Speaking Corporish
I was once trying to explain to my wife the concept of “offside” in a football game that we were watching together, of course for a man this can be a torture, but I finally did it, or at least she let me believe so! few weeks latter she joined me watching a basketball game in honoring the former legend Kobe Bryant when she suddenly shouted “offside”! I was speechless… and the only thing I could say was “…it is a different game” therefore totally different rules, she didn’t seem to be convinced but that’s the only answer I had. That’s exactly what happens when I see some colleagues dealing with Corporates in the same way they would with small enterprises or entrepreneurial firms, they just don’t get the idea that this is a different league with different rules and regulations.
In dealing with Corporates world, employees have to learn the corporate language, I called it “Corporish”, a set of rules, laws, mindset and etiquette that needs to be watched carefully and consistently lived so they can not only survive in the game but to prosper, few misconceptions that needs to be elaborated and other competencies that needs to be developed to avoid frustrations associated with dealing with these kind of enterprises size as most of the confusion is stemming from the fact that many don’t realize the complexity of corporate operations because of its size and culture associated. Therefore, I am here sharing 6 simple rules that I found them easy to practice and with the most valuable outcomes:
1- Get Aligned,,, One very critical element in becoming a corporate employee and speaking Corporish is getting aligned from the first day with Corporate Values, Vision & Mission, doing that authentically (not only lip servicing) saves a lots of time to be better engaged with corporate culture and thereof improves chances of success. While VV&M might be the easy part to get aligned with as they constitute the back bone of the organization and the unwritten contract with their employees, Policies and procedures that frequently changes can be the things many employees struggle to be aligned with, many thinks how senseless some policies or procedures are others decides to have their “own” way to do the business as long as they attain the same objectives. A mindset that eventually leads to employee’s detachment from the organizational solidarity which eventually weakens the operations. Finally, getting aligned with new trends is a talent many corporate citizens misses, so for example if your firm is catching on “ecologically sensible” organization or “Diversity” theme, don’t’ try to underestimate the trend or demoralize it as it usually turns to be the right way to go and a decision that is based on strong evidence or rational that most employees might not be exposed to.
2- Read In-between the Lines,,, every organization sends subtle messages to their employees all the time, whether intentionally or involuntary but eventually it does. So if you would notice that all new hires are externals, then it means they are looking for fresh ideas, if they are internals but mostly marketers, then it means they are looking for different set of skills than if they are all coming from finance background. Read between the lines and you will always find unspoken new rules that doesn’t necessarily need to be bad but rather skills and competencies that needs to be acquired
3- Positive attitude,,, A topic that is controversial, very sensitive and sometimes a taboo !! the difference between being hypocrite and positively speaking and complementing good management decisions. I frequently meet colleagues that are very confused with this aspect, they for some reasons think that if they speak nicely about the company or their managers they would be perceived as soft talking or phony, same perceptions about the nerd in the class, it is a phenomenal peer pressure. I believe we all need to vocally recognize good leadership as these leaders are resilient but still needs a bet on their shoulders from time to time as they are not made of stone, they are encouraged when they witness people’s appreciations for the actions they are taking. Meanwhile they are not interested in ten employees complaining about certain challenge but rather, they are interested to have one employee highlighting the challenge and ten proposing ten different ways to sort it out
4- Reliable, always,,, because of the size of these organizations, Corporates would always rely on its employees to deliver on their plans and considering it as a promise with minimal supervision, as falling to deliver would eventually lead to major pitfalls on the long run. Always-reliable employees are a source of trust and therefore continuously assigned for new challenges and assignments differently than those who misses their objectives frequently using all sorts of excuses even though sometimes are legitimate. While many employees believe that their corporates are considering them just a “number” and they would replace them a week after they fall sick or short in objectives attainment, taking this very emotionally as heartless entities, and it is actually anatomically true, yet it is very important to know that they replaced the “heart” with Ethics and Values that most corporates tries to live by because it has a direct relations to their operational performance and their brand image, therefore being replaceable shouldn’t be an excuse not to be reliable all the time.
5- Networking Skills,,, Some believes that corporates are machines or robots and there should be no space for interpersonal relationships, Another myth that needs to be elaborated, Yes it does consider people’s faces and sometimes it has biased preferences not necessarily by design but rather because making friends at workplace greatly helps better achievements, these kind of relationships are built on mutual trust and therefore speed up some processes and loosen up some routine restrictions. Networking sessions are even official activities taking place in many corporate events to allow employees to mingle around so they would collaborate better in future projects and avoid potential misunderstanding in communication which is one great stumbling block in corporate operations due to the large number of involved parties in each topic. Another good idea within networking is having a mentor or more, on one hand employee gains a wealth of knowledge and diversified views and on the other hand acquires an advocate for himself in another set.
6- Lower Expectations,,, I am frequently confronted with colleagues that are furious about some silly mistakes that their corporates are making from switching the delivery addresses of customers to forgetting to ship documents along parcels or missing salary payment of an employee and the list goes on endlessly. And I fully understand their frustration and their point of view as they assume that these errors can’t be even happening in the neighborhood grocery shop! But the fact is, yes it does, system errors, technology glitches, forgotten tasks or even lack of accountability of some staff members does take place whatever the reasons are s**t happens and sometimes it is quite frequent that some people lose the trust in some operations not only because of the magnitude or frequency of the mistakes but also exaggerated because they are joining the organization with the perception that it is “perfect” and can’t be doing such silly slipups. What they usually don’t notice, is the capacity of these firms to rectify most of these challenges in an institutional way, that sometimes takes longer than employees patience corridors
7- Cross Functional Collaboration,,, Corporates always values team work within their operations, they expect individuals to think in cross functional manners to involve different perspectives of different organization’s sectors and roles to maximize outcomes and avoid short sighted personal approach that increases the risk of failure. So, employees are encouraged to think creatively and take bold initiatives yet in implementing the way forward they are expected to incorporate other functions ideas and risks assessments. these different functions can be upwards on regional/global levels or parallel on local levels on colleagues or subordinate levels. On another related note, moving around and taking diversified roles regardless of being parallel or upwards helps building networks and develop skills
So,,, Speaking Corporish is a critical competency every employee needs to acquire to prosper within the organization and to avoid the regular frustrations caused by the rules of the game that might not be sensible for many yet they stay in as unwritten laws that needs to be abided to or etiquette that needs to be watched, eventually you would always have the option to quit if you are not comfortable with these rules, but would rarely be able to change them.
Do you Speak Corporish
