Raise Your Value: Make Other People Look Good
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One simple way to increase your value exponentially, whether you are a leader, part of a team, and for all the relationships and people that you have in your life, is the very simple idea of making other people look good.
Let’s go over what that means and a few different ways of what that looks like in action.
First: We’re all different.
One of the factors in workplaces that creates challenges and static is that we are all different. People have different personality types, communication styles, working styles, skill sets, ways of thinking and processing information, and we all come from different backgrounds and lived experiences.
All of those things are necessary to make companies more effective and successful. Diversity makes organizations stronger. It is required to create highly capable, well-rounded teams and to fill different roles and functions.
“A well-balanced, diverse team is far more effective than a team of people who all think, act, behave, and perform the same way.”
A well-balanced, diverse team is far more effective than a team of people who all think, act, behave, and perform the same way. Diversity matters and we have to recognize, embrace, and celebrate that.
However, along with strength, another natural consequence that diversity often creates is conflict, tension, and static in the form of personality conflicts and other strife between humans. One way that teams and individuals can counteract this dynamic is to intentionally adopt the mindset and behaviors associated with the simple concept of making other people look good.
When teams strive to make each other look good it becomes the cornerstone for them to acknowledge and honor diversity, and embrace the value of differences between people. Teams who do this also naturally discard attitudes of being better or worse than others and “us vs them” mindsets.
Here are three examples of what making each other look good looks like for teams and individuals.
1) Quick to praise & help, slow to point out mistakes.
When it comes to making other people look good, one main factor is to be invested in other people's success. In action, that looks like being quick to praise or to help people, and slow to point out their mistakes or criticize them.
Being invested in other people’s success also means doing everything in your power to prevent other people from falling short or failing. If you know somebody is struggling, step in to help.
2) Watch your words.
Another way to embrace the idea of making others look good is to refuse to participate in gossip or badmouthing. When you open your mouth to speak about somebody else, make it to lift them up or say something positive, not to be a human flamethrower.
“Yes, you’ve heard this before and it’s never a bad look to actually live it: Speak well about other people.”
Yes, you’ve heard this before and it’s never a bad look to actually live it: Speak well about other people. If you don’t have nice things to say about someone, keep them to yourself, or better yet go address the issues you have with them at the source. Aka, go sort things out with them directly.
And if the talk or gossip that you’re engaging in isn’t something you can sort out with them directly, namely if it’s just purely criticism, then try practicing being a higher caliber person by keeping your mouth shut altogether :)
Simply said: When you have the opportunity to point out somebody else's shortcomings, don't.
As a co-worker, a leader, an employee, and as a human, be intentional about the words you choose in regards to other people. If the words coming out of your mouth are purely to make that person look bad, make a better choice.
3) Resolve conflicts.
Do not stay in static or conflict with other people. If you have standing tension or are harboring resentments with someone else, it is nearly impossible to genuinely be able to come from a place of trying to make them look good.
If you have conflict with somebody else, go to that person and sort it out. Be proactive, take initiative, look for mutually beneficial solutions and resolutions so that you can avoid remaining in conflict with anyone. For some advice and tips with that, here are a few blogs and videos to give you some tools and guidance to help you navigate those situations:
That's it. You are unique, other people around you are unique, focus on making other people look good. Regardless of your role on a team, you massively increase your value to your team and the people around you by adopting this mindset and these behaviors.
Just think about how awesome every team and organization would be if everyone showed up with that intention. Pretty simple, pretty amazing.
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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content in less than 5 minutes a week. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop
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