I am a new graduate and just joined a good organization, but I have a problem. I have made some great suggestions to improve things around here, but people are just ignoring my recommendations. I’m a bit disillusioned – I learned a lot of great stuff in school, and I should be able to put it into practice. How do I get my ideas accepted by these people?
Congratulations on your new position. It can sometimes be difficult for new graduates to get their first job, and you have passed that first hurdle. Your second challenge is to make a successful transition from hardworking student to industrious and productive employee.
School rules
The school paradigm for most of us is individually-based. Sure, we all need to work on group projects (usually reluctantly) to get grades sometimes, but usually, you are the one studying, completing term papers, and writing exams in order to get the best mark possible. Your focus, naturally, is to do as well as possible for yourself. Whether your class or even your school does well is of much less, if any, concern of yours. When you do work in group situations, you are usually dealing with people very much like yourself in age, expectations, objectives, experience, etc.
Work rules
The work paradigm operates quite a bit differently. Everyone certainly wants to do well for themselves and move along in their career with promotions, but more importance is placed on working well with others, simply because most workers contribute little pieces of value in a bigger overall process. You may be dependent on one or two others in order for you to do your job, which you then need to provide to someone else in order for them to do their job. It is important that everyone understands and appreciates these interdependencies, and it certainly helps to foster a less stressful and more congenial working environment. In addition, you now have co-workers who are at different stages of their lives – from recent graduates like yourself, to more seasoned veterans, to burnt-out desk jockeys, frazzled parents, and others who may not share your views on life and work. The bottom line is that it is important to understand these differences in order for you to be successful and get your ideas implemented in the work world.
The new kid on the block
As the “newbie” of the group, you have to start with a plan for success. That means looking around at the individual personalities in your group and seeing how people interact and how the group functions. Who are the people who get their ideas implemented? Talk to them about what they did and how their idea succeeded. Observe who the leaders of the group are – it’s not always the boss. There can often be other key decision “influencers” whose opinions are highly regarded. It is important to get them on your side also.
Buying in to buy-in
No one likes to be blindsided, particularly if any new idea impacts them individually. The normal human defense to this is to come up with objections as to why your idea will not work. “We’ve tried this before and it didn’t work” is a very common excuse. It is your job to do some research. It could actually be true that these objections are valid and will stop the implementation of your idea. However, things change in time, and if you find out why it didn’t work in the past, you can come up with a possible solution.
It is your responsibility to talk to those directly involved and/or impacted before you announce your idea to the world. That way, people can help you get “buy-in” from the main decision-makers, influencers, and others, and in addition, you come across more knowledgeably to the group as someone who has looked at all the angles. With buy-in, these people become ambassadors for you, smoothing the way to successful implementation.
Help me help you
The more you can get a group consensus on the idea, the better. You are essentially convincing them that the success of your idea will benefit each of them in some manner. Try to make it appear to be OUR idea, rather than MY idea. For the most part, people will give you credit for the idea, and you do have the satisfaction of seeing your idea implemented.
Good luck!
Michael Mayne, M.B.A., CMA, is Managing Partner and a Certified Professional Career Counsellor at Catalyst Careers, a Career Transition, Counselling, and Outplacement firm. Michael has been involved in the not-for-profit sector for many years, and is Past President and Treasurer of ALS Canada. To contact Michael, visit: www.catalystcareers.com.
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Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.
