Never Argue With Your Manager & 4 Other Top Career Advice

From "People Will Judge You" to "You're Replaceable"

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Hello there 👋🏼

Hope your week is off to a great start.

As we approach the end of the year, people & companies are running around to tidy up loose ends and to plan for the next year. It’s been crazy and I almost failed to send out this week’s newsletter. But knowing that each week, this newsletter is read about 2,000 times gives me the motivation to keep going…

Thank you!

If you’re new here, this newsletter is dedicated to helping you own your career. Feel free to subscribe and read older posts here.

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Disclaimer: I understand that our circumstances and backgrounds are different, so if you choose to adopt any of these, try with caution. 

Over the course of my career in the last 10+ years, I have been blessed by amazing people who have been kind enough to share valuable advice. These bits of advice have served as a guiding light on my path as I navigated my career. 

Here are some of the most impactful ones.

1. “You Cannot Argue With Your Manager and Win”

This advice has stayed with me for many, many years.

It was shared with me during my National Youth Service Corps (NYSC). For those who don’t know, NYSC is a Nigerian federal government initiative where university graduates get to spend 1 year on temporary working assignments to either public or private institutions to gain real-world experience. Mine was with a commercial bank in Lagos and I recall this advice by a certain Mr. Benjamin Akhuetie. 

I recently shared this advice on Twitter and while a lot of people agreed with it, a few insisted that you can actually argue with your manager and win. But at what cost?

What’s the point of winning a victory that costs more than a loss? 

“Any momentary triumph you think you have gained through argument is really a Pyrrhic victory: The resentment and ill will you stir up is stronger and lasts longer than any momentary change of opinion. It is more powerful to get others to agree with you through your actions, without saying a word. Demonstrate, do not explicate” 

~ Robert Greene, 48 Laws of Power. 

This advice does not in any way suggest that you cannot disagree with your superior. But again, what’s the point of fighting a battle you’re more likely to lose, and even when you win, the price of victory is so steep it feels worse than a loss? 

“The truth is generally seen, rarely heard”

~ Baltasar Gracian, Spanish writer. 

2. People Will Judge You

Appearance matters.

I have heard this advice in various forms. Like books, people will judge you by your “cover” without getting to know you. 

Is that fair? I don’t know or care. It is what it is. 

The way you dress, write emails, make presentations, etc will be judged and that’s okay. Some of these will come naturally to you, others won’t. For example, during the days of working physically in the office, dressing well was a huge struggle for me. 

As I mentioned earlier, I started my career working for a commercial bank so appearance was a big deal. In the bank, you were required to wear a suit and tie with nice leather shoes 4 or 5 days a week. This is probably the advice I struggled with the most. I’m a terrible dresser and I always thought that all I needed to do was outwork everybody. Working hard is good and I highly recommend it but looking the part while doing so has career implications. 

Dressing “appropriately” depends on your job/role. If you work for a bank, that might mean wearing nice suits and ties. If you work for a tech startup or a hotel, that might mean something else. 

Dress, write, speak, etc in such a way that you’re conveying the message you intend to. 

©Workplace HQ

3. You’re Replaceable. Everyone is. 

I live my life believing that there is always someone out there who can do my job better and might be willing to accept a fraction of my salary to do it. 

During my time in commercial banks, I watched many people go home on Friday evening as employees only to return on Monday morning and their accesses were already disabled. Almost every one of them didn’t expect that it would happen to them. 

My dad and many of my early managers hammered this advice home. While I cannot completely control if or when I’ll get fired, I can at least prepare for it. Over the years, these are some of the things I have done/still doing to prepare for that. 

• Upskilling- Over the years, I have tried to develop different skills that could help advance my career and keep me safer (hopefully) by taking courses/training, reading books, etc. At some point, this meant learning Excel to be able to churn out beautiful reports for my manager/team. Later, it became learning how to design PowerPoints and make presentations, how to write SQL queries, and writing exams to become a chartered accountant which I failed woefully at and dropped out amongst others.

• Working Hard- there is still a place for keeping your head down and grinding it out. With time you build a reputation as someone who gets things done. The ability to work hard is a skill that we can all develop. 

• This one is slightly crazy but I keep a list of the Things I Would Do if I Get Fired or Resigned Today- I update this list regularly and it contains things like “reach out to ‘XYZ’ and ask for a job”,  “teach in a nursery or primary school”, “drive Uber with my car”, “start a company”, etc.

  Whenever I update this sheet, I feel more reassured that I have other options should I get fired or resign. 

“You must not know ‘bout me

 You must not know ‘bout me

 I can have another you by tomorrow

 So don’t you ever for a second get 

 To thinking you’re irreplaceable” 

~ Beyonce, Singer & Philosopher

4. Network.

“It takes a village to raise a child” ~ African proverb. 

While you’re fully responsible for your career, you need the help of others to build it. From mentors to role models and sponsors to team members, you need others to push, support, and cheer you on while you do the same for them.

A few things to know about Networking

Networking is NOT transactional. Even though there is an exchange. 

Networking is a TWO-WAY thing. It’s give and take; NOT take and take. 

Networking is like INSURANCE. You buy it before you need it. 

“Your career success depends on both your individual capabilities and your network’s ability to magnify them” 

~ Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha in The Start-up of You. 

What is the best career advice you ever got? Share in the comment section.

Until Next Week,

Azodo from Workplace.