I know who you are; there are thousands out there like you – hard-working, loyal employees looking to get ahead and advance in the workplace. There are certain strategies that will make all the difference when you think about advancing in your company. Corporations paying attention to their bottom line want to accomplish more with less and often seek entrepreneurial-minded workers who can rise above the common crowd. How can you rise above the crowd? Read on!
Be at work on time, fresh and focused
The first and most obvious criteria to becoming indispensable at work is to maintain a consistent, reliable presence – show up on time. It sounds simple, but this is the critical first step to corporate success. And remember that workplace appearance is part of your professional brand; which means no rumpled, bleary-eyed, just-rolled-out-of-bed looks. Show up at work clean, neatly pressed, ready and eager to start the day. Don’t dress for the job you have, dress for the job you want, and remember how people perceive you influences what they think of your work performance. Check our ‘Dress for Success Tips’, and put your best foot forward!
Recognize your corporate value and work to grow it
You are your own best advocate. Selling yourself and your ideas convincingly reiterates to your colleagues and to management why your services matter. Understanding your own value to your employers is critical, and value in this context is so much more than simply completing your daily tasks or addressing the inbox influx. It can be a lonely road, running that extra mile when others are cheerfully done for the day, but putting in that additional time and effort now will significantly reward you later. There are numerous ways in which you can grow your corporate value:
- Formulate personal growth goals and write them down. Knowing where you want to go is the critical first step to getting there. You will build your own confidence and value incrementally as you travel the road from where you are to where you want to be.
- Approach someone in the workplace that you respect, and who excels at what they do, and seek their advice. Set up a meeting with them to learn as much as you can about the decisions they made in their own rise to success in the company. Ask their advice about how best to meet your own corporate goals.
- Increase your skill set. Look within the company at the position you aspire to occupy; take note of the necessary skills required for that position and work to acquire them yourself via online training modules, YouTube educational videos, open source courses (MIT’s), books or finding expert mentors online.
- Read incessantly about your industry news and trends so that you can provide useful insight in meetings.
- Become a subject-matter expert: be the go-to-person on an industry-specific topic or software application.
- Actively seek new responsibilities and complete them to the best of your ability in a timely fashion.
Have a mental stake in the company
Successful employees think of themselves as invested in the company where they work. Not only do they understand the corporate vision, mission, and strategy of the organization, but they constantly seek ways in which they themselves can further contribute towards helping meet those corporate goals.
Attention to detail
Give your complete focus to each task at hand and complete it to the best of your ability. Plan ahead; be organized, aware, and focused on deadlines but be able to juggle tasks as priorities change. Most importantly, master your current responsibilities. No one will invest in you unless you first earn their trust by consistently producing high-quality work.
Be a team player
Soft skills are increasingly valued in the workplace and those individuals that develop and hone these skills are sure to get noticed by upper management.
- Treat your colleagues with respect.
- Listen, appreciate and validate great ideas even if they diverge from your own.
- Maintain a positive attitude in the workplace, and leave personal issues at home.
- Seek out and accept constructive criticism – remember, this is free advice for self-improvement.
Be a dynamic asset
Sitting quietly at your desk from a.m. to p.m. doesn’t do much for you. Successful employees are dynamic employees.
- Ask for feedback, give feedback, be an active participant in the corporate conversation.
- Communicate your own goals and aspirations to management and ask for their advice on what you need to do to reach these goals.
- Work constantly to improve your skillsets so that when business structures change and positions become available, you have gained skills that are valuable across various business functions and roles.
- Move outside your comfort zone; seek challenges and build your skills along the way.
- Exhibit a positive, can-do attitude, and if you make a mistake, own it; and then go the extra mile to fix the problem.
- Seek out new opportunities for company growth or ways in which current methodology could be improved; conduct the necessary research and present a proposal to management.
These 6 tips are guaranteed to make you stand out from the corporate crowd. So: be dependable, recognize and grow your corporate value, consistently produce high-quality work, be a dynamic asset, hone your teamwork skills, maintain a positive attitude, and you will find that your organization will quickly realize they simply cannot do without you! A realization which leads, ultimately, to corporate advancement and increased job satisfaction as your efforts are rewarded. But do not expect instant success; like the tortoise, slow and steady wins the race; one must consistently apply oneself in the ways mentioned above and be patient. Your day will come!
What has been successful for you to advance in your position? Comment below!
Article Contributions By: Jaynie Royal
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