Shine & Shade

Ever do something you think is an accomplishment over everyday life - find a good park, get an free cookie with your lunch order, find a $20 bill in your jacket pocket; it's winning at a personal level. You don't need any outside accolades are needed to feel the win. Work wins are the same except, you do receive outside recognition for what you have accomplished, whether you want it or not. Sadly, outside accolades are witnessed by people around you. For others to be OK with your win they need to be OK with themselves where they are most people are not. Hence, the onset of shade.

When everyone in the office is trying to get ahead, make a name for themselves, but leader of the pack, there is a camaraderie. Everyone supporting each other, inspiring each other, and boosting each other's self-esteem; it's we're all in the together. Once one of you, and in this example that someone is YOU, makes some head way - speaks up at meetings, is asked to look over a proposal, invited to sit in on a meeting with a new client - the group support begins to diminish. Along with diminishing support comes what you weren't expecting, shade. You'll begin to see side looks, comments that were not asked for about what you are doing, and the worst is they will start questioning anything you say in meetings. Why? Because that's just how shade works.

The good part about people who throw shade, is that they now have outed themselves and you can adjust yourself accordingly. Just like with success comes jealousy, shade comes with shine. People would like to think they are better than that but they just can't help thinking "why YOU and not me". This kind of thinking causes them to throw shade your way.

Now, that you know shade will be coming with your work shine, be careful about what you share. Sure, you have to befriend co-workers but you don't have to share ideas, ultimate goals or your game plan to success. Knowing now what will happen, helps you to cultivate what people do and don't know about you now. No sense in giving people ammunition against you. If they want to throw shade at you they will need to think it through. Make it hard for them to come at you by not knowing so much about your career plans that they know where to enter and do damage.

Shine is the goal but shade is the extra that no one counted on. Let's change that up by counting on it and adjusting ourselves.

If you're already in the thick of shade and need some help squashing it, join my FREE FB Group today.

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