Speaking Up & Standing Out: Be Heard and Respected on the Job

Congratulations! You’ve done it, put in the time and effort at school and your work experiences to be ready for your moment, and now you’re here, ready for your first full-time career. 

You’ve learned many things in your education and work experience to prepare you for your first full-time career; you may be an agronomist, so you know every disease corn can be susceptible to and how to treat it! But how are your employability or soft skills? We often look beyond those soft skills and want to bring in more of our fact-based knowledge, which we believe has helped us secure this job. 

You are now part of a team! To really be part of a team, you must be a contributing member at work. What does that mean? A successful team member should be actively listening, engaging, and speaking up when it is their time to do so.  

We will explore the importance of speaking up and gaining respect in the workplace. I wish I had known these things when I began my first full-time job. 

It is easy to put yourself into a corner with the mindset that I am the least experienced person here. Why would anyone want to listen to me?! 

We polled nearly 600 AgCareers social media followers on how comfortable they were speaking up during a meeting, and they said: 

Very Confident 

• 40% 

Sometimes Hesitant 

• 27%  

I Rarely Speak Up 

• 9% 

It Depends on the Situation 

• 24%  

I have an interesting perspective on this topic; although I am in my mid-20s and not a business leader, I have been with the company for a while now and help supervise our interns and co-op students.  

“No one would want to listen to me; I JUST graduated…” Many of us have had this thought before; I know I did, and I know many students who have had that thought and maybe still do.  

Point of View: Think of it like this—yes, you are the youngest here, yes, you have the least amount of experience, BUT that isn’t just a downfall.  

• You are the youngest one here – with the trendiest and freshest ideas!!  

• You are the least experienced one here, but you bring a new and exciting outlook to our business that we all need.  

I realized I wasn't getting much feedback or ideas from my interns and was, frankly, getting a little irritated. Why was I the only one giving out ideas? Why weren’t they coming to the table with something fresh? Well, I did some self-reflection and part of the problem was ME! What? It couldn’t be?! Well, it was. I didn’t set up my students correctly to empower them enough to contribute to the team.  

Now, when interviewing or onboarding interns, I tell them that we work as a team. I want to hear your thoughts! And that is part of your job experience here: sharing ideas. 

! SUPERVISOR TIP! 

Learn your team, and learn them well: How does each team member function? Are they more comfortable speaking up in a large meeting? Are they more comfortable sending ideas over email or on a one-on-one basis? You can have your team take an assessment, such as Cloverleaf or Working Genius, to determine how each person works best. 

I asked my interns how comfortable they were speaking up in a team setting, and their thoughts were:  

• It depends on who is in the meeting and what the topic is. 

• They are more comfortable if someone asks them personally what their thoughts are.  

• They are more secure speaking up if they first build a casual team relationship.  

• Much more inclined to give feedback if given the topic ahead of time and don’t have to be put on the spot.  

Here are some steps to take to gain that confidence you may be seeking to speak up & stand out:  

1. Be a diligent listener 

Wait, didn't you say we're focusing on speaking up? Well, yes! However, listening is a powerful tool for speaking up, as it enables you to contribute at the right time with the correct information because you are actively engaged in the conversation.  

2.  Preparation 

You should feel more confident in yourself if you are preparing for the topic ahead of time. If you don’t know the discussion topics, request a meeting agenda! 

3.  Ask ALL the questions 

As someone in a supervisor role led by another manager, I understand the importance of asking questions. When my intern has a question, it is mostly my responsibility as a supervisor to fully explain and clarify all the details. As a supervisor, I equate questions with curiosity and eagerness. 

4.  Ask for Feedback Often  

Wondering how you’re doing? Well, just ask! Ask your supervisor how you can improve. How can you become more of a contributing team member? Seeking feedback shows initiative, and it helps both you and your team grow.  

5.  You don’t always have to say something