1. The best way to get job promotions is to do good work, make people happy and satisfied, and let the boss know about your good work record. Do this consistently, and that promotion will be yours.
2. Whatever kind of work you do, blue collar or white collar, if you are the boss's most reliable employee, you will rise. This is the best way to get ready for a promotion, and the recognition you deserve.
3. We must all become linchpins: Instead of waiting for others (management, bosses, companies) to tell us what to do, we should do what is 'critical' and make yourself indispensable. (Source: Seth Godin)
4. Things you must do to make yourself promotable:
- Do office politics the right way: Work at getting the best opportunities to learn and grow at work- the best projects, training, and assignments to build skills and market value.
- Work on your in-office network: Colleagues (those who aren't necessarily blocking your way) as allies, bosses you keep helping as your back up, and senior people (higher up or in other departments) as mentors/sponsors.
- Work on getting new skills: Track the new things in your niche. List the skills needed in the higher level jobs in your area. And then make a plan to learn all these over a certain period. Let the boss know about your intentions and progress. Maybe, the boss can help out with fixing you up with relevant teams and resources.
- Be a professional: Be organized. Show respect to your work and your peers. Practice the work etiquette (knock before entering, sit after others are seated, know basic dining and meeting etiquette, etc). Have a professional presence- elegant, dignified.
- Be a specialist: Being a generalist means good at nothing and headed for long-term unemployment. You get to the top by being the best, and you can't be the best at everything.
- Certifications / Degrees: Sometimes, with all things being equal, having a 'prestigious' relevant degree helps. For example, successful business executives often take an executive MBA course to rise up the managerial cadre.
- Think beyond the Box: They call this 'being farsighted on steroids'. Successful people think outside the box (looking at a problem from an angle no one thought of, starting with what a stranger think when looking at the problem). Successful people are able to look at the big picture (in your case, where is the company and the industry going?), form a plan and then get to the job.
The person who does this often is 'leadership material'.
5. How to rise from a worker to a manager
1. Focus on people, not tasks. The job of the manager is to get the best work from the people you manage. Ideally, you show people how to see themselves differently so that they are able to produce at a higher level than they ever imagined.
2. Make a quick transition. Delegating your old job should take three days. If you died today, your job would be delegated in a couple of days. Plus, you have to let go and stop caring about things that no longer matter.
3. Remember to manage up. You can only impress your boss with your management skill if you are accomplishing things she cares about. Set measurable goals for yourself and let people know that you're meeting them.
4. Listen more than you talk. Start with a listening tour to find out what matters to people. Only then can you set goals for yourself.
(Source: Harvard Business Review)
6. How to rise from the crowd of middle management
Successful middle level managers work hard, understand the ways of the company, make things happen (solutions for the company, events for visibility), and are very good at working with people. In short, the successful middle managers don't sit moping around in their corner of the well.
Also read the 'career guide to women'.
Thank you for reading.
This guide is from The Success Manual, which contains 200+ guides to succeeding in business, career and personal life. Get the pdf ebook for $12 only.