One of the best ways to get rewards and promotion is to stand out from the crowd – in the best possible way. Cultivating the sort of good habits that get you noticed is good sense, but you need to think about it carefully. It’s too easy for the traits that could lead to you being lauded to tip over into the kind of behaviour that makes you infamous instead. Being the first in the office in the morning and the last out at night no longer looks like commitment to the majority of bosses: it looks like a recipe for burnout. Performing the role of an indispensable genius often makes you harder to work with, rather than someone managers want to promote.
Today we’re going to look at some of the ways you can stand out as a model employee who deserves rewards and advancement, without tipping over into megalomania!
Take the Initiative
If you can see a problem, don’t just report it to a manager, put some thought into a solution and present it to them. While it’s valuable to know about weaknesses and upcoming issues, employees who clearly don’t see a solution as part of their responsibilities are less likely to be preferred for promotion. Conversely, those who see that everyone has something to contribute in solving those problems are obviously worth cultivating, even if any one of their specific idea proves not to be suitable.
For example, an employee who tersely notifies their manager that the team is lacking in a particular skill that’s standard in the industry (a particular programming language or tool, for example, or agile development techniques) is not providing much value. One who takes the time to, for example find a couple of trainers who provide workshops in the skill in question, and looks cost in London of training room hire is a more resourceful employee.
Work Smart
Being the last at your desk at the end of the day doesn’t look like success any more: except to a few old fashioned managers, it looks more like an employee who isn’t managing their workload well, and is on the path to burn out.
Working smartly and showing results is a better path to success: demonstrating you have a strong grasp of priorities and know where to focus your effort is a valuable skill, and one that employers reward with more responsibilities.