Get Promoted!

If you are the top manager in your organization, then share this information with everyone that works under you. However, if you are someone who strives to move up the organizational chain, then this article is for you. You may not be know this, but your managers want you to know this information (unless they're not doing their job effectively and they are worried about you taking it). Bad managers aside, your manager wants and needs you to work at a higher level - a level that makes their job easier and one that fits well inside of the organization. To get yourself promoted, you have to stand out from the rest of your co-workers and do what most of them will not do. You have to get noticed and make yourself known for being innovative, making good decisions, and for being someone who really cares about the business. You can do this by following these directives.

Set Personal Targets for Yourself
Many companies don't set targets for each individual position in the organization. You will though, and it will pay off. Figure out what your average production / performance has been in the past - daily, weekly, and monthly. Then, set yourself a high but attainable target and post that target at your workstation. You already know about business tracking systems, so you need to set one up for yourself. Create a graph of your production and track it weekly and monthly, at least. Your co-workers may be happy to show up to work and collect a pay check, but not you. You're going to set targets, track them, and work like crazy to reach them.

Recommend New or Modified Policies and Procedures
Everyone else does their job without really going the extra mile for the company. You will get promoted if you recognize outdated or flawed policies and procedures and you recommend a better way to do them. These kinds of policies and procedures exist in EVERY organization. You just have to keep a close eye out for them and don't hesitate to make suggestions to your manager.

Dress to Impress
If your company has a strict dress code, then it's important that you always adhere to that policy. However, if your company allows you to dress in any kind of business attire, then always dress to impress. A good rule-of-thumb is to be the best dressed person you meet each day. You're not dressing to intimidate or because you think there's a fashion show in town. Instead, you dress well enough to show your managers and the company that you care about your job and you respect your managers enough to show it. As part of this, always maintain a very neat and well-groomed appearance. Dressing to impress and being neatly groomed will get you noticed.

Stay Out of the Gossip and Rumor Mill
All companies have employees who spend far too much of their time and energy with gossip and rumors. Good managers hate this and you must avoid it. You need to be known as someone who rises above such things. If a co-worker wants to talk to you about rumors or gossip, don't hesitate to tell them that you would rather not get into it. Just stay out of it.

Write up Your Post
The best way to move up in the organization is by writing up your current job so that it can easily be given to someone else. With a clearly written job description that includes all of the steps that you take to do all of your daily tasks, you can even train your replacement. This makes your manager's job easier because she won't have to spend time in training. It also shows your managers that you think about the business as a whole and not just about your business unit. They will know that whatever position you hold, it will be a high-performing and efficient position, that will be a success for the organization. Writing up positions is the job of the manager, so show your company that you are willing and able to take on that role.

Always Follow Policy
The surest way to not get promoted is to not follow policy. Having to be warned and written up will stick with you. So much of company policy is just common sense. Get to work on time, clock out for lunch breaks, don't falsify time-keeping and other records, etc, etc, etc. Policy exists so that managers can focus on the core functions of the business and not have to waste time baby sitting the staff. As a person who wants a promotion, you won't need baby sitting, but in spite of the common sense nature of policy, others surely will and you will be their boss someday.

Be a Super-Nice Person
Speaking of common sense, you need to be aware that people want to be around those who they find to be interesting, fun, and nice. Like it or not, it really does matter if people don't like you. When you're not likable, your probably also not promotable. This is quite simple. Smile a lot. Give professional compliments to others. Shake peoples' hands. Tell people when their doing a good job. Say nice things about your co-workers to their managers and say nice things about your managers to their managers. Being likable is a common sense principle of influence, so use this to your advantage and be a nice person.

If you do these things, you deserve a promotion. If you do it and you find that it's not working, it's probably because you forgot one simple thing - be sure your managers know these things about you. Show them your graph. Give them the write-up of your post. Submit a summary of policy you recommended at your next performance review. If you've done these things, you're dressing to impress, you're a super-nice person, and you clearly follow all company policies, then all that's left is to ASK. Remember: you have to ask for the things that you want, so ask for the promotion. If you don't get it right then, you will surely plant the seed in the minds of your managers and that seed will grow until you do get promoted.