Take a deep breath, office folks — there’s a top unsung strategy to get ahead in your career.
“The Japanese have a term for it — kuuki wo yomu, which translates to ‘read the air,’ ” said Michelle Penelope King, author of “How Work Works: The Subtle Science of Getting Ahead Without Losing Yourself” (to be published in October by HarperCollins).
As she describes it, this concept is about understanding the “how” of work.
In Japanese culture, learning to “read the air” is about grasping the subtext of what is being communicated beyond words, interpreting nonverbal cues and being mindful of the broader context.
A lot of cultures are familiar with this concept, said King — it’s called “reading the room” in the US or “taking the room’s temperature” in the UK — but it all boils down to the same, important skill: your ability to understand and interpret other people’s feelings and intentions, so you can manage your informal interactions with them.
“Reading the air is not just about knowing the shared norms that govern our everyday interactions,” said King. “It also includes a deep understanding of your work environment, regardless of the setting.”
Many business leaders she has worked with refer to this skill as judgment, organizational awareness or political skill.
“They argue this ability is the secret sauce to career advancement and success — from the ability to work with anyone, to understanding the inner workings of an organization’s culture, to getting paid what you are worth,” she said. “If you know how to read the air, you know how to get the job done.”
Ahead, five practical tips to boost your kuuki wo yomu quotient.
Revisit and beef up your network
No, that doesn’t mean the occasional “like” on a former colleague’s LinkedIn post or going to an industry event once a year.
“Managing the ‘how’ of work starts with managing our connections with others,” said King. That’s why the first thing she encourages people to do “is to get to know your informal network.”
“Investing in building a range of diverse contacts within your informal network is the most important thing you can do for your career,” said King, since it’s from there that 80% of jobs are found, and it’s also where we get information, advice and career support.
As King highlighted, nearly 70% of all jobs are not made publicly available, while 80% of vacant positions are filled through informal networks. “Not diversifying your networking isn’t an option,” she said.
King recalled one example of a senior leader she coached who was struggling to find a job while using search firms and LinkedIn.
Once King shared the practice of reading the air and managing your informal network, they were able to map his network and realized just how homogeneous it was.
“Eventually he did get a job through one of these informal connections, but the point isn’t the one job; it’s that now he has an informal network to draw on should he ever need another job in the future,” she said.
Stay self-aware
“Self-awareness is knowing how to manage the gap between how we see ourselves (when it comes to our thoughts, feelings and behaviors) and how other people experience this,” said King.
We can build self-awareness by seeking out informal information like friendly advice, feedback, suggestions or guidance, which serves as a mirror to see how our colleagues are experiencing us.
“When people are self-aware, they understand the gap between how they see themselves in terms of performance or behavior and how others see them. They don’t simply rely on their own assessment but calibrate how they see themselves by including other people’s perspectives in their overall assessment,” she added.
View work as School 2.0
Sure, it’s not a formal master’s program, but you can give yourself the opportunity to grow by teaching yourself something new every single day at work.
“We develop by learning new skills and ways of working on the job; in fact 70% of all learning at work happens informally and on the job,” said King.
King said to consider your co-workers as providers of informal learning. “They help you understand if your behaviors are effective or not,” she said.
King advised regularly gathering informal feedback by asking people for their perspectives and then reflecting on, reviewing and writing what you hear. Doing this will unlock any common themes in the feedback you receive.
“Look for similarities in what people say, and consider what you could do differently. Feedback is only valuable if we apply it,” added King.
Find your standout skills and your areas for growth
Everyone is a rock star in one arena or another. In what realm are you Mick Jagger?
“Reading the air is about knowing how to be yourself, your best self, and manage the impact your behavior has,” said King. “The aim is to understand how you can lean into your strengths to be effective at work. This requires that you care about the impact your behavior has on your co-workers by being open to informal feedback and taking action to respond to it.”
You have to have a thick skin, yes, but the real magic happens when you take those critiques and do something about them.
Plot your kingdom
Career advancement doesn’t happen by chance. “It happens through the actions we consistently take to manage our careers,” said King. “I suspect many of us don’t know how or are still relying on our workplaces to direct our career paths. Learning to read the air is also about knowing how to manage your informal career advancement.”