Kevin O'Leary on how to get ahead in the workplace

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Welcome back to the social! If your New Year's resolution is to make some positive changes in your life, there's a lot to consider. Like, what's the best way to get noticed by your boss, and when should you ask for a promotion? All good questions. So here to tell us what we need to know to get ahead in the workplace is CTV's financial correspondent, also star of that little old show on CTV2, Shark Tank. Kevin O is here! Welcome back!

Welcome back! Thank you! I love this show and I'm always looking for the single guy in the audience. Where are we? Right over there! Right there!

So, Kevin, how do you know your worth? I mean, is there a hard fast way to calculate your value to a company?

Well, what matters when you're working for a company is can you execute the task given to you. In other words, in a large corporation, even a small one, somebody says, "Look, this is a job that has to get done, we're giving it to you." And then what matters is, do you get it done A, and B, how fast do you get it done, and how much ripple effect, as I call it, do you cause? Can you work with others? Maybe not. Do you cause a lot of hassle on others to get your job done? These are the metrics by which employees are measured. But number one is execution of the task.

You can take a lot of pain from somebody that's socially inept, perhaps doesn't work with others well, but when they get the job done, that's pure gold. That's what matters.

Okay, can you let your work speak for itself, or should you be bragging about your accomplishments to your boss?

Very dangerous to brag, really dangerous, because you know what? What keeps you employed is having your boss look great. And when all of a sudden you try and brag, it is often perceived by a superior as you trying to pass them on the freeway to the top of the company. Not a good look! Not a good! And so you cause yourself a lot of grief when you do that.

You've got to be a politician when you're an employee. You've got to understand when to take and when to give, and what to say and what not to say. Making your boss look good is always a good path, even if your boss is a bad, you know, they call them boss holes.

Yes! And so, because eventually whoever is the superior of the boss hole gets rid of them but looks at you as gold because you helped that boss achieve their goals that had to be achieved.

I find great employees are ones that know they have to get their job done, don't make a lot of noise doing it, but everybody starts to understand that they know what they're doing and they naturally rise up like cream to the top. That's what happens. Just get your work done; stop whining about it. Just do it, and good things will happen to you. It's that simple.

What if you think you deserve a promotion?

Ah, so there's two ways to go about that. Bosses are often ready for you to come at them in January, at the beginning of a year, with a new budget in place, particularly in big companies, to sit down and say, "Look, we're going to do a review of you from last year," which generally is part of the process.

Yeah, what's good, what's bad about you, what you did well, what you didn't? That's the time to say, "Listen, I think I did a great job; we've just recognized it in my review." If it did go well, I'd like you to give me a raise. I'm looking for, let's say, 5 to 7%. Generally, they're already ready for that.

Now in the middle of a year, there's another tactic that works because this happens to me in all my companies. Let's say there's a big opportunity. Let's say one of your companies gets a new client and they're huge, and there's a huge amount of work to get done, and it's got to be done in a short period of time. Step up to the plate, go to your boss and say, "Look, I can do this for you. I can make this happen. I can achieve the goal, but I want recognition if I pull it off. Let's talk about what you're going to do for me if I make this work for you. I know it's July, I'm going to, you know, trim my holiday back or work extra hard. If I get it done, I want a raise now, or I want a bonus or I want some showmanship of appreciation for why I'm doing this for you."

Believe you can do it; they'll pay anything to get it done. I've done that many, many times, saying, "Look, this doesn't even include your bonus next year. This is a one-time fee. You get this done, I'll give you $10,000." And I've paid that many times, and that gets the EMP.

I like the way you operate!

Oh, yeah! Listen, you know you go to work to make money. It's not there to make friendships. I mean, it's great that you can do that within a business, but you're there to achieve economic success for the organization so you stay employed.

And I think what's really matters is great employees are perceived as gold to their bosses. They'll do anything to keep them happy because it makes their jobs easier.

It's just like a big beehive, all humming together. Now, when you're a bad bee, you end up on the ground outside. That's what happens!

