Sometimes, results are all you need. Most times they’re not. Why? Your results are only part of the overall performance equation. Other factors must be considered if you’re looking for an excellent performance appraisal, a pat on the back, or a promotion.
There are times when less talented or lesser performing people get opportunities that you should have gotten. Other than the owner’s grandson getting the promotion that you deserved, what have you observed in other situations that have elevated those with lesser results than you? Promotion-in-step? Politics? Length of employment? Favoritism?
Let’s look at some of the considerations that may sway your performance beyond results:
1- Are you creating visible value for the company and your manager? The word “visible” is important. If your contribution is invisible, than someone else is getting the credit for the outcome that you achieved. You can solve this issue by making sure your boss is kept up to date on your objectives, strategy, and results, then measure the outcome in dollars, percent increase or decrease in cost, through a summary report, in writing.
2- Make sure that the project you’re working on is in parallel with the priorities of the organization and your manager. If you’re working on a project that is very low in priority, your efforts may not only go unnoticed but may be detrimental to your credibility. You never want to be viewed as extraneous to the primary goal of the organization. This question of priority can best be answered by checking with your manager. Get your projects aligned.
3- Does your boss know that you can be trusted to support his/her efforts. Nothing will make your future more difficult than a boss who believes that you aren’t in his/her corner, or worse, working against them. Solution: Ask the boss if there’s anything else you can do to help achieve the department’s objective? Put yourself in a position to add value in the eyes of the boss.
4- Help others to want to like you. Create an atmosphere of teamwork, of people working together toward a common goal. Create a team approach that each member can count on the other for support. Nothing can damage results more than an ultra competitive, self-driven, hostile work group. Management will ultimately find it and stop it… cold!
5- Think of your job in terms of how it contributes within the total context of the organization. Those who only see their function as an isolated segment cannot contribute in an optimal way. Understanding how your function contributes to the whole is an important step. Show management that you’re looking at the total picture through your functional responsibilities.
In summary, your results, while sterling, may not be enough unless they are visible, measurable, a priority, and part of a working team with a common goal that contributes to the total enterprise.
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