“What do I need to do to get promoted around here? I am constantly being passed over…” We hear this a lot in our work. Sometimes it’s peppered with colorful metaphors; sometimes with unflattering similes; sometimes with a note of sadness and frustration.
It’s then followed by a litany of self-supporting comments usually using such words as: but I work hard – I work harder than anyone else around here; I get my work done on time; the quality of my work is good, no one tells me anything different.
Well, we have just one question: Other than you, who else knows this?
If you want to advance – in business or in your personal life – there are five essential steps you must take:
- The obvious–You must perform
- You must be accountable for your work and the results, meaning you own and live with the consequences
- You must create a positive reputation
- You must be visible within your organization
- You must become influential with those around you, whether subordinates, peers or senior staff above you.
The price of admission, what gets you in the door, what puts you in the game, is your performance. You must perform well. There are no exceptions. Poor performance does not get rewarded.
And it’s your performance that first gets you recognized and that starts you on the advancement track. Then something happens, you enter a place in the organization where others also perform well. So performance is no longer the differentiator.
What management starts looking for is whether or not you take responsibility for your work and the outcome. That is – do you hold yourself accountable? It’s easy to be accountable when the work goes well and has a positive outcome. How about when it doesn’t? How about when you make a decision and it doesn’t work out as intended? Do you hold yourself accountable for the outcome based on your decision or do you look for others to blame. If you’re one of those people who blame everyone other than you – so as to look good, we have news for you – you don’t look so good.
If you are a good performer, if you are accountable for your results, you are primed to grow in the organization, but only if you work to and enjoy a positive reputation, are visible so the decision makers know you exist, and you learn how to use positive influence so you can achieve more without necessarily having the positional authority to make it happen.
To help you better understand each of the three skills beyond performance and your accountability for it, we’ll be addressing uniquely reputation, visibility and influence as part of this blog series.
For additional information on key issues and topics on Leadership and Professional Development see our blogs, free articles, white papers and videos at: www.kubicalaforestconsulting.com
Copyright 2011 Kubica LaForest Consulting
If you enjoyed this piece, please consider sharing it!
