You deserve more money, here’s how to get it.
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For over half of my career, I thought being the best was enough! If I could be in my field, I would get promoted. I proudly wore my expertise like a badge of honor and told myself I was better than my peers. I was the best. Very often I used my inflated sense of self-importance to belittle my coworkers. I felt they were less than me because they were not as good as me.
That is the day I was stopped in my tracks, my jaw dropped to the floor, and my world turned upside down.
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I walked around thinking the organization needed me more than I needed them. More often than not, I thought I deserved special privilege and should be excused from anything that did not capitalize upon my genius. After all, Steve Jobs doesn’t take out the trash. I thought I was God’s divinely appointed gift to the organization.
I don’t remember why, but I reached out one day for some feedback. Truthfully, I was probably looking for external validation of my genius beyond just my circle of friends, and an explanation of why my genius was not being rewarded. That is the day I was stopped in my tracks, my jaw dropped to the floor, and my world turned upside down.
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In very direct terms, my manager brought me down to reality. That day I learned six reasons I was not getting the recognition and the promotions I thought I deserved. Since then, these six principles have help me and been invaluable as I have helped develop team members.
- Unable to link your achievements with the organization’s strategic goals. Senior Business leaders have the challenging (But not impossible) task of balancing the needs of the organization with the needs of their people. At the end of the day, their decisions have to contribute to the bottom line. Understanding the strategic goals of the organization and linking your achievements to strategic initiatives is a must. Use a mind map to link your actions with strategic objectives and include measurable outcomes as much as possible.
- Unable to link your achievements with the goals of the leaders you report to directly. Getting promoted is a team sport! Individual accomplishments must contribute to the overall goals of your team. Ask yourself, “How do my achievements affect the success of the leader I report to directly?” If you don’t know their goals are, then ask. Don’t expect to get promoted if your actions are not contributing to their bottom line.
- Did you achieve the goals your leaders outlined for you personally? When I onboard new people in my organization, there are certain boxes I need checked. The Department of Defense has very specific standards for the information technology workforce. One of my first steps with new employees is to outline what I need them to accomplish personally. These goals are often tedious, time consuming, and require team members to dedicate time outside of the office. Failing to achieve these goals makes them a liability rather than an asset.
- Selling yourself to the wrong people. Who has the authority to promote you? Is it the leader you report to directly, a representative in the Human Resources Department, or the owner of the company? Understanding who has the authority to promote you is imperative. Cookie cutter strategies do not work when your convincing leaders to increase their expenses and promote you. If you do not have access to the decision maker directly, what should you do? Leverage the influence of the leaders you report to directly.
- Lack of initiative. As a leader, I love it when someone approaches me with a well-crafted plan that details why they should be promoted, or explains how their actions warrant a raise. It demonstrates passion, commitment to the organization, self-confidence, and the willingness to take a calculated risk. These team members are not waiting for things to happen, they are making them happen!
- Lack of engagement. Being the best at what you do does not make you engaged. I learned this one the hard way in 2008 when I was selected for promotion to Sergeant in the United States Army. Not one person would disagree that I was very good at solving the organizations information technology challenges. Sadly, they would all agree that Trent was a prima donna who thought his skill and expertise was enough. Engaged employees are passionate about the their goals and the goals of the organization. They go the extra mile to make the team successful and they can be counted on during the most inconvenient times. Leaders want to promote engaged employees because everyone benefits.
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More importantly, it is about you taking the initiative and communicating effectively with decision makers.
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Professional success is a team sport! It is simply not enough to be the best for the sake of being the best. Nor is it enough to think you’re the best. Getting that next raise or promotion is all about how YOUR actions contribute to the success of the team. More importantly, it is about you taking the initiative and communicating effectively with decision makers.
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Flickr/ Steven Depolo
TJ, your six points are spot on. If we’re not getting what we want, whether at work or elsewhere, the place to look is inside. It’s not that outside factors (a manager, the economy, significant other, etc) don’t play a role in our success or failure in a given matter, they do. However, the primary reason we succeed or fail is the role we play in the bigger picture.
Pre-Madonna? Please tell me that was on purpose 😉
Fixed.
A “pre-Madonna” is an old person who was around before either the Virgin Mary, or the singer sometimes nicknamed “Madge”. A prima donna is the female lead in an Opera, known for diva like qualities. Unless the guy was very old, and you intended to point that out, here’s what you may have meant-http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prima%20donna.
I should get a raise for noticing things like this because I do actually work in software quality. 😉 Apparently in proof reading on the side as well.