By: Angie Falls

Day in day out I put my efforts in an ever-changing company. Unfortunately, my efforts go unnoticed. After numerous attempts to get promoted and define my responsibilities, I get involved in this with managers who are not capable to turn this around.

It is time I highlight my achievements in every aspect of work. I now have set a deadline for the situation being changed or leave the company. On the other hand, leaving the company would be the easy way out. I choose to challenge the organization.

I read an article on the topic to get some theoretical insight;

What the Experts Say

“There’s nothing worse than feeling unseen and unheard in the workplace,” says Annie McKee, author of How to Be Happy at Work. “We all have a human need to be appreciated for our efforts, and so when your colleagues don’t notice [your contributions], it makes you feel as though you don’t belong.” You might also start to worry – justifiably – about your potential professional advancement. “Self-doubt starts to creep in, and you think, ‘If no one notices what I’m doing, how am I going to get ahead?’” But you are not powerless to change the situation, says Karen Dillon, author of the HBR Guide to Office Politics. “There are many ways to make sure people understand and see what you do.” The key, she says, is to find “diplomatic ways to toot your own horn.”

I also did some research on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs for motivational theory to get a better understanding and a different perspective on matters. Very useful for me was below mentioned site;

https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

It is time I took responsibility for the unfortunate situation and tried to focus on how to make a change. I was in need of recognition for my profession. I started to be realistic in setting my goals. When the time was right I requested to have a meeting with my boss on the topic and I got a positive go ahead. This resulted in the second meeting with the director. I explained the situation and drew the attention to the past development, performance, and future targets. I provided a list of the recent achievements to emphasize my strengths.

Since I manage employees on a global level I made sure to increase the visibility of these global tasks and the day to day operations.

More than just validating myself I find intrinsic motivators much more powerful. I reviewed my own position and asked myself the question what services I can deliver to the organization and how to further develop this. What is it that I can deliver what is used throughout the company. It was apparent that during the years I became very valuable due to the fact that I have building relationships in every department. This factor of building relationship turned out to be useful for the team in an ever-changing company.

Whenever there was the need for historical information I was approached. In the past years, I also have been sharing the knowledge with colleagues and supporting other departments. This was very appreciated and communicated to the company.

The company also realized that I was the glue for collaboration. I could coordinate and collaborate with different stakeholder including higher management.

My efforts were noticed and only that realization made me feel valued at work.

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