You're probably thinking and assuming managers see your greatness, your strengths, your magic. Guess what? They don’t. They’re too busy and you’re just not front and center on their mind. It’s not personal. It’s just business.
If you want a promotion or advancement of some kind, even a little more recognition, you have to say something, remind your manager how stellar you are, stop hiding, and toot your horn, loudly. Once in a great while a colleague will email your manager about you but you can’t and shouldn’t count on that. And if you don’t put yourself out there, your manager probably won’t ask if you would like advancement. Sure, your manager sees the great work you're doing and simply assumes you are content doing it, day In and day out, brilliantly. So you must speak up.
So, when can you toot your horn? Bring up your awesome accomplishments at one-on-ones, providing you have those. If not, you can write about all your glorious activities in your Self Evaluation that most companies request prior to performance reviews. You can even keep a running copy of the evaluation on your computer so you can add to it throughout the year as new situations come to mind. My clients have found this to be extremely effective. And, this especially works if you’re shy about face to face encounters.
The Self Evaluation affords you a perfect opportunity to write down all the responsibilities you’ve taken on, how they’ve impacted your team and organization, any process changes you’ve made for a smoother workflow, any great strides in collaboration with cross functional teams, any mentoring, and any relationship building with vendors, to just name a few. This is also a place you can reiterate your strengths and untapped talents (in case your manager has forgotten and just been lost in the day-to-day). After you've shared your awesomeness, take the big step and write that you feel ready for advancement and would love the opportunity to explore where this might go.
Now, doesn't that feel better than writing about your accomplishments from the premise of it ain't no big deal? Not to mention that's a real snooze for you and your manager. So never do that again.
Believe me, sharing your awesomeness on your Self Evaluation is a tool your manager will be thrilled to have. And there’s nothing wrong with you owning that. I have coached numerous professionals, and this has worked every time and led to promotions. If you're ready for advancement, it’s a great place to start.
