Professionals do not assume other people understand the value they bring; they articulate it.
For example, professionals often serve as linchpins in key conversations, broker alliances of shared values, and work out problems in advance of critical meetings. It’s a mistake to say, “I coordinated that.” Instead, describe the result of your coordination effort. Supporting logistics is honorable and necessary, but you’re executing more than what an entry level admin assistant can do, right?
This might be something like:
- Eliminated all but 2 possibilities for a decision-making meeting to keep them focused on selecting the best outcome
- Tailored the agenda and provided written updates in advance so the quarterly review required 1 hour instead of 3 hours
- Secured verbal commitment for a new contract by introducing 2 people to our VP of Sales
- Suggested a contributor help draft a white paper about a step-change improvement to our manufacturing process
- Provided concise statement of the problem and obtained stakeholder’s approval in advance
Don’t assume people, especially your busy boss, automatically grasps the significance of what you delivered.
(I served under a VP for several years who forbade anyone from using the word “coordinate” in a goal or a job description. At first I found this quite irritating, but I did profit from the push for clearer thinking about the value delivered.)
