Career Advancing Behaviour 

You know that guy, he’s the one who is always loud, somewhat obnoxious, but the boss knows his name and is aware of what he does, so invariably, he’s the one that gets the promotion…yet unfairly his colleague who is far better qualified for advancement misses out!

Typically, our hero is the one who is dedicated and most competent and so is focussed on ‘doing the job’ well whilst developing their skills…however they fail to properly promote themselves.

Now I’m not suggesting the introduction of ‘brass bands’ and ‘flashing lights’ as a way of getting the boss to notice you, but consider this, how do others perceive you? Do you have a presence in the Company? Does anyone appreciate how your personality fits within the corporate culture? What day to day interactions do you have with those around you?

Talented employees wanting to grow within an organization will purposefully design, manufacture and adapt their image to the position and the culture of the workplace. They realize that decisions about their future are made by executives who may not have had direct contact with them but make decisions on their perceptions/understanding of the person (as well as the thoughts of colleagues) and what they can bring [holistically] to the new role.

I can attest to this from personal experience… I worked in an organization that had a particular ‘social’ culture and unfortunately for me, I didn’t agree with or participate in certain functions. Suffice to say I was considered ‘persona non grata’ and so excluded from certain business meetings. And whilst I wasn’t unhappy at missing the social events, the professional exclusion affected my position within the business.

So you want to climb the corporate ladder but not sure what to do… remember that every time we interact with others, we have the opportunity to project a good image of ourselves or detract from it, so we must be very careful to help decision makers appreciate that you have all the skills (behavioural & functional) to do the job!