Knobull Warns That Career Advancement Requires More Than Top Performance

BOSTON - Aug. 14, 2022 - PRLog -- Lynn Bentley, President of Knobull announced, "Employees often assume (wrongly) that their hard work and results will be enough when managers make decisions about their future growth and promotion opportunities. Make no mistake, performance is critical for advancing your career, but it is far from the only reason employees get promoted."

A first step in establishing a solid relationship with your manager is to clearly communicate that you desire guidance, feedback, and coaching to improve your performance and development. Making explicit agreements about how you and your manager will focus on your ongoing performance and career growth.

The benefits of receiving feedback include increased self-awareness and improved performance. Unfortunately, giving feedback to peers and employees is risky because of the potential for defensiveness and relationship damage. Employees need to be specific with their feedback requests.

Employees should frequently ask others for feedback about how they can improve their performance. As this becomes part of your routine, people will feel safe about providing upward feedback.

Developing and demonstrating social skills have become essential for a person to thrive in today's workforce. The work environment has fundamentally changed how employees must perform. In today's work environment, companies need their employees to be effective at their tasks, contribute to others' performance, and use others' contributions to improve their performance.

A senior-level mentor can help advance your career in ways your manager may not be able to support. A senior-level mentor can have a broader view of potential future opportunities, introduce you to their peers, and advocate for development opportunities.

If you aren't in an organization that provides opportunities to senior mentors or haven't been included in your company's formal mentoring program, don't give up on finding and building a mentor relationship. The truth is that most effective mentor-mentee relationships are built outside of traditional pathways.

Bentley concluded, "Being strategic about navigating your career is not manipulative or inauthentic. If you expect someone else to care about your career more than you do, you will always be disappointed. Being an advocate for your career is essential to achieving your professional aspirations. Research shows that employees who find meaning and purpose in their work are happier, healthier, and more productive."