With over 13 years of operation in the recruitment industry and regularly coaching people as they seek to build their careers, from time to time we listen to people's frustration as a result of missing out on a promotion. When this happens we take the time to understand the individuals’ perspective on why they think they missed out. It is surprising how many people don't know how to answer the question, “What were the goals that your manager had committed to achieving?” So many people just don’t know. Or they think they know but lack any clarity.
Promotions generally only happen when a person is ultra-important to their manager or their organisation. Promotion may often be wrapped up in the nicely packaged gift boxes that say “we want to recognise and develop our staff”. However, the truth is that your manager or organisation will only promote you when you are instrumental in helping them reach their goals or if they are fearful of losing you.
If you ever received a promotion and you didn’t see it coming, that’s a warning sign for you that you may be operating blind, without a clear view of the targets for your team. Don’t expect to get a promotion in the same manner again. Let’s just say you may have just gotten lucky this time around.
So what does that have to do with you knowing your managers’ goals?
Well, unless you understand their goals there is no other way to know how you can become indispensable to your manager. You must put time and effort into understanding what your managers’ target is, as well as understanding the implication if they don’t achieve their targets. If that implication is significant to them then you know that you have struck gold. Once you are clear on your manager goals, you need to commit to ensuring that you make your managers’ life easier by helping them achieve that goal. Anything else that you spend your time on is just noise and will likely go unrecognised. Granted, these other things are important and need to be done, however, you won’t get promoted by doing these things. Even if you are working till midnight, or kicking goals in other areas, it’s not where your manager will pay attention.
BEING EXTREMELY VALUABLE + BEING LIKEABLE = PROMOTION POTENTIAL
By working on the things that truly matter to your manager (and your organisation) you will also start building the right personal brand internally. You will start becoming known as being valuable and as a person who always delivers. This also gets you better known internally and when those difficult project opportunities come up, guess who gets tapped on the shoulder to work on those projects?
Being “likeable” doesn’t actually mean that you need to be the most liked or most popular person at work. Rather, it’s more about how you well you communicate with others and whether you are operating with a set of values that tend to serve the interests of many rather than just you.
So instead of waiting for your manager to set a meeting with you to discuss your goals, you need to proactively put the time in their diary to discuss their goals instead first. Don’t get me wrong, your goals are important, but they will only be met if your managers’ goals are met first.
If you would like support in defining your career direction or in finding your next role, contact Reo Group today at info@reogroup.com.au.