Attitudes for Success: Achieving and Handling a Promotion

“When placed in command, take charge.”  Norman Schwarzkopf

Happy New Year. I promised I would post in the first full week of January 2019.

Are you moving up in the world of work? Although we are taught from an early age that career advancement is always a good thing, it is an important life transition that should be considered with care. Taking on too much too soon can lead to burnout. But lingering in the sidelines because you don’t have the self-confidence to throw your hat in the ring can mean delaying your own success for years or even decades. Taking bold action at the perfect time requires planning and forethought. In this chapter, we will uncover ways to prepare for a promotion, how to decide who to promote when you are the one in charge, and how to deal with new responsibilities.

What Does Success Mean to You?

Before you decide on your ideal career trajectory, first determine what you really want. Career advancement that leads to true success will:

• present a challenge that propels you toward greater growth;
• play on your strengths and offer opportunities for improvement in your areas of weakness;
• occur within an organization that you are glad to support;
• involve work that is in alignment with your values; and
• still afford time for the other important things in your life.

There may be many other criteria that you use to define success, from financial freedom to flexibility and autonomy. Make a list of the things you want out of your career. Then, determine not to settle for less. Don’t believe others if they tell you that your goals are unrealistic. Such negative ideas arise from a lack of imagination in the speaker and are not a reflection of limitations in your own potential. 

Doing the External Work to Get a Promotion

It is common knowledge that hard workers who come in early and stay late are more likely to get promotions than those who do the bare minimum to keep their jobs. But working harder isn’t the only way to get noticed. If you can work smarter, that’s much more impressive. When you position yourself as someone who gets things done quickly and well, you become the prime candidate for advancement. Keep asking for more responsibilities (as long as you can manage the workload properly) and push yourself to learn new skills. You don’t have to become an expert at everything. But the more you know about how things work within the organization, the better leader you will be when the time comes.

Be open and honest about what you want. Getting a promotion shouldn’t be like plotting a coup. If you have the attitude that there is enough room for each person to succeed to their level of willingness and ability, you will not be shy about asking for what you want. Ask for advice from people you admire at work. Ask for help on completing tough assignments so that you have a chance to practice teamwork. Above all, let your superiors know that you are interested in advancement and ready to take the next steps to make it happen. It would be a tragedy to find out later that you didn’t get a promotion because no one knew you wanted it!

Doing the Internal Work to Attract a Promotion (9)

There are many tools you can use to attract the outcomes you desire in your career. Many successful professionals use visualization and positive affirmations to help create the future they desire. A vision board or goal board that serves as a daily reminder of your career goals can be very helpful. You can even create one as a screensaver image on your computer so that you see it many times throughout the day. 

Developing an “attitude of gratitude” for all the abundance and opportunity you already have in your career is another powerful way to increase your potential. This type of attitude is infectious and can impact decision-makers at your workplace to view you favorably as a candidate for leadership. Promotions are based on both capability and likeability. Why not show that you have both qualities?

What If You Are the One Offering a Promotion?

Advancement is important for the growth of human resources in an organization. Without promotion and new responsibilities, employees will stagnate in terms of knowledge and skills. Those who are motivated and ambitious will eventually become bored or burned out. Humans need rewards and a sense of usefulness to feel appreciated. A salary increase or bonus is a good reward for many, but others need advancement to feel they are valued and trusted. Of course, not everyone within an organization is destined for leadership. 

You may have a few people in mind who deserve some reward. But the consequences of making a poor choice can be serious. The freshly promoted employee may fold under pressure, making bad decisions or serious mistakes that cost the company time and money. They may alienate subordinates, destroying morale and teamwork that took years to cultivate.

Demoting an employee is more difficult than promoting them. If you have second thoughts, you may have to let the employee go and start over. Then, the person who was your “second choice” may be resentful about being passed over the first time around. Or, they might be leery of stepping up to fill the open position because of what happened to their predecessor. 

With that being said, who should you choose for promotion? Here are some of the key factors to look for in a good candidate.

1. They are independent and resourceful: An employee who knows the job very well needs less monitoring and can be relied on for the best outcome. When facing difficulties, they will always find a way to make an assignment a success. They are willing to go the extra mile to produce the best result. Plus, this type of employee is helpful to teammates and will do whatever it takes to get the job done right.
2. They always find ways to improve: Hard-working employees are fantastic. But smart and efficient workers are the stars in your organization. They save time and resources, improving processes and profitability. They are constantly looking for ways to upgrade their methods and techniques. They are good learners and are very willing to learn from others.
3. They are always ready and alert: An employee who is always aware of the needs and problems in the office is useful and reliable. You can always depend on them to take care of things that others might overlook. When they can anticipate needs in advance and address them before being asked, that’s a great sign that an employee is ready for more responsibility.
4. They are always on the go: As a business owner or manager, it is painful to see your staff sitting around doing nothing. Employees are paid to contribute to the company. An employee is valuable when what they contribute is much more than the amount they are being paid. An employee who is actively looking for something productive to do deserves a reward.
5. They maintain a positive attitude: Things can be complicated in this ever-changing world. An employee with a positive attitude will always accept challenging assignments, even if it requires doing some research and learning new skills. Instead of complaining about the problems and obstacles, they work diligently to find a solution using available resources.

