkers knew they were at my mercy because I had other budgets requests that were submitted in a timely fashion for equally important clients. And, they knew that they would be a%s out, if I wasn’t able to help them.

Don’t put yourself in a position where you have to beg or grovel to get work from a coworker because you’ve been disrespectful to them in the past! Treat everyone with common human decency. You’ll be better off.