By: Michael DeVenney
It is entirely up to you. Whether or not you are recognized for promotion comes down to the actions you take to put yourself in the position to be considered.
There is a process in business called “assmosis”. We believe people progress because of their ability to kiss up to the boss and be promoted. It is the only way we can explain the success of people who just don’t deserve it.
No question, it can happen. But it is not the norm. The reason people are successful in their work is their ability to perform and create value. We do not need to become victims of our circumstances and become those people who blame others for their own shortcomings. You rise to the level in your career where you deserve to be – no more and no less.
What is needed for career growth?
The foundation is so simple – perform well in the job you are in now. It is so frustrating for a boss to constantly hear from someone that they want to be challenged and grow when they don’t even perform their current job well. They are bored and want more. Let’s get this straight right up front, “if you can’t photocopy straight, don’t ask for more challenging work.”
Perform your current job to the best of your ability. You find it boring. Too bad – find the meaning in your work and do it well. Talk to your boss and ask how your job contributes to creating value for the clients of your business – how does your part help your boss in his or her role. Find meaning in what you do and then do it well – people who excel in their roles get attention and will be given more challenging work.
You are performing your current role with excellence. Is that enough? No – you have to set yourself to be prepared for the opportunity of promotion. So many people think hard work is the only real reason for promotion – it isn’t. There is a second piece of the promotion equation called potential. We have to see your potential to develop and grow.
Combining performance and potential is the key to career growth.
Performance is fairly straightforward. Know the drivers of success for your job – those four or five activities that generate the most important results. Understand how the boss wants you to do the job. And do it to the best of your ability.
Potential is a different matter. We see seven steps to keeping your potential for promotion.
- Know what you want. You don’t want to just drift through your career. Answer the question of what you want your work to look like in 10 years … 25 years. Be clear on the progression of positions that you want to move through to get the success you want for yourself. Performing well, you may be offered a promotion that doesn’t necessarily fit your career plan and accepting it may be a real detriment to your subsequent performance and progression. Knowing what you want helps you know what is right for you – and wrong.
- Tell your boss you want it. It is always amazing how we think bosses can read minds. We think the boss knows exactly how we feel and what we want. Remember – bosses are people too and subject to human fallibilities like all of us. Step up and let your boss know where you would like to progress your career. Don’t say you want it now – let him or her know where you want to grow. Now they know you want to be promoted.
- Find out what is needed. Just because your boss knows you want the promotion doesn’t mean you will get it. There are reasons you may be right or not ready for the promotion. The demands of a new and more senior position will be different from those for your current position. Find out what the drivers of success for the new position and what is required in a candidate to be successful to be promoted to that position. Determine with your boss the key responsibilities of the desired position and filter the criteria for how a successful person will perform that role (not your role – that role).
- Identify the gap. This is the difficult step. None of us are perfect (perfection is fleeting anyway so don’t worry about it). Once we know what is needed, we have to find out where we stand in comparison to the requirements. Are we ready for the promotion? Yes, go for it. No – commit to growing in the areas for development. You can go through an informal process of gaining feedback from the people around you in terms of how ready you to perform successfully in the new role. Your boss, colleagues, reports, and others who work with you can provide valuable input into how you perform and where you need to grow.
Sometimes – most of the time – people don’t tell you what you need to hear. We recommend formal feedback to identify the gap. Going through the process of a 360-Degree Assessment is one of the most powerful and positive exercises you will ever experience in your career. The basic premise of a 360-Degree Assessment is that the people all around you rate you on your current performance and potential – on a confidential basis. People actually tell you what you need to hear. It is life changing. Ask your boss to participate in a 360-Degree Assessment for the best feedback possible to grow your career.
- Put together a development plan. With the knowledge from your feedback, you can clarify where your strengths are and also where you need to develop. Nothing just happens – you have to plan for it. Once you complete a feedback process, put together a plan to develop your key strengths further (those that will support your performance in the next position) and grow in your areas of development (those needed for the new position that you are weak in). Identify what has to happen (be clear on the end result), focus on two or three strategies to get there (it could be education, extra work assignments, volunteer work, etc), and outline the actions and timelines to make the plan happen. Beware falling into the trap of thinking you will pick up the new skills you need for a new position once you are in the position – this mindset explains the 45% failure rate for people being promoted to new management positions. Understand what is needed, where you stand now, and put in place a plan of development to be prepared for promotion.
- Find a mentor. Development is tough work. You need support to reflect on your progress, assess the successes and challenges, and build your commitment and momentum. Mentoring has been shown as one of the top four strategies to build successful careers. To find a mentor, look for someone you respect who is in a position where you would like to be in 10 or 15 years, and ask them for their guidance and advice. Mentors who have done it well can give you the perspective you need to succeed. As Henry Ford said, “achieve greatness by standing on the shoulders of successful people.” Generally, mentors love to be asked and involved. The commitment is a one-hour discussion once each month at most or at least each quarter to assess your progress. You do the work of recording your progress and your mentor provides the valued insight to succeed.
- Be accountable. One of the basic rules of getting better is measuring your progress and reporting to someone. Once you have determined your growth plan, set up a simple report to assess your progress each week and month. Identify the key actions and results you need to see from your development plan and measure them. You can measure anything – even happiness. By focusing on what needs to done to gain results, you make it almost self-fulfilling – the more you focus on something the more likely it is to happen. Peter Drucker made the comment, “What gets measured gets better”, fits well here.
Promotion is a result of performance and potential. To be seen as worthy of more senior positions, prepare yourself. Put yourself in a position to be recognized as a high-potential team member.
Remember, the average age that people stop learning is twenty nine years of age. Let’s not peak at 29. Keep learning, keep growing, and have the successful career you want and deserve.
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