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The Top 10 Ways to Create Opportunity for Yourself on the Job

 

These days, just doing good work isn't enough. Upward mobility is far from assured as organizations constantly seek to become leaner and more competitive. In order to get ahead, you must take the reins of your own career. Here are ten ways to create opportunity for yourself.

 

  1. Develop your own vision. Being clear about your destination is the first step towards getting there. Vision begins as a "felt sense" of what you want to do with your life. At first, it may be just a vague impression, a fleeting image, or a model based on someone you admire. Whichever, vision is a place to start. Put it down on paper--a sketch, a paragraph, even a story.

 

  1. Translate your vision into goals. What will it take for your vision to become a reality? Write down five or six goals that will make it come true. Don't be alarmed that this might lock you in. Both vision and goals will likely change and refine as you devote more attention to them. Your vision and your life are moving targets and, in this day and age, that's essential for survival. Adaptiveness rather than certainty leads to success.

 

  1. Develop a vision for your organization. If your employer already has one and it's available, study it. Is it compatible with your vision of where you want to go? Is it consistent with the policies and actions of the organization itself? Is the organization's vision significantly different from the one you could write for it? Compare your own and your organization's vision of the future. Can you work within the organization and meet your goals? If not, then your long term plan must be to make other arrangements outside the organization. Points 4 though 10 still follow, but their eventual results will be different.

 

  1. Set rigorous standards for yourself. The words, "for yourself" are critical here. So many people set their standards in relation to others or their work environment. If they perceive their employer to be fair, they set high standards. If, on the other hand, they see their employer as penurious, greedy, or mean, they allow their own standards to slip on the grounds that the employer "doesn't deserve any better from me." If you've fallen into that trap, recognize that you're only hurting yourself. To do less than your best ultimately means that your "best" will deteriorate until you won't be able to tell the difference between mediocrity and excellence. The "content" of your standards depends on you. Here are some examples you may want to consider: "Always arrive ten minutes early for work." "Do only complete quality work." "Treat everyone with respect." "Act deliberately; walk softly." "Criticize only constructively." The possibilities are endless, but the point is that you will eventually become recognized by the standards you apply, not those you talk about.

 

  1. Become broadly and deeply knowledgeable about your industry and company. The more you know about the industry, market, and work environment, the better prepared you are to make intelligent career choices. The knowledge base you develop is like a library to which you can refer repeatedly when confronted with important decisions.

 

  1. Study your boss and his/her boss. If you've taken time to read this list, it's assumed that you are capable and self-directed (or at least, you want to be!). A second assumption, which is actually a pretty safe one, is that either your boss or his/her boss has certain characteristics or idiosyncracies that may impact significantly on your progress. (Note, I didn't say they were incompetent, although you remember the Peter principle that, in organizations, people tend to rise to their highest level of incompetence.) The point here is that you must become intimately aware of what influences, motivates, inspires, irritates and satisfies both your boss and his/her boss the next level up. Only as you have this information, can you relate effectively to them.

 

  1. Make yourself indispensable. We both know that anyone can be replaced, but your objective must be to make yourself as indispensable as possible, through your attitudes, conduct, and productivity. Now, if you reach the point where you feel that you are being untrue to yourself ("brown-nosing"), then it's time to consider seriously whether or not you're in the right position or organization. One way to create a sense of indispensability both up and down is to strive to help everyone with whom you work or to whom you report, to be better than they are. This takes discipline, especially if you're required to relate to people who really don't care, but it pays off in the long run, for YOU.

 

  1. Practice turning disagreements into consensus. Someone once described management communication as the art of getting each person to give a little so that everyone gains a lot. The moment you add a second person to the human equation, compromise becomes necessary. That's true in personal relationships and on the job. Practice motivating others by helping them find common ground, a place where they can agree because it suits their own and others' best interests. Try turning every task into a win/win situation for all concerned. To the extent that you succeed, your reputation and your indispensability will sky rocket.

 

  1. Let your actions speak for you. I grew up with the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." Imagine what it would take to have your boss, co-workers, and friends describe you by saying, "He/she gets the job done." This doesn't mean that you're silent or uncommunicative, only that your quiet competence is such that people are more likely to judge you by your works first, and your words second.

 

  1. Take calculated risks. Be willing to take risks when they offer the potential for significant gains without the probability of catastrophic losses. Risks are necessary in order to learn. In fact, we usually learn more by our mistakes than our successes. We learn by doing and, occasionally, by failing. Failure can be the short-term price you pay for long term success.

 

About the Submitter: Submitted by Shale Paul, who can be reached at shale@shalecoach.com, or visited on the web at http://shalecoach.com The original source is: Written by Shale Paul. Copyright 1996, Coach University. May be reproduced or transmitted if done so in its entirety, including this copyright line.

 

 

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