Think Ahead about Your Next Generation of Leaders

Making the right promotion decision has a ripple effect that helps the entire organization be more profitable. Don’t hesitate to invest in resources to help great candidates achieve the skills they need to advance. Be open about the opportunities for promotion and follow through with clear communication to let employees know how they are progressing toward their goals. That way, they are encouraged rather than discouraged. Performance reviews and promotion offers shouldn’t come as a surprise. This isn’t a decision you make on impulse. Strategic succession planning involves identifying and grooming candidates long before a leadership position becomes available.

When you do formalize a promotion, make sure the employee has the resources, support, and mentorship they require. You want to set them up for success!

Stepping into Your New Role

Have you recently received a promotion yourself? Congratulations! Your boss is placing a lot of trust in you, and your new role is very exciting. But it also comes with a lot of added responsibility. Here are four things you can do to ensure your success:

1. Understand What’s Required of You: (10) Don’t assume that you know what’s involved because you watched your predecessor do the job. Get clarity from your new boss and from Human Resources on all aspects of your new assignment. If possible, speak to the person who held the position before you and ask for as much detail as you can. They may have developed unique tools and processes for doing the job well. You can learn many ways to avoid pitfalls and be highly effective. When you know exactly what’s expected of you in your new position, you will be more confident—and much less likely to make a misstep.
2. Don’t Rest on Your Laurels: You have just reached a very important goal in your career—but that means it’s time to set the next goal. Determine what you want to achieve in your career going forward. That might be setting a fresh target for productivity in your department, acquiring a new skill, or mentoring an employee who will one day be your successor when you move to the next level.
3. Establish a Solid Network of Support: When you are promoted above your peers, you may find that people who used to be trusted allies now view you as “out of reach.” It’s natural for relationships to change when coworkers become subordinates—and you may have to redraw the boundaries. Continue to treat your colleagues with respect and kindness, but move to establish fresh relationships with people who are at or above your level within the organization. These are the professionals who will provide helpful perspectives on how to meet and overcome the challenges you face after promotion.
4. Put It All in Perspective: Getting a promotion is no reason to develop a superiority complex. Maintaining a spirit of humility and gratitude is always important. But you should still take the time to celebrate your advancement with your friends and loved ones. You deserve it!

Meet Dawn

Dawn began working in a mid-sized accounting firm shortly after leaving college. At the age of 37, she had completed the full scope of her training and had been working as a senior clerk for a number of years. Following the retirement of a senior partner and subsequent internal promotions, Dawn was offered the opportunity to become a junior partner within the practice. This was exactly what she had been working toward and she eagerly embraced the challenge. 

Dawn’s promotion meant that she had a wider scope of responsibilities. Previously, all her work was checked and approved by one of the firm’s partners. But now she had no safety net. As a partner she also had to deal directly with client’s queries, plan meetings, and provide advice and representation for her clients regarding government tax inquiries. Although her work was exemplary and she had the necessary skills and knowledge to provide a high standard of service for her clients, she lacked confidence and worried that she was going to make a mistake.

Coaching Approach 

In the initial meeting, it was very clear that Dawn had all the skills and experience she needed to excel in her new role. However, she was obviously overwhelmed by the magnitude of her new set of responsibilities and this was having an impact on her confidence. Hypnotic suggestions were implanted to improve her inner confidence, affirming that she did indeed have the ability to succeed. To enhance her hypnotherapy, Dawn was also introduced to the Mental Bank program to set her personal success goals and targets.

Dawn's Coaching Outcomes 

Dawn is now a Senior Partner within the practice and has brought in significant new business. She attributes her success to what she learned during her coaching sessions. Her long term goal is to set up her own private practice and she is confident she will achieve this target.

What can I do next ... right now?

By now you should be seeing the benefits of coaching when simple people take the courageous decision to do something about their current state and move toward their desired situation.

In the past, when I was getting a feel for one-to-one coaching, I dabbled with many different coaching approaches. The downside to some of the different coaching approaches were that in all the cases, I used several approaches until I found "the one" that resonated better with the person I had in front of me. The more I did it, however, the simpler the solution I employed.

My challenge was to find an approach that was:

• that the session was internet-friendly without compromising quality
• had a maximum session of only 1 hour
• was simple to coach, simple to learn, simple to implement, followed a structured "start" and "stop", and, once applied to one issue could be applied to another issue without the obligation of using a coach (in other words, the coachee could apply the same steps either with or without the coach's aide)
• based from the previous point, worked out to be considerably cheaper
• did not challenge the person's religious and non-religious beliefs

And, I found it.

There is, a "however". However (!) if you haven't sowed your seeds in giving yourself your own unique set of powerful affirmations - in other words, affirmations to withstand life's tsunamis - until you don't have that new paradigm installed into your mind's fabric, anything that you do in life is a magnification of the low self-esteem that you carry with you. So, the problem with your boss, your marriage, your business, your boyfriend, girlfriend, partner, your house, etc etc etc, originates from you.

#Business | #Success | #Leadership | #Tips | #Influencer | #Entrepreneur | #Promotion

Bibliography

1.     Brian Tracy, Action Strategies for Personal Achievement

2.     Kevin Eikenberry, The First Seven Things to Do When You Get Promoted