Pitch Pyramid: Part 2

Here we go again...

Why am I not being heard???

I tried a thing. I was softly letting people know what I do, and what my job wasn't. My employer's reply 'That's nice Sybil but we need you over here"

I complied. But, I could not figure out why was I being "moved" to a different task when everyone else on the team continued doing what they always did.

Then my mind began to race.

Was I a poor performer? Is my work not good enough? Is this a setup for failure?

I did what any reasonable person would do. I asked the team if they got voluntold to take on more tasks.

NOPE NOPE NOPE. AND IN FACT, they were doing LESS THAN ME!

Insert my angry, "before I got saved" voice. This situation was unbelievable. And yet it happens again, and again, and again.Last week I did a quick intro of what a PITCH PYRAMID is, and gave step one in the process [ICYMI it's linked on my site HERE.]

Know what "they" say about you.

In my case, word had gotten around the office that I would do just about anything if someone asked politely enough. They thought I enjoyed being "the dumping ground for ideas no one wanted to do" [their words not mine] and saw me as someone who would complete tasks. No matter what. Lessons learned. I got clearer with my voice, but not before engaging my why and how.

Which brings us to Step 2.

Step 2: Know WHY you work the WAY you do I didn't know why I was the "dumping ground". But, upon investigation, I concluded I like managing tasks. It does bring me joy to create systems, fix what's broken, and move the ball to the end goal. I had tenacity, but what I thought was a good character trait had backfired. Knowing WHY you work the way you do is not to be confused with "what's your why" though that's a good question too. Ultimately, we all want the same thing. To serve in our strengths, and have as easy a life as possible. Knowing why you work the way you do includes two key questions. 1. How do you do what you do? 2. Why can no one else do it better than you? Once you've ironed those out, see if there is a trend.

Find 3 - 5 words that depict how you do what you do

Reflect on what other's have said about you. Is there a message under the message? Does what you do align with the results people get from working with you? Out of curiosity, Reply to this email. Would love to know what your words are. If you don't know me by now my three words are EDUCATE. ADVOCATE. AND SPEAK.

My name is Sybil Stewart and I get paid to run my mouth. What about you?