Get Promoted Part 2: Work smart - not hard

As early-stage managers and leaders who are trying to advance in our organisations, we often make the mistake of delivering the best work in the world, with no visibility from the people who matter the most - senior decision-makers. Thus, when it's time to get promoted or ask for a more senior role, these decision-makers don't know who we are and how valuable we are to the business.

We are like the tree falling in the forest with no one to hear us.

Shouldn't great work speak for itself? That's what we've been taught. We know we're performing but we don't feel seen and recognised for it so we're losing heart.

Maybe we hope our manager is telling everyone what we are doing - but they might not be. Or, we hope our team is talking about how happy they are with us - but they don't have audience with the people who matter for our promotion.

The mistake is twofold:

1. We are building an amazing product in isolation - we don't always build what the company needs and values the most for its strategic agenda

2. We are making a great product (us and our great work) but aren't even marketing it (telling our story) to the right buyers (senior leaders and decision-makers)

So what do we need to do differently? Work SMART, not hard.

1. Understand what matters most to the company and align ourselves to deliver against it

2. Make sure there is no doubt about our performance and value

3. Be known by the right people and own our narrative in the organisation

These are the hallmarks of a killer value proposition.

Once we start doing this, we generate pull for us to drive highly visible strategic initiatives and generate excitement for our leadership contribution to the organisation

And this gets us promoted over and over again.

So, out of 1,2 and 3, which step have you been struggling with?