Get Ready for Promotion

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wsfurlan

Push yourself out of your comfort zone.

You do your job faithfully every day. You may even do your job exceptionally well. Why is it, then, that you've been in the same position for three years while others – seemingly less-deserving people – have been promoted?

The people who have been promoted may know one critical thing that you don't. Promotion isn't just about doing what you're paid to do. It's not necessarily even about being the best "widget" maker you can be.

Promotion is about pushing the limits of your current position. It's about showing that you have outgrown your current responsibilities, and that you're ready to take on new ones.

Think about it. If you're busy working away, producing more widgets per hour than anyone has ever produced, why should I promote you? Clearly, your value to the company is your efficiency. If I promote you, my production output may suddenly fall!

Focusing on simply what's expected of you may be a great strategy to keep the job you have. But going beyond what's expected, and stretching yourself beyond your current role, can lead to a new job with more responsibility.

Now, before you head out to stop being effective at anything, remember – in your pursuit of a promotion, you still have to perform well and meet your current job requirements. The key is identifying ways to add more value to your contribution.

Organizations move forward by solving problems. Discover ways to be more involved in the solutions – and that may move you forward too.

Understand Your Organization

To prepare for a promotion, you have to really understand the drivers of organizational success. It doesn't necessarily mean doing more things – it means doing more of the right things.

Ask yourself these questions:...