Earning the right to be heard: 6 ways to build respect, trust

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—Megan Tzanoukakis worked for PricewaterhouseCooper L.L.C. for four years as an external financial statement auditor. Last year, she was appointed president and CEO of Sussex IM, a custom injection molder out of Sussex, Wis.

Tzanoukakis came to Sussex as a manufacturing scheduler in 2014 after her father—who was president and CEO at the time—asked her to join the family company. In a leap of faith, she agreed.

And in every role she's held, Tzanoukakis has navigated numerous challenges and opportunities, little by little earning the respect of her colleagues and the right to be heard.

"What does it really mean to earn the right to be heard?" Tzanoukakis asked at last year's Women Breaking the Mold Networking Forum. "The definition is gaining respect, which lends others to trust your information or opinion. The key word here is trust."

And building trust is exactly what she did as she worked her way up in the company.

"If you want to be heard, you have to earn it. You have to work for it. And that foundation of working for it is building trust with the people that you work with. Because if you have trust, they will listen to you," she said.

And there are six ways she learned over the past 14 years to earn the right to be heard.

Practice active listening, Tzanoukakis told attendees.

As a scheduler for Sussex, she worked in "the pit," an area full of multiple departments and where work conversations were abundant.

"I would just listen. That's all I did," she said. "It helped me learn about the business and what they were doing every day, what problems and challenges they were having, so that some day when I was in a new role, I knew what we had to fix."

But just because you're listening, that doesn't mean you don't have anything to say, she said. But when to give your input matters.

When she first started attending executive team meetings, Tzanoukakis said she waited for the right opportunities to offer input.

"I wanted to feel out the vibe of the room. Who talked the most? Who would pick the fights? Who didn't say much? Why didn't they say much?" she said. "And understanding that before I said anything was key."

There's a book out there for everything, which is why Tzanoukakis believes reading is critical for self-improvement.

Books can help you navigate challenges in your professional and personal lives, she said, noting she even picked up advice from a book that helped her with an employee layoff.

And reading isn't limited to books, she added, encouraging people to become knowledgeable in areas of your career you may be lacking by taking advantage of in-house resources.

"When I was in scheduling, I realized that our use of the ERP system was just bare minimum. We didn't have someone who really took charge and implemented things. So I took it upon myself when I was the fulfillment manager to learn new things about the ERP system, and all I did was read the help files," she said. "It was just a way of finding new information out. And I knew that it was lacking and nobody else was going to do it."

It's easier to grow when you have the right support. And the right support may not be where you expect.

"Find someone that's not your direct manager or boss, find someone that works in a different company, in a different industry. Just find someone because you need that person to help you grow," Tzanoukakis said.

And if you don't have someone you can consider a mentor, get a "vetter," she added. Someone you can meet one-on-one, bounce ideas off and "make sure I'm not crazy."

Every company has a different set of core values, and if you don't align with those core values, that's OK.

"That doesn't mean that's a problem, it just means you need to find a different place to work," Tzanoukakis said. One that aligns with your own values. "You'll be so much happier when you find the (right) place."

And have the right attitude, she added, warning attendees not to be "sassy" or combative.

"I have worked with these people, they have worked for me, and I have been this person," she said. While it's important to stick up for yourself and your ideas in the workplace, there's a right and wrong way to do this.

"Yes, it happens, but don't let it be something that happens frequently."

"I'm a fast-talking, millennial woman. I have to shut my mouth a lot of times, and I have to think before things come out," Tzanoukakis said.

But being mindful isn't just thinking before you speak, she said. It's being aware of how you present yourself; not being afraid to offer suggestions on how to make the company better, while not taking it personally if those suggestions are not implemented; and realizing you don't have to have all the answers.

Before Tzanoukakis took on the role as CEO, she was hesitant because she didn't have a background in engineering or sales. It was her father who told her she didn't need to know everything to be successful in this role.

"He told me, 'Megan, you don't have to have all the answers. There are other people that have the answers. You just have to make sure that you surround yourself with people that are very smart and that they have the answers.' "

In manufacturing, it's not uncommon to hear: "We've always done it this way."

This is a phrase Tzanoukakis said has frustrated her for a very long time. After working in manufacturing for over 10 years, however, she has learned to respect the experience of longtime employees while also emphasizing that there is always room for improvement.

With this, she said, she has taken care to understand the "why" behind the "way" to in turn create a better plan for changes.