Being ready isn’t enough; you have to be
prepared for a promotion or any other significant change.
Pat Riley
Promotion can come when you least expect it. If your daily actions are investing in your future, then you are preparing for the next promotion.
My first promotion came when I was 19 years old. I was working in the accounting department for a subsidiary of a large corporation in Atlanta, who decided to move their headquarters to Tennessee. They offered me a transfer with a promotion to the Information Systems Department, not accounting. They offered to pay for my computer programming training and to pay all the educational cost to finish my business degree. After a little salary negotiations, I was on my way.
Why did I get the promotion?
1) When a new job came open I was in a position for consideration.
2) I was a hard worker and helped the department to meet their goals.
3) I was a team player – helping in areas other than my own. In doing so the company had the opportunity to recognize my ability and willingness.
This promotion was a surprise. I had no idea they were considering me. Their need met my preparation — which happened to be the three items stated above, and the door of opportunity was open for promotion.
Need + Preparation = Promotion
How do you prepare for promotion?
Focus on the Mission
Whether you are working for someone, serving as a volunteer or own your own business, the mission of the organization is key. The mission is usually a short statement of goals.
The mission of my company is Connecting You to Your Best — You are the Best Investment You can Make. Everything that I produce from blogs, podcasts to classes and workshops are focused around this mission.
Keeping the overall mission in mind provides a way for you to bring added value to your work. And it creates opportunity for you to be known for your focus, support and completion of the mission.
Forward Thinking
Forward thinking and keeping focused on the mission go hand in hand. As you focus on the mission, it expands your capacity in fine-tuning what you do as well as looking for areas of growth, new ways to process information, training ideas, etc.
One of my promotions came as a result of submitting an idea to streamline the Quality Control process. After I submitted the concept, I met with the regional director and my idea was implemented across the company. Within, weeks, I was promoted to Supervisor.
Team Player
A team player has the ability to communicate change, adapt quickly and pitch in — even if it is not their job. One of the ways of building your skills as a team player is asking the question: How can I assist in completing the mission?
One of my friends was always winning the sales contest. His manager asked him if he would be willing to train the other sales staff his method.
If he said yes, then his competition would increase for the prizes.
If he said no, then he would be able to maintain as the leader in sales.
His answer was yes! He wanted to be a team player and increase his value, as well as, the overall sales goal of the company.
Talent wins games, but
teamwork and intelligence win championships.
Michael Jordan
Investing in Your Future
I shared earlier that my company paid the way for my education and training. However, 53% of the workforce is employed by small business, and 99% of those have less than 10 employees. Most of us will need to find a way to invest in our own training.
Investing in yourself will open a way for your promotion. For most of us there are many options to receive training without going broke or incurring debt.
In September 2016, a Forbes article listed 4 Ways to Take Classes on The Cheap. The article is linked for you to read in depth.
The one I want to zero in on is, Other Online Platform in learning. Forbes highlights udemy.com as one, which provides training in specialized areas for minimal cost, even some without cost. The sites I have used specifically for training in planning and marketing to expand my business are MichaelHyatt.com, AmyPorterfield.com and storybrand.com by Donald Miller. All have provided free and minimal cost training for planning and marketing.
In closing, let me share with you what happened in my big promotion at the tender age of 19. I discovered one very important thing about myself — I hated sitting behind a computer all day. I realized I missed the interaction with people. In fact, whenever there was a problem with someone’s operating system, I would volunteer to go and fix it so I could connect with people. I began to understand what I wanted to do by discovering what I didn’t want to do. But each day, I still gave it my all!
You may be in a situation where you are not doing exactly what you want to do. But your preparation for promotion begins with discovering what you do want to do by identifying what you do not want to do.
By keeping your Focus on the Mission, Forward Thinking, Team Player and Investing in Your Future, you are continually preparing for promotion.
Thank you for listening today. As promised I want to tell you about the online class I have developed. Class Registration is only available until February 22.
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If you would rather have one-on-one mentoring in building your Blueprint for Success, fill out the Connection Form. I will contact you and we can begin the work. Looking forward to assisting you in the journey of connecting you to your best!
Remember, you are the best investment you can make!