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Welcome to Career Convos with Nikki, where I share my experiences as both a leader and an employee in corporate America. In these episodes, I cover everything from finding a job and landing that promotion to managing employees and navigating the unwritten rules as a black woman and disruptive millennial in the workplace. I also answer career questions from my audience, offering advice and insights to help you find professional clarity and pursue your career goals with confidence. I'll talk about accounting a lot as that's my area of expertise but this career advice you can apply regardless of what field you work in. You're in charge, and you deserve it!
When it comes to your career, don't be misled by somebody in a leadership position who is older than you, They have a higher title than you. They're in the higher pay grade than you. Don't mistake that to mean that they are in any way, shape, or form more smarter than you, more capable than you, more just don't think that they're better than you. A lot of times we get in these situations and we feel like we have to, quote unquote, fall back when we're talking to certain people or in rooms with certain people just because they have a title that they've been given or like the incomparable Tashonda Brown Duckett would say because they have these rented assets and these rented titles from these corporations, don't mistake that to mean that they're in any way better than you and that you are not capable of doing their jobs. There are managers who will ask you about your work and critique your work and have no clue what you actually do for whatever reason.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So don't feel like because somebody is questioning you or challenging you that that says anything about you. Because in a lot of cases that says more about the person who's asking the question than it does about you. I was in a situation before where I was basically having to manage my manager. I was working on a project and I wasn't getting the responses that I needed to get. And so, number 1, to cover myself, to let it be known that I was doing the work that I needed to do on my end, but also to keep my manager in the loop about what was going on, I sent a quick FYI.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Hey. I've reached out to this person multiple times to get more information about a, b, and c. They haven't responded. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something. The response I got, well, let's back up.
Nikki Winston, CPA:The response that I was expecting you know what? I really wasn't expecting anything until after it happened. So the response that I got was, well, why are you reaching out to this person? I don't think this is the person that you should be talking to. I think you're reaching out to the wrong people.
Nikki Winston, CPA:That was the response that I got As a leader and a manager of people, my approach would have been, hey, employee. Thanks for the update. What exactly is going on? What type of information do you need that you're not getting? Perhaps there's another source or point of contact that we can reach out to since this person is not responding.
Nikki Winston, CPA:That's how I would have responded to an employee of mine who sent me that update. Not why are you reaching out to this person? I don't think that's the right person. So instead, my manager goes on this spree of reaching out to people, trying to get this information. And my manager identified some people and felt like we needed to have a conversation with them.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So we have this quick come to Jesus meeting to try to figure out the answers to all these questions that we have. And the people that were invited to the call start talking few updates, 1, 2 line sentences and responses. And then they say, that's all the information I have, but we really need Thomas on the call. I'm saying Thomas because that's my son's name, and I was trying to think of a name to use as an example. But we round up all these people for this conversation, some of whom had no business on the call because what we were looking for was not even relevant to them.
Nikki Winston, CPA:But we get on the call, and they say, well, here's what I know. But if you want more information, we need Thomas on the call. So let's say this person that I had reached out to, his name was Thomas. So when I say Thomas, Thomas is the person that I reached out to initially that my manager was questioning my moves. When my manager said, why are you reaching out to this person?
Nikki Winston, CPA:I don't think they have the information that we need. That person was Thomas. So I'm sitting on this call, checking to make sure that I'm muted so that I can have a good laugh to say you just challenged and questioned everything I had been doing as if I was doing the wrong thing only for you to round up a group of people and to them for them to confirm that what I was doing was the right thing. So if I'm reaching out to Thomas, you're asking me why I'm reaching out to Thomas because he's not the right person to talk to and then you round up the people that you think we should be talking to. And the conclusion is these people tell you, well, I only know bits and pieces but we really need Thomas in the conversation.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So now I'm sitting here like, it's not me. I did the right thing. So it's not always you. You might be telling yourself, am I doing this right? Where did I go wrong?
Nikki Winston, CPA:How can I be better? And it can turn out that it's not even you. That you're not even the problem. That there's issues above you that need to be resolved and worked out. And there's some leadership members or members of the leadership team who need some coaching themselves.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So don't think that a title that somebody gets inside of the walls that the company you work for means that they're anyway bigger, better, stronger, faster than you because that's a title that they have inside the walls of that corporation. Who is that person in real life? Who is that person outside of this company? And in most cases, it's somebody that you can run circles around. So be careful who you get your career advice from.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Just because somebody has a title doesn't give them any superpowers. It doesn't give them any abilities that you're not capable of attaining if that's what you desire to do. There are some people who land in roles because of who they know. I know that from personal experience, and there's there's a situation that I was a part of that just popped in my mind that I don't even feel like talking about right now. But it is a perfect example of somebody being in a senior level role and had no business being there.
Nikki Winston, CPA:They got the job in exchange for promising not to leave the company. And I'm a leave that at that, and I'm a keep I'm a keep it moving. But do your own research. Have conversations with people. Ask for advice.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Leaders, mentors, seasoned professionals, we are more than happy to have conversations and answer your career questions because most likely, you're asking about something that we have experienced ourselves. And if somebody reaches out to me on LinkedIn to say, I'm going through a situation at work. I'm not sure if I should leave or stay. What do you think I should do? I'm more than happy to have those conversations.
Nikki Winston, CPA:Because if I can give you some information or share some experiences that I've dealt with that can help you avoid those same pitfalls that I had to dig myself out of, I'm certainly gonna share that. So where you are in a company, where you are on the pay scale, however high, however low, doesn't define you as a person. It doesn't mean that the person that you're reporting to is better than you, that they're more capable than you. If you desire to be in that position that your manager is in or you want to elevate within the company, you more than have the potential to do so. So I needed to share that because too many times as professionals, we adopt this subordinate position, this automatic subordinate position in our workplaces because we feel like we have to dumb ourselves down or we have to bow down to people who have titles that are bigger than ours, and that's not true at all.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So keep that in mind. Just because somebody has a title doesn't mean that they're capable, that they're even deserving of the role that they're in. But I will say there are some amazing and my kids are having a conversation while I'm recording outside. But there are some amazing leaders, mentors, managers who have been where you are. Okay now my son's shooting hoops in his room.
Nikki Winston, CPA:And there are people who are willing to share those experiences and talk you through things that you're going through professionally that we have most likely been through as well, and to give you some guidance to say, listen. If this is what you want to do, here's a couple things I would recommend to get you there. Or just because you're in a bad situation now doesn't mean you'll be there forever. So there are some shitty managers out there. I will say that.
Nikki Winston, CPA:But for every shitty manager you run into, there are a ton of amazing managers who get it, who care, who show empathy. So that's it for now. Real quick. Short and sweet. I had to get that off of my chest, and now I'm about to take a break from working, from being a mama, from being a wife, and catch up on some of my favorite shows.
Nikki Winston, CPA:So check out all the career convo stuff, hashtag career convos on winstoncpagroup.com forward slash career convos. Of course, my LinkedIn inbox is always open. I love getting these type of questions from y'all and answering questions, providing insights and recommendations that are helpful for y'all. So for now, y'all be good. We'll talk soon.