3 Things to Master Before Seeking a Promotion.

There is a common theme I see with people in their careers and I am sure you have seen it to. It revolves around the common theme of wanting more money and career growth. Most don't want the career growth, what they truly want is the money. But you don't get the money until you understand what you need to master in order to get the opportunities that bring in more income.

There are 3 key areas to every job you need to master before going to the next level. Those 3 key areas are:

1. Role
2. Responsibilities
3. Deliverables
4. Bonus: Projects

You will find that often the things you learn at one level are only expanded at the next. The key is in finding the the 20% of the skills that deliver 80% of the results and hammering down on those skillsets. I wont be covering those in this article but looking ahead into your future role will give you insights into what those skills could be.

Now lets get started in helping you become a leader that attracts opportunity.

Your role is your domain - mastering it is non-negotiable for success.

Remember going through the interview. Now imagine the people on the other side. They hired you not because of what you did but what they believe a future looks like with you on their team.

Essentially you sold them a dream, now question is are you going to live up to the dream or are you just all hype? Only you can answer that and you answer that daily by the choices you decide to act on.

Mastering your role is step one in the equation. Mastering your role in your career involves achieving a deep level of understanding, proficiency, and effectiveness in your current position. It requires you to know the following

• Technical know how. This involves becoming exceptionally proficient in the tasks, tools, and technologies relevant to your position.
• Knowledge of your role. A comprehensive understanding of your company, role within your business unit, and how your boss sees your role.
• Serving your customer (team, peers, boss, and bosses boss). This means understanding their needs, providing personalized solutions, and building strong relationships that drive satisfaction and loyalty.

Lastly mastering your role means staying flexible and adaptable. Yes your role will change over time as you earn trust, become a go to person, and add on additional responsibility. You see mastering your role is not a one time thing but an ongoing thing you must constantly refine over time. For those who have never done this or those stepping into a new role. Learn what mastery will require you and strive to learn this fast. The faster the better.

Learn to serve by observing and being aware of the world around you. Listen to what is being said and not said. Listen to what others ask for constantly. Learn what is punished and what is praised. Keep your eyes and ears open. Awareness is vital.

Look at what most spend their time doing. Look at the things you spend the most time with. Look at the activities that your role performs on a daily basis. Look at what tools you use daily and see others to continue to use that are higher than you.

Commit to making a list of your findings. Write them down and begin to master the things you see. Talk about them, align your actions around them, and begin to seek feedback to see the response you get from your customers - team, peers, boss, and bosses boss.

Mastering your responsibilities is the gateway to credibility, influence, and endless opportunities.

We all can agree to this truth. Those that people trust gain more opportunity. Don't get lost focusing on the BIG thing that you lose sight of the basics. You must become so good at the basics that when you do "miss" which should be rarely people assume this. They assume something must of happened, you had an emergency, or something came up that cause you to miss.

You want your credibility to be so high in the things you are responsible for that even when you fall short your track record is soo strong people cant believe you missed. The 2nd step in mastering your career is mastering the responsibilities you were hired for. Here is the key doing so won't automatically get you promoted but not doing it is the fasted way to lose trust, get on performance improvement plan, and find yourself fired from your job.

All leaders expect you to do this, so don't see yourself as something special for doing your job. Instead use it as an opportunity to instill consistency and a means to gaining opportunities. Remember you being consistent is what matters.

To create hidden opportunities use your everyday responsibilities as a weekly report out to others as a way to show consistency. Talk about the wins in your areas of responsibilities, talk about the areas of opportunities, and then talk about what you plan to do about them. These weekly report out emails are key if you do them consistently over time.

In your job, hitting and exceeding your hired result isn't just a choice; it's the only path to success.

You were hired to deliver certain results. You hitting the target is what the company paid you to do. Your goal should always be to over achieve on that goal. Only when you get consistent and that are you beginning the distinguish yourself from everyone else who was in the same role as yourself.

The best results and deliverables to focus on all include the following:

1. Improves safety.
2. Improves the top line - revenue.
3. Improves the bottom line - profit.
4. Improves culture - engagement.
5. Improves SLA - service level agreement.
6. Exceeds KPIs - key performance indicators.
7. Improves team members.

The deliverables always need to be something you can measure first, think tangibles. Know that the driving factor for these intangibles are often done by the intangibles. All of these involve the intangibles like leadership, communication, strategic planning, relationship building, collaboration, and many other skills associated more with EQ than IQ.

Those that deliver all share one trait and that trait involves leveling up the people that are around them. Leaders know that delivering results is a team sport and not a solo gig. This is why to me leadership is and will always be a meta skill. Meaning by learning it everything else improves as a result.

Lastly I want to throw in this Bonus section as I have found it a key for career growth and advancement.

For career advancement, projects are your secret weapon; ignore them, and you're fighting with one hand tied.

Most run from projects but I want to tell you to run to them only if you are ready! Ready means you understand the fundamentals of everything we have discussed above. Why?

Because projects are stretch assignments, meaning you are going to be taking on more work than normal. Projects are also not an excuse of why your normal day to day job role and responsibilities go lacking. Learning how to to do both well can often put you in the conversation for an upcoming career promotion or future opportunity. Why - EXPOSURE.

When you can perform your role, complete all responsibilities, and deliver on both ends it communicates that you are ready for more. It also gives you access to others to build a network with, to expand your skills, and stretch yourself. The exposure comes from the fact that projects are often highly visible, deliver tremendous value for the business, and its success has long term impact for the company. Your aim should be to make the most impact that you can. Projects are a time where you put in the extra time and energy knowing your actions wont be in vain.

There will be more to come on!

My mission is simple:

To inspire, motivate, and inspire others to become transformational leaders who deliver results above the general requirements who develop high performing teams and leaders who increase their influence, impact, and income.

Please help me fulfill my mission by sharing, liking, and spreading the message!