People with ambition need platforms. Increasingly, hiring companies with the best jobs are searching for passionate crusaders for results and effectiveness, and the best way to demonstrate your commitment to success is to be personally accountable for results. But the “company man” days are long gone; today’s top professionals represent themselves, and companies are more than happy to benefit from the synergistic effect of hiring and retaining employees that are moving forward.
Of course, building a platform is a long and arduous process. You don’t just call the TED folks and tell them you’re ready to hit the international stage; it takes years of good work on the job and extra work promoting your beliefs and approaches to anyone who will listen. And when life lets you kill two birds with one stone, you’d better throw the stone as hard as you can.
What I mean is this: the presentations you deliver in your professional capacity as a representative of your company provide you unique branding opportunities. On your own, you might only have enough notoriety to get a speaking gig at a local Rotary club meeting. As a representative of an innovative new company, though, you might be able to get an opportunity to speak at a convention. Such events can rocket-propel your personal brand into a new stratosphere, and your employer is almost always going to support the effort (and even pay for your expenses to go) since your eager willingness to promote yourself just so happens to promote them, too.
If you can deliver a sensational performance to boot, you can expect even greater returns on the investment of time and effort. The fact of the matter is that in our current economic client, companies are increasingly valuing employees who demonstrate a willingness to go above and beyond their job descriptions. In the past, such overt efforts may have been misconstrued as selfish or even mutinous; today, most companies don’t want any employee whose ambitions are limited to the scope of their current job and business hours.
So if you want to build a platform, start identifying opportunities to present. Where possible, seek opportunities that create a win-win situation for yourself and your company. Working together, you’ll both go far.
What are you doing today to build your platform? How can you use presentations to reach the next level?
