What does it (really) take to get promoted? Hint: it’s not sucking up to the boss!
So what does it really take to achieve career success in the workplace? To get promoted? To be recognized for both your current work and the potential you have to grow and rise in the ranks? I’ve often heard people say that the only way to get ahead in the world of work is to “suck up” to the boss. But is it possible that what some people call “sucking up” may simply be learning how to work with your specific supervisor or manager?
In my leadership training and mentoring practice, I have had the opportunity to dialogue with tens of thousands of managers in organizations across the country, and they are unequivocal in their assertion that they can tell the “actors”; they know when their employees’ actions and behaviours are self-serving and when they are selfless. So if this is true, then “sucking up” is clearly not the reason why certain employees get ahead. Which raises the question – “What is?” And that is exactly what I address in my latest column in The Globe and Mail. Gathered from my tens of thousands of conversations with the people who should know the answer, I list out nine specific things you can do to rise in the ranks.
What does it (really) take to get promoted?
If you get the print version of The Globe, you’ll find this column on page B8.
Note: if you are a subscriber to The Globe and Mail, you can also read the column directly at their website at this link: https://tgam.ca/2Tuhg1U
So … do you agree?
So, as always, I’d love to hear about your experiences, both as an employee and as someone in a leadership position. Do you agree with what I have found to be true, or have you observed that “sucking up” is really what it takes to get promoted? Either way, I’d love to hear from you. Please add your comments below.
If you want to be deliberate and thoughtful about ways to position yourself for career growth and success, you may also find these links to past columns I wrote for The Globe and Mail to be helpful:
- Eight steps to finding a mentor
- Six steps to take today, toward a leadership role tomorrow
- Nine easy ways to take charge of your professional development
I have 
Now that we have opened our new west coast office, I find myself attending a lot more business networking events in Victoria and Vancouver than I have in the past. At one of these well-attended events, I was walking back to my vehicle at the end of the evening, when I happened to find myself next to a woman who was also leaving the same event. I had not had an opportunity to meet her earlier in the evening, so as we made the three-minute walk to the parking lot, we shook hands and introduced ourselves to each other. As we parted ways beneath a street light, she asked for my business card, suggesting that we should meet again over a cup of coffee to get to know one another. I readily agreed, always open to building relationships in my professional circles. I took her business card as well, intending to connect with her the next time I was in town.
Your personal brand is how others see you. If you want to grow your business, obtain a better job, get noticed by your peers, take your career to the next level, or meet high-quality professional colleagues, the impression others have of you will have a huge impact on your success. But how do you build your “best” personal brand? How do you build a brand that “kicks ass”? And just what does “kick-ass branding” mean?
Are you inadvertently sabotaging yourself? A few weeks ago, I asked a different question: 
