Table of Contents
- Career Growth Tips: Building Strong Manager Relationships and Navigating Difficult Bosses for Promotion Success
- Recommendation
- Take-Aways
- Summary
- To earn a promotion, know your value to the organization and communicate it clearly.
- For long-term success, manage your career proactively.
- Building a strong relationship with your manager can pave the way for new opportunities.
- About the Podcast
Unlock your career potential with expert advice from executive coach Michelle Gibbings. Discover actionable strategies for getting promoted, handling difficult bosses, and proactively managing your career growth. Learn how to communicate your value, build key workplace relationships, and turn setbacks into opportunities. Start advancing your career today with these proven tips!
Ready to take charge of your career and land your next promotion? Keep reading for step-by-step strategies and insider insights that will help you stand out, overcome workplace challenges, and achieve your professional goals!
Recommendation
Learn to take control of your career growth in this episode of the This Is Work podcast. Host Shelley Johnson speaks with executive coach Michelle Gibbings, an expert on thriving in the workplace. They discuss the importance of identifying and articulating your professional value to secure promotions and new opportunities, the power of proactivity and strategic risk-taking, and the crucial role of a strong relationship with your manager. Gibbings offers practical tips for succeeding when you find yourself working for a difficult boss and for turning a setback into a stepping stone.
Take-Aways
- To earn a promotion, know your value to the organization and communicate it clearly.
- For long-term success, manage your career proactively.
- Building a strong relationship with your manager can pave the way for new opportunities.
Summary
To earn a promotion, know your value to the organization and communicate it clearly.
Advancing in your career isn’t just about doing your job well — it’s about proving that you’re ready to deliver more at the next level. Promotions often hinge on your ability to show that the value you bring aligns with what the next role demands. Know your value to the organization and how to communicate it in terms of the role you seek, and be strategic in identifying and showcasing your contributions. To determine your workplace strengths, consider both your technical skills and your competencies, such as problem-solving and emotional intelligence. Get feedback from others about your strengths.
“At its core, work is a value exchange. You turn up and you deliver value. In return, your organization pays you.” (Michelle Gibbings)
Keep a record of your achievements, including positive feedback, successful projects, and measurable outcomes. This evidence can bolster your confidence and provides concrete examples to use when you advocate for yourself during performance reviews or promotion discussions. Seek advocates among your colleagues and cultivate strong relationships with these people. These advocates can make a difference in whether you’re the person who gets a tap on the shoulder when an opportunity arises.
For long-term success, manage your career proactively.
To move forward in your career, take initiative rather than waiting for opportunities to appear. Proactive individuals shape their paths by seeking challenges, taking calculated risks, and building connections that advance their goals. This mindset requires thinking about where you want to go and taking deliberate steps to get there. Take steps to gain the learning you need; don’t outsource this activity to your employer. Find opportunities for learning yourself.
“You need to be the leader of your career.” (Michelle Gibbings)
You can approach your career as a “navigator,” knowing exactly where you’re going and how to get there; or as a “surveyor,” being open to taking risks and stretching yourself; or as a “pioneer,” eager to experiment and open to change. The pathway that’s right for you will depend on your tolerance for risk, and you might shift among these profiles over the course of your career. Viewing your career as an adventure can help you identify when to take risks and when to play it safe. Being conservative in your financial choices can give you freedom in your career choices, as you’ll have a buffer in case the strategic risks you take with your career don’t work out as well as you’d hoped.
Building a strong relationship with your manager can pave the way for new opportunities.
Your relationship with your boss can be one of the most important factors in your career growth, so be proactive in building the relationship. Learn about your manager’s challenges and figure out how you can help — without overstepping. For instance, you might take the initiative to help an overwhelmed manager organize her workflow. If you can demonstrate your value and build goodwill, it might lead to your boss advocating for you when a development opportunity arises.
“Good things happen when you make the effort to put the work in.” (Michelle Gibbings)
If you work for a difficult or toxic boss, focus on what you can learn from the situation and be mindful of how working in a negative environment affects your behavior and attitude. Have an end date in mind and plot your exit strategy.
About the Podcast
Shelley Johnson is a leadership coach and HR consultant. Workplace expert Michelle Gibbings is a leadership facilitator, executive mentor, and keynote speaker. She’s the author of Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work; Career Leap: How to Reinvent and Liberate Your Career; and Bad Boss: What to Do If You Work for One, Manage One, or Are One.