Practicing positive work behaviour is the simplest and most effective method of moving ahead in your career. Here are eight tips to help you climb the corporate ladder with ease.
Positive work behaviors is by far one of the most straightforward tips I can give you when it comes to moving up the corporate ladder. Do you sometimes feel whenever people speak about moving up the corporate ladder, it almost always has a cunning undertone?
For career newbies especially, my recommendation is to always focus on positive work behaviors you can start practicing now. When the time comes, moving up the corporate ladder will seem effortless. This is because you do what is right and focus on the positive. Bosses will notice and when the right time comes, the promotion you want is just a natural next step.
So what are the 8 straightforward positive work behaviors for moving up the corporate ladder?
Ideas. Regardless of how junior you are in an organization, you can have ideas that positively affect the company. Do not be contented with just doing your own work. Do not be shy or embarrassed about sharing them either. What’s the worst that can happen? They laugh at it and reject the idea? Well, then you turn it into something positive. Ask why can’t it work, and you would have learned something new. That information can be used to come out with better ideas.
Impact. Be smart enough to choose some projects in a year that are considered a challenge for your level of experience. Be hardworking enough to see it through. But have the wisdom to cross check with your bosses to make sure it is a challenge and not impossible for your experience. That way you can create an impact in the company. This positive work behavior ensures you aren’t just the average worker clocking in and clocking out without making an impression.
Impeccable. This positive work behavior is to be flawless in your language and dressing. Know you are judged at all times. First impression or not, people judge you on how you talk and what you wear. You are lucky if you work in a company with dress codes, then just dress up or down accordingly. Being impeccable when it comes to dressing doesn’t mean expensive clothes. It simply means to dress well. Being impeccable with your language doesn’t mean using bombastic words. Quite simply, it means abstaining from vulgarity.
Independent. Learn to work independently. In the age of empowerment, most employees are given the freedom to fail. Even if this culture is not practiced in your company, learn to work with minimal supervision. When you can work independently, it allows your boss to concentrate on other things. But remember to always update your boss on what and how you are doing. Working independently as part of positive work behaviors will help you in moving up the corporate ladder.
Ignite. Be an ignition of your company. Take the initiative to start something. It does not always have to be work oriented. It can be something fun or informal. For example, if you know some of your colleagues enjoy exploring different restaurants, why not start a group that does it after work Fridays? When you are a positive ignition, you can move up the corporate ladder quickly.
Interest. Show interest in your company’s initiatives. Be an interested party in things involving your department. Some career newbies I know come across as being cynical with initiatives being carried out by the company. As part of positive work behaviors, show interest in these initiatives. Give it a chance and support them. Do not send signals your bosses see you as being merely contented as being a passenger of the company. That doesn’t help in your plan of moving up the corporate ladder.
Intangible. Do not always focus on the tangible benefits when working. There are a lot of values in doing things that at the moment does not seem to benefit you. For example, helping a colleague on a project. Volunteering to cover for someone who’s sick. Taking on an extra project when your boss seems inundated with work. Positive work behaviors like these may not have immediate tangible benefits but in the long run, helps you in moving up the corporate ladder. (Also read: What brings success in office?)
Integrity. This positive work behavior means to have a sound moral character. Practiced at its most basic level for a career newbies, it can be as simple as not talking bad about a colleague and gossiping. Do not be drawn into wrong doings like cutting corners. Be honest in your dealings with colleagues, clients, business partners and suppliers.
These positive work behaviors are straightforward and simple to practice. You need not have an evil plan when thinking about moving up the corporate ladder. Cliché as it maybe, the cunning plans makes you fall off the corporate ladder faster than you can climb it.
Yun Siang Long
CAclubindia
