1) If your boss doesn’t know you want to move up in the company you are unlikely to get a promotion or even recognition for doing good work. Bosses cannot read your mind. Our attention is split all over in this time of electronic communications, and the same is true of your supervisor;The bosses attention is focused on their team, politics, performance, paperwork, compliance, strategy, competition, profile building, hiring and firing, and many other items. If you don’t get feedback from your superior, exercise your power by requesting feedback (If they don’t oblige, go to their boss). During a review session assert yourself by directly saying what you need. If you tell them what you are hoping for, then at the least it’s on the agenda, and documented for future conversations. If your superior is not taking notes, take them yourself and send them later. Explain your value to the company, and what you deserve in terms of promotions. You should always ask what it is you can do that would set you apart and earn you recognition. Opening a dialogue is the way to move ahead.
2) If you haven’t asked for feedback do so now – you must be specific in your communications with your supervisor about what you’re wanting in terms of your future within the job or within the company. As detailed in the step above, before you go in to a meeting with you supervisor, get clear on a) what you desire and b) what you are able to accomplish and (c) what you are willing to do for the company in order to get your needs met.
3) Understand exactly where you stand in the pecking order. This is where you and your boss may differ, so it’s worth going over your recent reviews to see if you are both on the same page. If there is anything at all that is unclear to you, this will need to be discussed at the feedback session in detail, and recorded along with any actions you mutually agree, you could take to improve the situation. Remember that your superior will apply his/her own personal standards to your performance. If your boss is someone who is very self-critical or hard on himself, he is very likely to be applying equally tough standards to your performance on the job. If their attention is getting overwhelmed, it’s possible they don’t really know what you’re doing day to day. There are usually specific written guidelines for appraising work quality, in place to minimize this idiosyncratic method of performance reviews. Your boss carries his/her values into everything they do, especially into what they value most. This is a difficult conversation, and should be approached diplomatically. You’ll need to be willing to support your boss to see how he views his own performance, in order for them to gain more awareness of the productivity that you offer.
We have to remind ourselves to go from thinking into action.This week, take one action per day towards getting a promotion. Give yourself permission to act even if you’re not quite ready.
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