What Does It Really Take To Work Up The Career Ladder?
Some people are more than happy to coast in their jobs, whereas others view the career ladder as a thing to be conquered. But what does it really take to work up the career ladder? Is it about all of those cliched aspects, like dedication and focus, or is it about something completely different?
Understanding That You Are A Work In Progress
Career progression isn’t about showing the powers that be that we are the perfect package. Every opportunity in working life is a chance to learn. If you understand that you are a work in progress, you will begin to realize that there is so much more to improve on as you go up the ladder. There is always something that you can improve on, whether you need to learn how to improve your presentations or your soft skills, by understanding that you aren’t the perfect package you will always strive to improve yourself.
Getting To Know The Boss And The Business
If you’re really looking for a way to make the most of that commute look at the business as an opportunity for new ideas. When you start to market yourself as someone who is deserving of a promotion you need to remember that it’s about making your boss’ life easier. They will always be looking for ways to improve their bottom line. By being someone who they can trust but is also a fountain of knowledge is not just about adequate research, it’s also about learning to manage their expectations of you so you can exceed. A good example would be waiting for them to ask you for a report, when you can just send it before they ask. There is a fine line between eager and brown-nosing, and you’ve got to figure it out in your working environment. Once you start to understand the business and what it needs this is when you can start to gain the respect of the boss and show them that you truly care about what is going on.
Be Generous To Others
For some people, climbing up the career ladder is all about stepping on people’s faces as they go, but we all know someone who has tried to take credit for our work. Likewise, we never react favourably to people who point the finger of blame. If you want to be in a position of power you’ve got to be someone who leads by example and stands out as a role model. Being generous to others is about giving credit where it is due. At the same time, you must remember to tackle your failures head-on. If you’ve made a mistake, you must admit to it. This will help you to maintain your integrity, but also realize that honesty is an admirable quality.
The career ladder is a way for you to realize your dreams in a professional sense. And we have to remember that when we’re trying to get ahead that we maintain some integrity. We can spot people who are brown-nosing their way to the top from a mile away. This means that those people never do it for the right reasons. They really want to boss people around. Working up the career ladder is to do with dedication and focus but it’s also about being the person that you want to be.
