Are you following along with the crowd? Do you do what everyone else does?
If you want to stand out, you have to do the opposite of what others are doing instead. What could you do that plays to your strengths and allows your management to see you in a new way?
One of my clients was tired of being in the shadows all the time and wanted to find some ways that she could do more to stand out. She shared that she had some recommendations that she needed to send to her boss. I asked if she would be meeting with her boss to have that discussion. She said she would, but she would initially send over a presentation in PowerPoint to him for review first. As she talked about creating the PowerPoint she lost all her energy and looked dejected. I asked her what was happening. She said I know PowerPoints are what we are supposed to do, but I really don’t love them. It is a part of our culture to do them though, so I guess I have no choice.
I said, “You want to stand out from everyone else, so if you made a different choice, what could you do that is different to share the information with your boss?” She struggled to come up with any ideas. I asked her if I could make a suggestion. She nodded and I asked if she had considered doing a video for him? She began to smile and said I never thought of that as an option. I offered a couple of easy email video resources to her to try. She said, “Yes, please send over the links to those tools! This is so exciting, I am going to work on this tonight!”
Everything about her energy changed when she learned of another option to try. It is easy to think that you have to do what everyone else does, but you can make a different choice. Do something that will add value to others, show a different side of your leadership and help others see that you are willing to be unique and stand out from everyone else.