The Last Impression. Often Overlooked and Undervalued.

There is a lot of talk about first impressions and how important they are.  How first impressions are so powerful that they alone can dictate the success you experience in your career.  

But, what about last impressions?  What about the last impression you leave with people when you change employer or role?  How important is it and what could it mean for you and your career prospects?  The last impression is generally only an afterthought and if you are like most of the population and find yourself undervaluing the last impression, it would be a good idea to keep reading to understand why you need to be more conscious of the impression you leave behind. 

There are generally two ways you can leave an organization, the first is on your own terms and the second is on the terms of your employer.  You can hope that every one of your transitions is of your own volition, however, the reality is that it can very well be a result of company re-organization, or worse, poor performance.  Regardless, the last impression you leave with your coworkers and superiors is just as important as the first impression you gave them when you first started, if not even more so.

“Dress Downs” Have No Place Outside the Barracks…Least Of All in an Office.

It will probably happen once in your career that you will get yelled at, and I mean really yelled at. If not, I wish I were you! It’s funny, because after I got “dressed down” at the office, in front of the entire organization (as little as it may have been) I was completely shell shocked! I couldn’t believe what had just happened and what had been said to me by my boss…I mean, I wouldn’t have thought it would have been acceptable even in a private setting, let alone a public one. Ok, ok, so for all you who think that I may have committed some organizational crime to deserve it, I really didn’t!

This is what happened:

Office Politics: How to Survive and Thrive.

I polled a bunch of people in my network on LinkedIn.  I asked them “What area do you feel you lack the most confidence in?” Office politics led the poll with a strong 40% consensus.  So let’s blog about it.

It’s true, as well as unfortunate, that office politics are a part of the job.  Now, not all office politics are bad; most of the time they are parasitic, but in some cases they can actually play a positive role in a business.  In a highly diplomatic and open organizational environment, office politics will encourage opinions, debate and the achievement of results.  People with ideas will be encouraged to work hard to prove their points in order persuade their team mates of the best course of action; results are king and the audience is scrutinous but open to change.  The parasitic office politics (or as I like to call it, the corporate gangrene) are the kind that segregate an organization to the point of sabotage.  It’s a room full of finger pointing and a busy street of bus traffic where people are lined up waiting for their ride but get pushed under instead. 

I get a lot of questions asking how to handle office politics.  The truth is that office politics are a game.  But no matter what rules you find yourself playing to, there is only one universal golden rule that you MUST follow: be nice to absolutely everyone.