You always kill animal allergies when you come here!

It's better than talking about killing people, right?

I guess so!

So, you're mentioning this, the whole idea of interpersonal and inter-office relationships as well. So if you notice that an employee works better alone than as part of a group, for example, you mentioned this off the top, will that hurt their chances at success?

It can in some cases. But today, in a very technology-driven society, there are often places where individuals that work well by themselves can find a good niche in a company. For example, if you're a computer programmer, you're from another planet anyways, you know? And those people work very well by themselves. They're given goals. Sometimes they work 24/7, sometimes they take a couple of days off. I've got guys that write code for me; I don't care if they show up, as long as the code is written on time. They live in their own world.

That's different than working in a highly social environment, like fashion, for example. You've got to deal with people; you have to communicate with them. You have to be liked — or often not, you know? Let's think about it.

That's different, but there's places for people that are socially inept. You can find a job as long as you can execute. I don't worry about, you know, making friends if you can get your job done. That's all that matters.

Okay, but you often hear saying, "Dress for the job that you want, not the one that you have," or "Dress for success." Does attire and the way you present yourself make an impact on your manager?

Yes! Not your manager because you don't have a manager; you are the manager. And I serve my shareholders. I'm always raising capital for my companies. I always wear a tie when I talk about money. The answer to that is yes, yes, yes, and yes! You have to dress appropriately.

You know, you think about going into a bank or a financial institution, or an insurance company, or a large corporation, and you wear the same thing you wore Saturday night at a club? I don't think so! That's a bad outcome. If people are looking at you because you look hot, that's a bad outcome. You have to look appropriate.

You know, I'm not kidding. This is a very T, and most companies now have written policies regarding what you're wearing when you're a man or a woman. There's a code of ethics regarding dressing, and I think it's important. I've always been a big advocate for getting a good wardrobe so that you have the appropriate clothing for your work environment.

And your boss notices it too! You know, if you look sharp and clients look at you well-dressed, that's very good. And so, that's an investment in yourself. You can buy very appropriate clothing inexpensively. If you don't know how to do that, get some advice because if you show up with the wrong stuff, that's an impression that never leaves. People remember it for a very long time.

You want wardrobe that people don't notice because it's great all the time. Yeah! If someone doesn't remember what you wore yesterday, that's good! I'm not kidding; that's really good.

Now, let me ask you, you mentioned at the beginning of the show, we're always looking for the single man in the audience because a lot of women watch this show.

So, we all know it's common knowledge that women are underrepresented in leadership positions in business and in politics. So, Kevin, what needs to happen to change so that women are promoted into leadership roles?

Well, the good news is it is happening. You can find the chairmanship of banks. Take RBC, for example. The chairman, the head of that whole bank, is a woman now. And what's happened is boards and large companies have realized that, you know, it's important to bring women into the board or into management because their opinions are very valid.

I look at my own world; my best investors are women. They're very pragmatic. The companies I back, I've got three companies now run with women CEOs that have been phenomenal successes. They're focused; they don't take huge risks. They understand the goal at hand. There's lots of evidence that women are very, very equal in terms of providing the task in business.

And I think our society, particularly in Canada now, is very open. We're saying, "Look, let any woman that wants to rise to the top, because it's good for business." It's not you trying to get people to take these things on because you feel it has a social or moral aspect to it. It's not as powerful as performance metrics.

And there are many women. Look at you ladies here; you have your own show! I don't see any guy hosts here. This is a success!

So, and by the way, all of our bosses are female too!

Yes, in television, there's lots of female executives. But the reason you're still on the air is the show's a hit! Advertisers want to advertise; people come to watch it; it works! It's not because you're women; it's because you've achieved success in business.

That's what's happening here!

So that means like a $10,000 bonus each for us?

Right?

I'll put in a good word to the boss for you. Thank you so much, Kevin, for your great advice! Always! Don't forget to tune in to Shark Tank Fridays at 9:00 P.M. Eastern on CTV 2. We'll be right back after the short break. I'm still here.