5 Things People Start Doing At Work Once They Realize Hard Work Alone Isn't Enough To Be Promoted
Climbing the ladder takes more than just grinding.
Andriyko | Unsplash Is career success incredibly important to you? Do you want to learn how to be successful in your chosen career? Do you know what skills are necessary to have the most success in your chosen field?
Well, let me tell you. The most important skill for career success isn't hard work (although that helps); it's communication. Career coaches believe that career success begins with communication skills, the ability to write and speak in a way that is clear, concise, easily understood, and honest. How do great communication skills, among other things, allow you to achieve the promotion you want, when you've been grinding away with no upward trajectory?
Here are 5 things people start doing at work once they realize hard work alone isn't enough to be promoted:
1. Networking
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Networking is a big part of looking for a job and getting promoted, and if you are the kind of person who can put themselves out there and talk to people, listen, share, and connect, then you will be the kind of person someone would want to hire and the kind of person someone would recommend for a promotion.
The ability to connect with people — both in writing and in spoken word — is an essential part of getting the job you want — and climbing the ladder once you have it.
2. Earning trust with colleagues
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It’s essential that you not rest on your laurels. Your work is important, but what is a key part of career success is your relationship with your co-workers.
Think about that person who comes into work, goes right to their desk without speaking to anyone, and is disruptive in meetings and crabby about their work? Is that the kind of person who inspires confidence in others? Is that the kind of person you would want to have on your team?
So, make a huge effort to be personable in your office space. Be kind to your co-workers, listen to what they have to say, take an interest in their families, and ask them questions about their ideas.
Treat your co-workers and your managers the way you would want to be treated and earn their trust and respect. It will get you far, and it will get you promoted.
Research argues that beyond technical skills, social intelligence is increasingly recognized as a vital factor for career success. When individuals offer help, share knowledge, or provide support to colleagues, they are activating the principle of reciprocity, creating a sense of obligation for the other party to return the favor.
3. Verbalizing great ideas
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Okay, let’s say that you have a great idea — a revolutionary idea that could change the way that your company works. One that, if implemented correctly, could mean that your career would skyrocket.
Imagine if this great idea is stuck in your head, waiting to be expressed, but you just can’t get it down on paper. You try to write a proposal to your boss, but you can’t articulate it clearly, and he refuses to consider it.
Or you approach a co-worker for their support, and the way you phrase things confuses them, and they refuse to help. If you have excellent verbal and written skills, you will have a great tool at hand to forward your ideas and achieve great career success and promotion.
This behavior is driven by factors like the desire to manage perceptions, build a track record, and align with a speak-up culture while also being influenced by observations of successful peers. A 2021 study explained that employees observe their peers and superiors and learn what behaviors are rewarded within the organization.
4. Advocating for themselves
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Let’s say that you've been working your butt off. Your co-workers love and trust you, and your ideas are changing the corporate culture.
You know that you deserve a raise. But you don’t know how to ask for one. Or perhaps, let’s say, you are struggling with a co-worker and you want your manager to help you work through it because you know that if the matter can be resolved, it would be better for everybody. But you have no idea how to talk to your manager in such a way that will let them see that you want to make things better.
People who have excellent communication skills know how to speak up for themselves. They know how to resolve conflict, how to let others know what they are worth, and how to make sure that they get the recognition that they deserve.
Every well-spoken woman I know who has walked into her boss’s office with a well-thought-out rationale for why they deserves a raise has gotten one — because she asked for it!
A study on the self-advocacy of undergraduates explained that this heightened self-awareness can empower them to confidently articulate their accomplishments and aspirations, shifting their mindset from self-serving to self-deserving. This shift is driven by a combination of factors, including frustration, a recognition of the complexities of career advancement, increased self-awareness, a desire for control, and the influence of role models.
5. Mastering effective communication
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People who have excellent communication skills have a huge advantage over people who do not.
In my first management position, the time came for us to write our direct reports’ yearly reviews. We all labored over them for hours, knowing that our boss would review them before passing them up to HR.
I was nervous because this was my first time around, but I didn't have to be. My boss told me that my written skills were incredibly impressive and that he needed me to change very little. What I had written was good enough to be sent up to HR as is. And then he asked me if I would work with another manager to help them phrase things more clearly.
By the end of that season, when my boss moved upward, I followed him into his old job. It was, in large part, because I could express myself clearly, both in written and spoken word, and everyone noticed.
Finding big-time success in our chosen career is the goal. For me, every day I have to use my verbal skills to speak with my clients and my written words to follow up with inspirational emails and to write blogs that people will want to read and learn from.
I know many coaches who struggle with both of these things, and I know that I am successful, in large part, because of having those strengths.
So, if you aren't sure about your communication skills, find someone who can help you develop them. A life coach is a great place to start. You could also enroll in writing courses at the local community college.
Reaching for the stars in your career is admirable. Make sure that you have the tools that you need to get you there and get you there fast.
Mitzi Bockmann is a NYC-based Certified Life Coach who works with individuals who strive to heal their toxic relationships so they can have their happily ever after. Mitzi's bylines have appeared in The Good Men Project, MSN, PopSugar, Prevention, Huffington Post, Psych Central, among many others.
