Not Promoted, Now What?

-
http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130102084326-314058-not-promoted-now-what





I went for a run last week to try to put a small dent in my extensive holiday eating. I was on a route I didn’t know, and I came upon a rather imposing hill. I buckled down, focused my sights on the top, and pushed myself up the incline. As I emerged at the top of the crest, tired and out of breath, I realized that I was not at the top, but rather just partway up a much larger hill. I find that these are the hardest moments.
For some, New Year's brings a promotion. For others, the promotion they'd hoped for does not come and it’s time to regroup. I’ve heard runners call this moment a “false plateau”… like running hard to reach the crest of a hill, only to realize that you are not at the top, and the actual peak is much further in the distance. 
Everyone has been through these moments… here’s what I recommend… 
  1. Recognize and accept that you have more work to do, and that your previous belief that you had finished your quest was incorrect. Take responsibility for where you are, and understand that you can’t move forward until you come to terms with your reality.
  2. Make sure you’re focused on the right peak. Is the peak you’re running toward the right goal to begin with? Before you start running again, reconfirm that this endeavor is worthy of your effort and commitment. These natural breaks offer a great moment for reflection.
  3. Check your map. Many people don’t achieve their goals because they are following the wrong map, and are working on the wrong things to achieve their goals. Sit down with your manager and confirm that you understand how you will be evaluated against the promotion criteria. 
  4. Get a coach. Coaches keep us disciplined and focused on the right activities, particularly when things get difficult. A coach holds us accountable to our plan and gives us an honest assessment of how we’re tracking. Having one will be a great asset on your journey. 
  5. Set your sights on an interim milestone on the way to your goal. Don’t spend too much time looking down at where your feet are planted today, or too much time dreaming about the peak off in the distance. Focus on where you want to go, but pick an interim milestone that is visible. I find that picking something 6 months away is helpful.
  6. Start running. Great professionals don’t wait long to hit their stride after a stumble. They regroup and get after it quickly. 
Best of luck in the coming year! For those that did get promoted into a new job, this post might be helpful (“How to Crush Your First 6 Months in a New Job”). 
Credit to Peter Hirschmann who introduced me to the “false plateau” concept.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Low level windshear in approach. Positive versus Negative

-
Image
Low-level windshear is a sudden change in wind speed or direction. It can be in the horizontal plane, the most common one, or in the vertical plane, in which you will deal with a change in height. It can be associated with frontal masses, thunderstorms, low-level mountain waves (as usually found in islands) or mechanical turbulence. We can distinguish two different types of low-level windshear in the horizontal axis. Positive wind shear and negative wind shear. Let's explain the difference between them both. Disclaimer: Actions that we need to take in windshear situations are very well described in the FCOM of all Companies. Usually when we find an alert, you need to go around. But what happens if we don't find the alert? Positive windshear is a sudden increase in headwind, making the airspeed rise and making the aircraft fly above the glide slope. If you are told to expect positive windshear on final, you should land with a lower setting of flaps, so a...
Read more

The Hurry-up syndrome

-
Image
The Hurry-up syndrome  by Javier Viana This article is about time pressure in the cockpit, or hurry up syndrome or get-there-it is , as you want to call it and their relation to errors. Although time pressure could be perceived in both seats, that is, as a Captain or as a First Officer, the Captain is the one responsible to establish a pace in the execution of SOP in the cockpit, and finally he will be responsible in front of the Company supervisor for the delay in the flight. First of all, we need to set the basis of what an error is. For that, I have taken the Professor Reason’s types of error that follows. Professor Reason suggests an error classification. The most well-known of these are slips, lapses, and mistakes. Violations are not taken as errors. Slips  can be thought of as actions not carried out as intended or planned, e.g. When you are changing the frequency in your audio box and you finger trouble it or when you fill out the flight log book with...
Read more