To Get Ahead at Work, Understand How Your Organization Works
Friday, January 1, 2010, 2:41 AM | Leave Comment
To get ahead at work and advance in your career, start learning about the inner workings of your organization. The following are but a few ways you can do that. Always be a part of the solution:
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Understand how things work at your job
Learn as much as you can about the organization you are working for. You must have genuine curiosity and a desire to comprehend and not by ambition to outperform your peers.
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Get to know what your peers do and how they do it
Do it in such a way that folks don’t get offended. Don’t let them think that you are nosy. You would know more about the organization than some members of senior management. Use e-mail if you are not comfortable speaking with senior managers.
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Understand where gaps exist and come up with solutions
Very few workers take the time to learn much about the company beyond their own responsibilities. You must have a sense of how everyone got their jobs done. If you find some gaps, bring them to management attention with possible solutions.
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Offer solutions to organizational problems
Identify problems wherever they exist and propose solutions. Present yourself as a strategic thinker and make necessary and obvious changes.
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Some jobs are not glamorous but offer help anyway
Don’t be afraid if some of your peers make unwanted and sometimes nasty remarks. Always be helpful and soon your peers and managers would start appreciating it. Establish yourself as down-to-earth and thoughtful as well as bright. That will make you well-liked at all levels.
In a Nutshell
These are but some ways to get ahead at work. I am sure you can think of a lot of other ways to climb up the corporate ladder. However, you must genuinely start to know the inner workings of your organization.
