Getting Ahead in your Career.

Are you just getting started in your career? Or are
you a veteran employee who believes that you should be
at a higher position in your organization? Well
wherever you are I'd like to share with you one or two
things that could make you climb the ladder of success
much faster.

It is vital that you know that your work as an
employee is your life. Check it out - you probably
spend more time at the office than you spend at home
with your family. This means that you've got to
accelerate your career progression efforts because
your work is supposed to bring you fulfillment and
joy, in addition to paying the bills.

The key step to getting ahead in your career consists
of two words - exceeding expectations. Simply put,
this means that whatever task, activity or role is
committed into your hands, find out what is expected
of you and make sure you do more than what is expected
and voila, you'll be promoted and on your way up in no
time.

Consider the following statement - You don't get
promoted for doing what you're supposed to do. For
doing that you only deserve a salary and not a raise.
For you to deserve a raise you've got to do more than
just the routine tasks expected of you. You must
exceed expectations.

Get into a meeting with your immediate boss. Tell him
that you want to discuss a few things with him. The
two of you should agree on what his expectations from
you are. Once he begins to spell them out, write them
down. Immediately after the meeting send him an email,
with all the expectations typed. Once he approves,
print out 2 copies and let both of you sign and each
should keep one. This becomes a binding document
between the two of you and should also serve as the
basis of your appraisal.

Don't just stop there. Every morning before you start
work consult this document and determine to always do
more than what he expects. Every month go back to him
and ask him to assess your performance. Which areas
have you done well? Which areas do you need to improve
upon? Write them down. Earnestly seek feedback from
one or two other people in your unit or department who
are sincere and commit to acting on their feedback.

Let me tell you what this will do. Your boss will
immediately begin to see you as someone with drive and
passion for the job. As long as you're continually
working on his feedback he will be pleased that you're
obedient and will always have you in mind when
opportunities to be promoted come to his department.
Please note that this can only work with sincerity of
heart and not by you trying hard to please your boss.
So please for all intents and purposes avoid eye
service. Do things genuinely.

Another thing you need to do to get ahead is to always
volunteer for additional assignments and
responsibilities. Go ahead and volunteer. Take up more
responsibilities. Push yourself. Don't pull back when
such opportunities come, for it is a time when you
could be noticed. Bosses always remember those who
always volunteer for such assignments and they will
find a way to reward them accordingly.

Lastly, you need to think. What are the new ideas that
you think would move your unit, team or department
forward? Get a notebook and think through all
processes and procedures. Will your ideas simplify
operations? Will they reduce costs? Think! You should
continually come up with ideas and document them.
Discuss with your boss and your colleagues. Research
and present your findings. This strategy if deployed
can even bring you recognition from your CEO, so don't
miss up on every opportunity to be creative and put on
your thinking cap.

In conclusion take every commendation and appreciation
seriously. If any of your colleagues wants to commend
you tell him or her to put it in writing or send an
email. Keep a collection of favorable reports of your
performance with a copy sent to your immediate
superior. Don't leave anything to chance. Remember
it's your life and happiness we're talking about! It's
your move

So you want to be a success? You want to belong to that relatively tiny class of achievers and role models. You want to be respected and admired and most importantly, you want to be remembered long after you're gone. Well to be a success is a worthy endeavor, but what are you doing about it?

The world today is full of many talkers and few doers. There are many who think that life will just give to them what they want on a platter. Sadly life is not that generous. You've got to stretch out your hand and grab what you want.

Someone once said the most valuable place in the world is not the oil fields or the gold mines but the graveyard. For it is in the graveyard that you will find the burial ground of many dreams and ideas, because they had been given to people who just sat down without doing anything about it.

Many people believe that life deals them a bad hand. I don't subscribe to that school of thought. Life is what you make of it. You've got to make hay while the sun shines. Don't just sit there and whine. Get up and act. Life belongs to the askers. Life only gives what you ask of it. If you don't ask, you don't get.

I don't have a clue as to what your dreams and desires are, but I do know that for them to be in your mind, or for them to have come to your mind they can become reality. Whatever the mind can conceive and believe the mind can achieve. So get cracking today - read that book, start that course, research that opportunity, get a mentor, talk to others already succeeding in your chosen industry, anything, just do something. Do what will take you a step closer to achieving your desire.

Successful people are ordinary people with extraordinary amounts of self belief and determination. Don't give up, don't give in! No retreat, no surrender. Keep on keeping on and before long you will get there! Remember this, there’s more than enough space at the top for one more successful person!

Often times many people agonise continually on why success continues to elude them. Perhaps you may even be one of such people. You may have done everything that you think leads you to success, yet you're still far away. Well the first thing you need to know is that success is a journey, and not a destination. Even if you're successful you still need to keep moving.

It is important for you to also know that in life a little extra effort can make a significant difference in one's life. Consider racehorses. Most of the time the winning horse is ahead of its closest rival just by a whisker. But when it's time to receive the prize money the winning horse may get up to ten times more than it's closest rival. Does this mean that the winning horse is ten times faster? Definitely not! It's just that little extras make the difference!

You may be asking - Which areas do I need to put in a little more effort that may translate into tangible results? I recommend that you improve the area of personal relations. This refers to the way you treat others.

So how do you relate and treat other people? Are you the type who looks down or rides roughshod over others? Are you the type who treats others with disdain? I remember a saying that I find true till today - "You can know who a big man really is by the way he treats small men."

Don't take people for granted. Treat everyone the way you would like to be treated. Even the good book and all other major religions preach respect and kindness to one's fellow man. It has been proven time and time again that those who employ "people skills" end up getting and staying at the top.

These days organisations are hiring people more for their "Emotional Quotient," than for their "Intelligence Quotient." Work functions and responsibilities are being delegated to teams made up of several people, so if you can't relate properly with others, you can't progress further, talk more of leading the team.

In many instances I have found that many so called successes fail in this area, and mark my words they eventually fail. It is no longer a smart move to suppress or undermine others, rather you should always seek to encourage and motivate others around you.

Happily, I'm glad to announce to you that people skills are not born, they are developed. Get a copy of the old-time classic, "How to win friends and influence people," and commit yourself to applying what you've learned. Raising your game in this way will take you to the top!