Win at Work by Knowing How to Act: the Academy Award Winning Performance

We all know actions speak louder than words, right?  How about acting?

What if I told you the key to winning at work is in knowing how to act?

I’m not talking about everyday politeness, keeping your work-space neat, and replacing the paper in the copier. This is deeper and requires us to develop a skill that we can use during the toughest times.

I’m talking about an Academy Award-Winning Performance.

Some people excel at this; others have to work really hard; others fail miserably. Successful business people learn the skill of the Academy Award Winning Performance and use it to their advantage.

I must confess that it took me awhile to understand this concept, and then to use it. Most of the time I get it right although sometimes my performance falls short.

When do you need to be ready with an Academy Award Winning Performance? Some examples include:

• Putting on a brave face when your coworker receives the promotion you’ve been working towards.
• Continuing to work hard, despite losing coworkers and friends during a layoff.
• Maintaining professional composure when your boss or another exec unleashes a tirade about your work.

These are just a few; there are many, many more.

Some people have told me that attitude or such a performance doesn’t matter so they will let their emotions and reactions “just happen”.  That’s one way of doing it, although I would caution anyone who wants to do this as an emotional outburst could come back to haunt you.

One of my clients faced the daunting prospect of being the sole survivor in his department after a layoff. Not only was he sole survivor, as a result he had a new boss and a new position within the company. He was emotionally drained and frustrated, to say the least.

I counseled him to put on an Academy Award Winning Performance, knowing he was looking for his next opportunity outside of the organization. He decided to embrace his new role and, rather than simply doing the assignment his new boss gave him, he went above and beyond, providing her with a new strategy and tactics for execution.

She was thrilled and he received a promotion as a result. All due to his Academy Award Winning Performance.

At the end of the day, he found another opportunity outside of the company that better suited his skills. Yet the real lesson here is by embracing the role of team player, he secured a promotion. Who knows what would have happened had he simply sunk into his negativity?

He also created good will with his new boss which may benefit him in the future. It’s all about networking, you know.

Think about how the occasional Academy Award Winning Performance may help you at work.

Remember: the very best actors are not the ones who win an Oscar. They are the nominees left sitting in the audience, cameras trained on their faces as they smile happily for the winner when deep down inside they must be crying, screaming and cursing at their misfortune.

But they can’t show it. They are on live TV, with the world watching them. Literally.

That’s what it’s like to be a winner at work.