Dear Mr. Man,
I’ve been at my job for a long time, and everyone loves me, but I keep getting passed up for promotion. What should I do?
Sincerely,
Sponge Bob
Well SB, that’s a tough position to be in. So before I answer, let me share my personal philosophy.
Yep. That’s it. Let’s face it, I’d rather hang out with my friends than most of the people at work. And I guarantee I can find better things to do than listening to a customer give me hell over a problem caused by someone else.
What’s the point? Well, your boss, and more importantly your bosses boss, looks at you in terms of your value as a resource to the organization. It doesn’t matter if everyone loves you, or is ambivalent towards you. What matters is, do you get the job done and do you inspire others to perform?
Your job is not the place to socialize or win a popularity contest. It is there to serve the purpose of meeting your financial obligations. The faster you move up the chain, the faster you’ll move towards financial independence and being able to walk away from work altogether.
So, focus intently on finding ways to make the organization richer (monetarily as well as in non-monetary ways) and clearly express interest in taking on greater responsiblity up your chain of command and you will be half way there!
PS – This is not a license to make people hate you. Being friendly and moving up the chain are not mutually exclusive.
Stop talking about diving, I am still landlocked up here.
I guess I gotta go visit you soon :)
Kim:)
this must be one of your first posts, I just wanna say that your philosophy is right.
As I am “working” sometimes as a freelancing Scuba instructor, I must say that I also work for my own pleasure. That in combination with a little bit money and the unreal beautiful underwater scenery in the philippines makes what life is about…
cheers
Rhoody