4 Surprising Work Behaviors That Will Put You Ahead Of 99% Of Your Coworkers, According To Experts
The secret edge top performers use to outpace everyone else at work.
jessicaphoto | Canva Most people want to grow, learn, and develop in their careers. A 2023 survey revealed that 44% of people wanted growth opportunities in their careers. This desire also includes getting ahead, promotion, and making more money.
Efficiency is one of the critical words to make or break an evaluation and the possibility of future promotions in your career. So, it naturally follows to seek a faster and more efficient path to getting promoted.
Here are the surprising work behaviors that will put you ahead of of your coworkers, according to experts:
1. Study your boss
To get a promotion, go beyond the conventional steps of putting your head down, working hard, and excelling at your tasks. Take a proactive approach, become a scientist, and invest time noticing the details of what makes your manager tick.
This means learning their personality type and work style and catering to those specific needs and preferences. For example, if your boss is busy and values brevity, don’t prepare a long-winded presentation.
Instead, pull together the bottom line with some visuals and add the backup if they need more detail. By anticipating their needs, you’ll make their job easier and come across as an indispensable contributor. This doesn’t mean being inauthentic. Be yourself and find ways to make your strengths shine so you both stand out.
— Lisa Petsinis, Career and Life Coach, ACC
2. Prioritize your identity
JLco Julia Amaral / Shutterstock
To succeed in your work life, you must prioritize your personal life. If you give yourself more time to focus on your own identity and interests, you’ll find that you have more mental clarity when it comes to your work and other responsibilities.
It’s impossible to work efficiently when your mind, body, and soul lack nourishment. If you get lost in your work, you’ll lose yourself.
— Francesca Duarte, Lifestyle, human-interest, and spirituality writer
3. Stay curious
Curiosity about the people around you, the next big splash in your industry, or how processes could be better will always make you stand out! Asking great questions and being honestly interested in the answers shows a growth mindset and capacity for opportunity.
Curiosity inspires creativity. Showing those skills in the office will make you stand out at promotion time.
— Amy Bracht, Career Coach and Consultant
4. Be a forward-thinker
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It is so easy to become focused on the day-to-day happenings at work that we stop looking forward to the big picture. Yes, you have your job, but your job is part of the larger workplace. How does your job fit in that workplace?
What can you do to be more of a strength to your workplace? How could your job expand in the future to include more responsibility and contribution? Is there a future for you outside of this job? Do you have a plan to get there?
You must always keep your head up at work and be forward-thinking. Career success will be achieved when you have an idea, a goal, and a clear plan to work toward.
— Mitzi Bockmann, Life Coach
Know your authentic self and let it shine as you maintain peak curiosity to study leadership, your colleagues, and all the details of the world, so you keep your focus on a successful future while building the habits for your success in the present.
Will Curtis is a creator, editor, and activist who has spent the last decade working remotely.
