Standing Out Without Going Overboard

Most workplaces expect employees to function in a narrow range: mildly cheerful but not excessively so, sadness and anger certainly being verboten. Your viewpoints must be politically correct. Dress must be middle-of-the-road except in artsy workplaces.

But what if you're not middle-of-the-road? Don't assume that your only choice is to squash yourself into the conformity box. Rather, use your unique qualities to your advantage:

You're aggressive. In most workplaces, people who cross over the line from assertiveness to aggressiveness get shot down, often via quiet subterfuge. Antidotes: volunteer for projects requiring aggressiveness, such as cold calling. Get on a committee with people who don't mind or even value your aggressiveness. Don't assume that other aggressive people will value that trait in you; sometimes, they demand being the Alpha.

Subscribe to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance

Be a smarter, better informed investor.

Save up to 74%

Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free E-Newsletters

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.

Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.

Sign up

Or work on solo projects, for example, writing a report for which your aggressiveness in digging up information is unlikely to annoy anyone.

You're quiet as a nun. It's true that in America, splashy sells and squeaky wheels get grease, but quiet competence can also prevail. If you're uncomfortable speaking up at meetings, e-mail your ideas to staff. If you can't make yourself utter those self-promoting elevator speeches, find a champion willing to sing your praises.

Also, keep a log of your accomplishments so that at review time, you can send it to your boss along with a note that says, "Perhaps you might find this useful in writing your evaluation."

You look unconventional. Whether it's fashion-fast-forward or the grunge look (complete with purple hair streak and nose pierce,) you prefer the edgy to the mainstream. The same eccentricity that might hurt your career if displayed on your body might be deemed pleasantly quirky when adorning your cube décor: an avant-garde poster, a wild rug, even your pet tarantula (in a terrarium, please). And, of course, it may be comforting to remind yourself that, after work, you can look as (ahem) innovative as you like.

You're passionate about your politics or religion. If so, it can be difficult to not hold forth at work. You can usually avoid reprisals if your views are politically correct. If not, you might get away with a brief and infrequent comment as long as you're sensitive to whether your listener is offended. If so, stop immediately -- the workplace isn't for proselytizing. Avoid decorating your workspace with signs that might easily offend, for example, "Anybody but Bush" or "Anybody but Hillary."

You're proud of your race, gender, or sexual orientation. That's okay but you don't want to be known as someone who plays the race, gender, or sexual-orientation card to obtain unfair advantage. There's nothing wrong, however, with making such tactful suggestions as, "Based on my contacts in the Latino (or whatever) community, I suspect that Susan's marketing idea might work better than Tom's, or there might even be a third possibility (Insert your idea)."

You're entrepreneurial. Your boss may value your being an intrapreneur, so trot out a few of your ideas. However, such ideas often are rejected because they divert time and money from higher priority projects. If your next few intrapreneurial ideas are nixed, you probably need to back off, and if that frustrates you too much, it may be time to seek a more intrapreneurial boss or to take the risk of self employment. See Entrepreneur's Guide to Success for advice on starting your own business.