4 Ways to Get Ahead in Any Organization
Aspiration that contaminates enjoyment sabotages success.
4 ways to get ahead in any organization:
#1. Thrive in the shadows.
If you aspire to get ahead, help someone else get ahead.
Swen Nater made it to the NBA by making Bill Walton better. (Lynn Guerin)
You never get ahead by tearing down the people ahead of you. Spotlight others without degrading yourself.
- Adopt her goals.
- Compensate for his weaknesses.
- Share your ideas.
Respect the challenge of leading before you sit at the head of the table. Be a great number two if you aspire to be number one.
#2. Pull weeds without destroying the garden.
Aspiration comes out as complaint for the emotionally naïve. Advancement comes slowly for complainers.
Improve the present without demonizing the past.
“I wonder how we might reach higher,” sounds better than, “This sucks.”
- Build up more than tear down. More shout-outs and fewer shout-downs.
- Don’t expect the people you complain about to promote you.
- Brag about the people on your team. Highlight their accomplishments.
Give yourself permission to make improvements and solve problems.
#3. Seek to contribute more than getting ahead.
- Don’t harp about your desire to get ahead to higher ups. Discuss it occasionally.
- Use ‘earn’ language. How might I earn a place at the table?
- If a record of contribution doesn’t earn opportunity, your record will earn opportunity elsewhere.
#4. Work to strengthen relationships.
Relationship skill means more than technical skill as you move up.
Solve drama. Don’t create it.
John Wooden, “Never strive to be better than someone else.” (A conversation with Lynn Guerin)
4 Quick tips:
- Avoid busy work. Focus your energy on work that matters.
- Explore opportunities. Constantly research where your team or organization might go next.
- Arrive early. If you’re so busy that you’re always late, you have time management issues.
- Volunteer for tough assignments.
What prevents people from getting ahead?
How might leaders earn promotions?
Bonus material:
8 Habits of Employees That Get Promoted | Glassdoor
What prevents people from getting ahead?
1. Lack of performing above expectations.
2. Lack of marketing your accomplishments.
Thanks Paul. If you want to get ahead, do more than is expected.
One thought on marketing your accomplishments. This is best done by bragging about the accomplishments of your team/players.
Thriving in the shadows is a great team player approach. Understanding the goals of you boss’ boss provides a strong basis for not only adopting, but helping to clarify, her goals. Both you and the entire team benefit when your boss makes better decision because of your selfless inputs. Servant leadership begins with such dynamic followership.
Thanks Paul. One thing that wasn’t said above is supporting the leader doesn’t mean always agreeing. Giving ‘selfless input’ means saying what your really think will advantage the organization, even if it challenges the current approach.
You’re exactly right, Dan. Sometimes it takes a contrarian view to clarify goals and make better decisions. Just how you deliver that contrarian view make all the difference in the world! A humble, respectful approach often finds a receptive audience; cocky, disrespectful, arrogant staff will often be hit by the door — and maybe a flying object or two — during their abrupt departure or dismissal.
Thanks Paul. The way we talk is just as important as what we say. A parent reacts to a teen’s snarky look, even when the teen agrees to obey.
Some key viewpoints on holding people back, Paul had 2 critical points.
I see lack of desire in some they don’t want the added responsibility.
Others above those below them are fearful of losing their positions. “True leaders” wouldn’t worry about their position. Talented people deserve to be rewarded, promotions, wages quirks, etc. Those who perform deserve recognition and opportunity.
(we are all replaceable in the sense of the word) just perhaps not the same caliber, grooming comes into play, people can be groomed for the position.
Amazing how Sports always portrays the Scorer not the feeder that hands off to the scorer. The Quarterback, Receiver running back, not the Lineman.(granted the quarterbacks take the lineman to dinner :-))
Thanks Tim. When looking for people to promote, it might be worthwhile to look for the person who blocked for the star.
Pick your sports team. There might be more talented players & therefore, less talented. It is how the team works together that makes it successful. EACH player must perform at the best of their ability in their position for the team to maximize success. At work, when I used to go to the office, I’d thank the janitor for keeping the place so clean & making it an enjoyable place to work. Without him, the office would be dirty, unsanitary and unpleasant.
Thanks Rick. Great point. Just because a team has a star player, doesn’t mean the other team members are irrelevant. Research supports the idea that when a star moves to a different organization it takes years for them to perform at the high level they were previously at…if they ever achieve it. Why? Their success was a function of team play, not simply individual play.
“Arrive early. If you’re so busy that you’re always late, you have time management issues.
Volunteer for tough assignments.” Boy is that me. I always roll into work exceedingly early so that I can ease into the day; take care of communications and lay out the general template of what I want to accomplish that day (it is usually 1-5 lines of scribble on some loose paper) without feeling rushed. That style and choice helps my mind and heart move forward during the day. It is too bad others can’t see the wisdom in that choice. “Volunteer for tough assignments”. I thrive on that, I enjoy the challenges and finding the solutions to said challenges and I have found I can control the playing field if I’m the one leading the charge. I usually find that I am better suited for those “tough tasks” because not that I’m more technically inclined but because I am more organized and have done enough tough tasks in the past I know how things should be played. I then take my technical skills and supplement as necessary.
Thanks Paul. The slow start has risen to the top of my tips for having a great day and making important contributions. Covid caused me to establish some rituals. Beginning the day well is one of the most important things you can do.
What prevents people from getting ahead?
Fixed hierarchies, fixed ways of doing things, old boy networks, nepotism, bias (whether unconscious or or just plain bigotry)
How might leaders earn promotions?
Often this is difficult – there may not actually be a place to be promoted to in your organisation. Or if there is, it’s so removed from what you have been doing that your skillset and talents don’t match it.