In the drive to succeed in our daily lives, the impetus and motivations is geared towards showing ourselves off to the very best effect – appearance, performance, dress, outward symbols of success and the kind of people we hang out with, date and maybe marry – everything is geared towards if you’ve got it flaunt it!  If anything we do so much of these activities that leads many observers, even close friends and family, to develop a significant overestimation of both our success and abilities.

We’ve all heard of the “house of cards” and this is little different!

So much has been done to brainwash us into this mode of thinking that we have stopped asking ourselves whether it is truly a good thing to be “the man” or the woman that gets it all done.  If rating highly in other people’s estimations, is this good for ourselves and getting what we want in our lives?

Is there really any value in being underestimated?

Never Disappoint

If your boss underestimates you at work, just think of the surprise you can create if you suddenly demonstrate your true colors at a moment when it pulls your team or boss out of the fire!  This has value for you because firstly, you surprise your boss who will look at you with new eyes and secondly, you confound the competition for promotion and a raise.

Exert Control Over Tasks Delegated to You

One trick to avoid a chore is to deliberately do it badly the first time out!  A favorite is to make tea or coffee for your colleagues but do it so it tastes terrible and you can be assured you’ll never be asked to do it again!

This applies to work tasks generally whether you are at home or place of employment – deliberately creating the impression that there is something you cannot do or are not good at will help get you passed over when that duty comes around.

Enhance Your Negotiation Skills

Someone said that diplomacy is the art of letting you have my way!  By appearing to be something other than you are, you may entice the other side to let down their guard or become complacent in terms of driving the bargain which is being struck.  If the other side believes you to be “slow” or not on the ball, then they are likely to treat you as less of a force to be reckoned with and become sloppy themselves which you can then take advantage of.

There is an Advantage to be Gained from Appearing Passive

Many people are turned off by the hard-charging, energetic and must-do attitude even though they do this themselves in their daily lives.  The reason is we generally do not like aggressive or pushy people and there is “shock” value in taking a different approach to the “frontal attack” mentality.  By appearing to be passive you are allowing the other side to engender and form a relationship which is based more on trust and cooperation than coercion, and borrowing from the diplomatic world again, it is first necessary to get behind someone if you intend to stab them in the back!

Stand Out from the Crowd

In a world where the majority of people are seeking to build themselves up, someone taking the opposite strategy will help themselves stand out from the crowd.

“An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance”, but if you simply rely upon your image, eventually you will be found wanting when it comes to performance.  By building your reputation based on performance, which is quietly acquired and cultivated, it will be those who value your approach and relationship who will create your image for you based upon virtues valued universally – hard work, success, reliability and integrity.

by Dell Atlas who also writes for Galorath, cost estimating software experts

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