#17 Move Forward At Work

In this episode I discuss the formula for moving forward at work on a regular basis. 

Transcript

Hi! This is Anita Belitz from the Wise Women’s Workplace Podcast. In today’s episode I am going to focus on the formula for consistently moving forward at work! I am going to share with you the 3 key steps that helped me make very regular progress throughout my career.  

Backstory (Desires internal and external)

Over my corporate career I went from being an administrative assistant to executive director before deciding I wanted to do something else with my career.  Over that period, I consistently moved forward and had a promotion each 2 or 3 years, sometimes with raises or increased compensation in between. I don’t want to say it was easy to do - and clearly sometimes it was harder to get some promotions than others - but generally speaking it was straightforward. 

As I moved up through the ranks I eventually realized that I had a pattern I was following: I would start getting bored or feel that it was time for a raise, so I tried to get clear on what I really wanted. And then, I started getting creative about how to make that happen. And once I figured that out, I was patient but very consistent. I worked hard to do a great job, but I also focused on specific things that I knew would help me move forward and towards the next position I wanted.

So, in essence, I believe the formula to consistently move forward is:  Get clear on what you want, get deliberate on what you are going to do, and take daily action

1) Get clear on what you want: What kind of career do you want? And What kind of lifestyle do you want?

o   Many of you listening are in the prime of your career. My experience is that many people, although driven, cannot say specifically what they want. There are often lofty goals for getting to a certain level in the company or to increase their pay, which is fine, but it should be linked to a clear logic of why you want that and specific goals. So How much do you want to earn and why? How does that link back to your lifestyle, your family, and your future? This is also a moment when you might be asking yourself “is this the right career for me?”. If that is a lingering question, it is one that is better resolved sooner than later, for example. Once you get clear on what you want, …

2) Get deliberate on what you are going to do to get you to where you want to go.

o   Once you know with clarity what you want, you can devise a plan which will get you there. Sometimes all you need is a small step to course correct and sometimes this will require big changes in how you behave at work or in your mindset.

§  First and foremost you definitely need to plan to keep doing your absolute best at work. This is a given because quality work is likely the most important characteristic employers are looking for.

§  Then think about the tasks that bring you forward and make you stand out. You may have heard of the Pareto principle or the “80/20 rule”. The idea is that 80% of your consequential outcomes come from only 20% of your actions. This means that you need to be clear on what work you are doing which brings about the biggest impact. And it certainly isn’t going to be the most mundane tasks. And it may be those that get you out of your comfort zone. But when you start figuring this out, you can make a bigger difference in your work! Will some of the other, less important tasks fall by the wayside because these more important tasks take more time? Probably, because you only have so many hours in a day, but get clear on how to make a difference in your work and your boss will likely be much more open to the idea of giving you support staff or giving those less important tasks to someone else to do. If you can show that you are making a difference by focusing on priority actions that are yielding great results, this should be an easy decision for your boss (and it will make you stand out as someone who understands priorities).

§  Finally, be deliberate about connecting the dots. If you are looking for a raise, double-check that what you are focusing on is going to give you better results which will lead to deserving higher pay. And if you want a promotion, check to make sure that what you are focusing on will help you learn new skills or highlight the ones that you have and are needed for the next position that you want.

3) The third step is to get moving! These kinds of moves don’t usually come overnight. I can say from experience that most people get so caught up in the day-to-day responsibilities of work that they complete forget about taking steps to move towards something else. And suddenly, before you know it, you’re at your end-of-year review preparation and you get that sinking feeling that you haven’t advanced on things nearly as much as you wanted. I know it’s not easy – it requires effort on your part. You need to review what you are doing regularly. But why not schedule this in your week? Instead of checking social media or working over your lunch break, why not invest in yourself and your own future by using this time to make your plan and check that you are moving forward? An hour a week should be fine. And when you get more used to doing this, you can actually work it into your daily routine. It just takes a few minutes to double check that the majority of the tasks that you are focusing on are the ones that are going to move you forward. And the reward for doing this is going to be for you but will still benefit your boss and your company.

So, get clear, get deliberate, and get moving!

Remember, you are the one who is looking after you. You are the only one who can go through this process of deciding what is right for you, planning out how to get there, and making sure that you take steps each day to get there. You need to invest in yourself to get to where you want to go!

So what to do now? Well, get clear, get deliberate, and get moving! And I invite you to keep listening to the podcast as I will likely touch on similar topics again in future episodes.

As always, if you really want a career and life which makes you happy, please be very mindful of what you are doing and take deliberate actions. Make sure you are always looking after yourself, including in your career. And don’t just survive, take steps to thrive!

I look forward to speaking to you again soon. Until next time, may you be healthy, wealthy, and wise!