Promotion Frustration
Are you now or have you ever been frustrated by a lack of a promotion in your work life?
It's easy to blame the external factors that you feel are holding you back. "My company doesn't have any growth opportunities. My boss doesn't appreciate my work. They only look externally for higher level positions."
But how many people are open to looking at themselves and specifically their "workplace reputation"? How are you perceived by others in your workplace? Because if you don't have the support or endorsement of the people you work with every day, it may be something you are doing or not doing that's actually holding you back. So things like:
1. Are you easy to work with? Or do you have a reputation for being difficult or saying "No" a lot? It's not a good idea to have a closed mind if you're looking to rise in the ranks. Managers want people that have a "can-do" attitude and can foster good culture to moving things forward
2. Are you proactive? Do you take care of things when you see them or do you wait to be given instruction and direction to solve them? If you don't show the initiative to identify what needs to be done and do it, you may not be perceived as having the critical skills of analysis and diagnosis.
3. Do you welcome new tasks/projects/assignments with open arms? If you are not showing the characteristic of taking on additional things, even ones that are tough or you are not 100% in agreement with, you're unlikely to be seen as a team-player or a leader.
4. Have you even expressed your desire to be promoted or to climb the ladder? If your company/boss doesn't know explicitly you are looking for advancement, then maybe it's not on their radar. Not everyone is looking to be promoted, so don't take it for granted that everyone knows your intentions.
5. Do you take on tasks your boss does to prepare yourself for the next level of responsibility? The best way to be seen as a candidate for the next level is to show, even in little ways, your capable of those responsibilities.
6. Do you have an important role that nobody else has any idea how to do? If so, you may find yourself in the danger zone of "position paralysis" - being extremely valued in a critical role, where the cost of you moving up seems too high for the company. So you may have to do the work to show your boss the way to successfully accomplish this. (Unfortunately in this situation it may also mean having to leave the company altogether to progress, or making it very clear that's what's at stake if nothing changes for you.)
These are a few of the items you can reflect on to ensure you're doing everything in your power to take the next step in your career. Sure, there will always be annoying outside factors in every situation, but don't waste your time worrying about those or using them as excuses. If you have some work to do to position yourself and your reputation properly, it's best to focus on that.