Do You Know Your Value?

I remember a performance review I received about 5 years ago from my manager who was a senior vice-president at a large Fortune 500 company.  I was the organizational development manager that had been hired to create learning structure and ROI for developing the organization and company’s talent.  This was a new role and I was excited to have the opportunity to blaze a new trail.  I felt like I had done a really good job throughout the course of the year, and was excited with anticipation for my review (and hopefully a bonus and a raise!).  I walked in and as I envisioned, he sang my praises.  He said, “The last year has just been really great.  I don’t know how we made it previously without you.  You’ve been a great hire and I’m so glad you’re here.  I’m recommending you for your full bonus and a raise.  Teresa, I don’t really know what you do, but you are really good at it". I walked out happy that he was satisfied and feeling like I had accomplished my mission.  Yet, I couldn’t ignore the nagging feeling of disappointment at the same time.  What was going on?

Over the course of the next several weeks, I tried to figure out what was bugging me about that interaction.  I set out a goal to blaze a new trail – check.  I wanted to “win over” management for how beneficial an OD function could be – check.  I was really hoping that I’d get my bonus and a raise – check!  What did I have to be disappointed about?  I was sitting in a meeting one day, trying to explain emotional intelligence to a client, when I was finally able to put my finger on it and the words came back to me in a booming tone: “I don’t really know what you do, but you are really good at”…”I don’t really know what you do…”.  Wow, that was really problematic!  Why?  What if my manager would have left the next day? What if the economy back then, looked the way it does today, and they were evaluating roles to keep and roles to eliminate?  What if I left the company?  Was I really leaving a legacy behind and developing the company if all the knowledge walked out the door with me?  So, I set out to articulate exactly what I was doing and the value I was adding to the company.

At first, it was hard to do.  I kept telling myself that good OD work is something to be experienced, not talked about.  That if I was out tooting my own horn, it would look bad. That if I do my job well, no one will even know I’m there.  That the impact I needed to have on the organization was bigger than me.  While a lot of that is true, it’s critical to be able to talk about what you do and articulate the unique value you bring to the table.  And, more importantly, if you don’t do it for yourself, chances are good no one will do it for you.  In my case, even if my manager wanted to because he was clearly happy with the work I was doing, he was unable to sing my praises.  Slowly, I started finding ways to recap projects I had worked on.  What clients liked and didn’t like, and most critical, why they felt the way they did.  I also started doing monthly summary statements of work completed, outcomes, estimated value, and next steps.  I also started proactively walking through those monthly summaries with my manager.  As a result, he started to see that there is as much skill and science to what I did, as there was art.

Do you know your unique value?  Can you articulate it to someone else?  Can someone else say what you do and why you are a valuable asset? Can you show the ROI for your role?

For more information about discovering your own unique value and strategies for sharing it, contact Teresa Sande at Teresa@theagendagroup.com or visit www.theagendagroup.comtoday!