Do you think that it’s time you got a promotion at work? You might think that you are ready for all the responsibilities that come with being a manager, but your boss might be unaware of your intentions to work your way up to this position. Here are five steps you can take to show just how keen you are.
Challenge Your Boss
Bosses love it when their employees challenge them. I don’t mean challenge them in a negative way, or get a bit too aggressive with them. I’m simply talking about exercising a different opinion in meetings. Just because your boss has an idea doesn’t mean that it is any better than yours. If you think yours is better and will serve the company more positively, then you should always voice your opinions. That way, your boss knows you are a good thinker and are up to the challenge of leading a team.
Educate Yourself
Self-study and learning in your own time also show your boss that you are very serious about developing your knowledge and progressing in the company. There are various ways you can brush up on the skills and knowledge needed for work. For instance, you could take an industry-specific course, such as a masters in engineering management online. Alternatively, you can always invest in some reference books and spend an hour every evening reading about different skills that all leaders need.
Start Mentoring
As a manager, you will need to mentor those employees who work in your team. As a result, companies are more likely to promote the employees who already show natural mentoring skills. If you believe that this is you, then great! However, if you don’t currently have any mentoring relationships with fellow employees, you should start working on this now. You don’t have to do too much to foster these kinds of relationships, just simply offer to help out whenever someone gets stuck or runs into a problem.
Work On Your Smile
A happy workforce is a productive one. This is a fact that all bosses know. So, yours will want to see you happy throughout the working day, no matter how much stress or pressure you may be under. Make sure that you work on your smile and always have a very happy and optimistic exterior. As a matter of fact, some studies show that smiling can make you feel a lot better even if you don’t feel particularly happy on the inside.
Get Networking
A full address book can really help your boss to decide to promote you over a fellow colleague. So it’s a good idea to work on your networking now and get as many telephone numbers and email addresses as possible. This will also help you to develop all the networking skills that are required by managers to make new contacts that can help take the company further.
Once you start to follow these steps, I’m sure your boss will instantly notice. And that promotion will be yours in no time!
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