The Me-Suite host, Donna Peters, shares the 16 ways to differentiate yourself at work.

There comes a time in our careers when being smart is the price of admission.  It used to be that you were often the smartest one in the room.  You caught on the quickest.  You scored the best.  You could figure anything out.  You were comfortably top-tier on most performance curves.  Now you’re surrounded by other people just like you.   So how do you differentiate yourself when you look around and see a bunch of YOUs?  You’re now in that sphere of your career when characteristics around leadership qualities, emotional intelligence and creativity start to separate the ‘really goods’ from the ‘amazings.’  

There are 16 attributes* that differentiate when being smart is simply the price of admission.  As you go through The Me-Suite 16, make a mental note of where you might want to raise your game in 2021.  And if you’re super strong already in an area, think about how to coach that in others.  

1. You don’t have to have all the answers; you need smart questions. True leaders are constantly curious and confident that they don’t have all the answers.  Which brings us to #2...
2. Know when to bring in the right person, and do so proudly
3. Always have a point of view.  Your POV is the value you bring in a capsule.  The right dose at the right time.  Distilled and easy to swallow
4. Be two steps out in front of anticipating others’ needs.  When you’re anticipating, you’re strategic, two steps out in front; you’re in the future
5. There is no such thing as an informal meeting.  Don’t mistake ‘casual’ for half-a$$
6. Manage up, across and down 
7. Be able to explain complicated concepts to your grandmother.  If you can’t explain something complicated to your grandmother, you likely don’t truly understand it yourself
8. Get into personality profiles.  They are reliable guides.  Which brings us to #9...
9. Know your Achilles Heel.  Everybody has one...or two
10. Communicate, communicate, communicate.  This isn’t your birthday we’re talking about.  No one in business likes surprises
11. People love to give advice—ask for it more often and treat it like a gift (sometimes you like it, sometimes you don’t, but you smile and say ‘thank you’ always)
12. Collaborate.  Innovation comes from collaboration
13. Don’t say “I.”  “We” is almost always a more accurate reflection of the way something got accomplished
14. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes before you send an email, give feedback, present a recommendation etc.  Try to see the situation from their perspective to tailor your approach
15. Create a personal advisory board of mentors.  Just like companies have a Board of Directors, you need a Board to pursue your own personal goals
16. Strike the right tech-touch balance.  Do you need to pick up the phone, or write a thank-you note by hand?  Or can a text emoji suffice?   Be intentional in your tech-touch choices

Which one will you work on in 2021?  Which one will you coach in others? 

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