How to get ownership of your work when you are all over the place?

Question

I work remotely for a US company. I do customer support, training, onboarding; presales, lead generation, identification of potential collaborators; project management and keeping track of everything that is going on in the region, including dozens of projects and more than 50 customers. I also represent the company in the region, as there's nobody else to physically attend events, unless they fly somebody over.

Despite me running all over the place, I don't have a senior role in the company. The company is growing, and now we hired even more experienced people for functions like marketing and sales.

In the US, the new execs have already hired people they previously worked with, pushing down some of my older colleagues (but presenting their slides at strategy meetings!).

I am afraid that the same execs will eventually split my tasks among people they will hire, leaving me with nothing to do but (maybe) customer support.

To get established and diminish the chance of being "eaten away", I think I would need to take ownership of my work and list projects and achievements.

Note that when my work leads to something serious, execs get involved or fly over, and I don't get involved or updated any further.

My question is: running all over the place as a "non-senior" remote employee, how can I take ownership of my work and get established?

Answer 1

I would recommend a few things to you.

1. Be your own cheerleading team. It is important that the success your generate for the company is recognised by the company as having come from you - but that doesn't necessarily come across in reports no matter how detailed. It is an absolute truism that in our professional lives it is extremely rare for someone else to blow our trumpet - we need to focus on that ourselves. So to do this - you need to actively seek out opportunities to personally point out your successes. You don't need to point out every one - and you need to be careful not to do it too much, but a bit of self promotion will go a long way to being recognised in the fashion you are looking for.
2. Evaluate carefully the culture of your company. Is it changing? Is it still the company you were excited about when you joined? Is it a company that you want to be recognised at? This evaluation needs to be honest. It could ultimately determine for you that you don't care about recognition, because the company is no longer a good fit for you. No longer being a good fit for you, would lead naturally into looking for a company, and a role, that is a good fit for you and what you want to achieve. If there are new execs coming in, and they are making the kind of changes you describe - that is a definite personal risk that you need to evaluate for yourself, and you should carefully consider your situation in light of that risk - which leads on to my next point:
3. Evaluate yourself. Have you changed away from what you were when you first began this role? Are you now looking for different aims and goals? Is it time for you to seek something different? This would lead to you identifying what you personally want and your current 5 year plan. If you don't have a 5 year plan - develop one. Once you have evaluated yourself, you may just find this company and role is what you actually want - in which case it is crucial to resolve the challenge you point out. If not - there are other challenges to resolve, and you can stop spending energy on this issue, and start spending all your spare energy on your personal plans.
4. Ask for help. An additional strategy is to seek out 1 or more leaders in the organisation and ask for mentoring. This strategy is equally valid if your personal reflection is likely to lead you into a different company and culture, because reaching out to Execs for mentoring is developing a network that can assist you within the company AND OUTSIDE IT TOO! The execs you reach out to for mentoring should be ones that you feel you already have a degree of rapport with, and should definitely have a cultural approach and philosophy that is compatible with your own. Find the right opportunities to meet with your mentors in person, and be direct in asking for professional development. This approach also gives you the opportunity to ask them - "Is there anyone else within your network that you would be comfortable introducing me to so I can also ask them for Mentoring?" (Obviously in your own words) If you do get such an introduction, it begins the building of a network outside your existing company, and that is something really important to nurture and build before it becomes urgent. When it is urgent, you are are not in the best frame of mind to get it right, and so doing it now both comes across as more genuine and is more likely to build an effective network that can support and grow you long term.

I wish you the best of luck in this journey, it is not an easy one and we all struggle at times with shifting sands underfoot an this appears to be part of what you are currently wrestling with. Remember to take care of your health, both mental and physical!