My Mentor: Last week we talked about climbing the corporate ladder and how most people think there is a linear relationship between time and advancing your career – this is false. (You can read about this here.) I have decided to tell you in segments how to get a promotion. It is an investment of time, effort, and strategic steps. But there is a caveat, I will only continue to share with you the path if you will execute each step.
(At this point, I just want to say that I would have done anything to understand the secret. But I did not know how hard somethings would be and how easy others would be, and it wasn’t what I thought at all.)
Me: Absolutely. I agree.
My mentor: Trust and confidence.
Me: (Eyebrow raise)
My Mentor: In order to be promoted there are several things that need to happen. First, (this is especially the case for an internal promotion) you must intentionally build trust and confidence. To be more specific, the person who has the authority to promote you must have trust and confidence that you can do the job successfully.
Me: How do I build trust and confidence in someone else?
My Mentor: With intention.
Step 1: You must ask yourself everyday this question:
What can I do today to add value? By asking this question and taking action you are instilling trust and confidence that you can handle more responsibility.
Step 2: Look for opportunities to expand your current responsibilities.
Me: How can I take on more if I’m not given anything extra because I don’t have the experience?
My Mentor: That is called the Permission Paradox. Which means without experience, it is virtually impossible to get the desired job, but without the job, it is impossible to gain the requisite experience” Citrin and Smith’s research.
However, there are two tools to gain more experience and more responsibility.
Directly and implied. I will explain.
The direct way is to simply ask your boss for an extra project.
This means you have gained the permission, someone said you can do it. This is an underutilized tool. But it comes with limitations. Let’s say that you asked to lead a side project, but there are others on the team who are more senior than you. Your boss might be in an awkward position, and might have to say, no. It is ok, by the way, if your boss says no because your boss now knows you are looking to take on an extra project to advance your career. But there is a chance your boss will say yes!
By contrast, implied permission means you can do something because no one said you cannot. It is more subtle and much more powerful.
Successful people view their job description as a starting point. They start to expand their scope of responsibilities. They ask what can I do to add value to this day, this project, this company and then they don’t ask permission, they simply do it.
Step 3: Take action.
Ordinary people will complain about something. Extraordinary people find a way to affect the change that is needed.
Your challenge for this week is to find an opportunity and take action.
I was amazed at how quickly I found just the right opportunity immediately following this conversation.
The project can be small.
The important thing is that you are adding value, you are increasing the scope of your role, and that you found an opportunity and took the action. As you take on a project, remember how to finish a project here, it is so important. When you find your project email me and tell me about it.
Connect with me if you would like to be coached on how to get your next promotion, email at carol@150yearsmentorship.com.
