8 Reasons Why People Get Promoted

Receiving a promotion at work is an extremely important milestone in an upward career path. A promotion is a step that most employees anticipate practically from the first day on the job. Yet while for some, promotions are not guaranteed- ever, others seem to make everything they touch turn to gold and seemingly effortlessly climb the corporate ladder of success.

Why is it that some people get promoted quickly and others keep waiting and hope that they too will someday get a promotion?

1.  Exude Confidence

To move up the career ladder, a worker must exude confidence and demonstrate excellent leadership skills in their specific area of work. This does not have to necessarily mean being a spokesperson or taking a public stand. Rather, it means not shying away from taking up new responsibilities within their line of work. Successful professionals are constantly eager to take on responsibilities. They ensure that initiatives that they spearhead meet the desired outcome and that their targets are achieved.

2. Are Lifelong learners

While earning a college degree may not be for everyone and may not be required for every job, workers who are constantly interested in expanding their knowledge base can land jobs and get promotions easier than complacent workers. Why? While it is true that employers seek workers who have the requisite knowledge, skills and abilities to do their assigned jobs well. What they truly desire are workers, who despite not being involved in formal learning, remain committed to continuous growth and development in their careers. These lifelong learners (LLLs) stay ahead of industry trends and demonstrate ambition to profit their place of employment. Being seen as a perpetual benefit to their place of employment brings them yet another step closer to a promotion.

3. Being Patient

Individuals who get promoted at work are performers who are patient enough to wait for the right opportunities to arrive at their doorstep. This does not mean that they are not proactive. Instead it means that they shoulder responsibilities while believing that they will be rewarded at the right time. Patience demonstrates acknowledgement of company decisions and creates a picture of being a responsible employee who is willing to invest their time and effort on behalf of the company. This gives managers and bosses the message that it is worth rewarding these employees with the right promotion when the opportunity arises.

4. Maintaining a positive attitude.

Attitude is a form of self-expression. People can choose to have positive, optimistic outlook, or they can choose to be critical and pessimistic. Employees with a positive attitude greet their colleagues and supervisors with a smile, tackle every project with undisguised enthusiasm and face every challenge with a possible solution. Their upbeat nature, resilience and ability to easily bounce back from failure is noticed readily by their supervisors as they tend to cope better than many of their co-workers when stressful situations arise at work. Positivity emanates outward and co-workers “catch” the good spirit. This creates a more enjoyable work environment where the employees are more appreciative, enthusiastic and may even begin to volunteer some their extra time to better the company. The leaders of this positive change in office culture are often then promoted in the hope that they will continue to inspire those around with their positivity.

5. Dressing for success.

What you choose to wear to work, affects your chances of being promoted.

Many managers believe this statement and act on it too. This does not mean that all workers should arrive to work clad in dark suits and white shirts. Every place of employment has its specific norms and styles.  Rather, it means that employees should dress and conduct themselves in a way that portrays that they are an individual who cares that the company’s image should be impeccable.

On a practical level, employees seeking a promotion are advised to look at how their manager dresses and to follow that lead. That is, dress in similar styles, color combinations and clothing quality. Step up the outfit styles in an understated way to send the appropriate message to your superiors: “I am ready to take on more responsibility.”

6. Are not gossipers

Everyone is well aware who the gossips within their organization are. This means co-workers, supervisors and even the “boss” knows too. In fact, even people in other companies know who the gossips within the same industry are. While being in the know may make people appear popular, gossip-mongers are not are respected in the same light as their colleagues. Rather, their co-workers can even be wary of them.

Instead of getting caught up in petty politics, workers seeking a promotion are advised to understand office politics, know the players and form appropriate alliances with them. However, this should all be done from the sidelines without getting ensnared in any pettiness.

Why? When a person in being considered for a promotion, his superiors will consider  the sort of individual he or she is. Since managers will very likely be privy to sensitive company information, how can someone who gossips be trusted to be part of a management team if they have not proven to be able to keep important information under wraps?

In other words, it really is all about trust. When an employee is trusted, he or she is valued. Valuable employees are bound to be tapped for promotions as soon as opportunities arise.

8.  Are relationship-driven

From the classroom to the newsroom, from an office cubicle to the stock market, no two workplaces are the same. But what they do all have in common is that they are made up of people. In order to reach your full potential in your workplace it is critical to establish and maintain relationships with co-workers and managers.

Strong relationships are built and maintained by giving, not competing. Ask yourself what type of person you are. Are you the sort of person who collaborates well with others or do you tend to micro-manage? To collaborate well means to give the others in your team the sense of inclusiveness, that you trust that they are bringing value to the table. These sorts of relationships prevent stressful situations from arising and allow others to problem solve in teams without competition. Collaboration instead of competition does not go unnoticed and might pave the way for a promotion.

8. Being goal oriented.

To demonstrate your abilities and talents at work, it is important to set and achieve goals. By setting goals, you are in essence showing your manager that you have a focus and are determined to succeed. Just as in the classroom, teachers are recommended to set SMART goals  (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic/Relevant and Time Bound), employees should also set SMART goals that when met are obvious to their managers and will earn you their admiration and eventually a promotion.

But, we all know about New Year’s resolutions which remained just that: resolutions made in honor of New Year’s yet were never actually carried out. How then should you go about really meeting your work goals?

First, write down your goals clearly in your personal notebook. Then, share them on Social media to put some subtle pressure on yourself to start working. Lastly, block off time every day to focus on achieving those goals – one at a time. Keep in mind though, that just because you are focused on your goals, does not mean that you are so tied to them that you miss opportunities. Instead it means that you spend just a bit of time daily on reaching your goals, revisit your goals often to ensure that they are still relevant, and if not, adjust them accordingly.

To demonstrate that you deserve a promotion, it is wise to start implementing the above strategies. It may take a bit of a  while for you to implement them, but persistence and consistency will surely go a long way in helping you to get the promotion you deserve.