How to Promote Yourself While Promoting Your Boss

If you have a job that pays wages chances are you may have a boss who gives you assignments, conducts your performance review and determines your compensation and raises. They also likely play a role in promotions and a raise you might seek or be given. In some cases your boss may be in the same age group as you. In a situation like this you may wonder what's the use of working hard since you feel like you'll never get promoted or get the raise you feel you deserve. These feelings are understandable however in many cases there is something you can do about it if you want to stretch yourself and put even more effort into your work.

In planning a course of action the first thing to remember is that the boss is the boss. That means they are not a work partner, not necessarily a friend and hopefully not an enemy. You should remember that, like you, your boss is paid to get results and those results should be consistent with the company objectives. In other words your boss has a boss who has certain expectations of your boss in terms of progress on projects, goal achievement, quotas, etc. As you go up the management chain these goals in combination should support the overall operating plan of the company and lead to profits for the owners and/or stockholders. These profits help to pay for your raise. You and your co-workers all play a role in this money making enterprise.

That being said it stands to reason that you should have a great incentive for helping your boss be a success in achieving their goals. First in most cases since your goals should be aligned with your boss's goals chances are if you are successful in meeting your goals you will be helping your boss meet his or her goals. In addition if your boss consistently meets his goals then there is a reasonable chance that at some point in time they will be promoted. You should want your boss to be promoted and should do everything you can to help that become a reality. When your boss is promoted they may be asked whom they would recommend to fill the position they are vacating. If you have gone out of your way to help your boss and help them achieve their goals it is likely they will think of you as one of the more reliable and energetic people on their staff. This is what you want. You want them to think of your name when an opening appears when it's due to their promotion but also if higher level openings become available in other departments. In cases like that other department heads might ask your boss if they have anyone in mind for a certain opening. You would like them to think of your name at times like this. This can be your opening to moving ahead in the company and getting a raise and a promotion.

In addition to meeting your goals are there other ways of promoting your boss? Definitely! In many growing companies there are tasks that develop that need to get done. Don't get too hung up on your job description at times like this. If the task looks interesting and if it provides more exposure consider volunteering and ask your boss whether you can take on that responsibility. In cases like this you probably will be doing this in addition to your regular assignment. It is likely that there will also be opportunities that arise to be on special project teams that you can consider. This will mean extra work but to get ahead in most jobs you have to go above and beyond what others are doing if you wish to get ahead on a faster track.

Another approach is to request a periodic meeting with your boss to discuss how you're doing on your goals and to see if they have any suggestions on improving your performance. You can use occasions like this to suggest novel approaches to departmental challenges. If there is a workflow issue in the department, think it through and make suggestions on procedural changes that would alleviate the problem and increase the departmental productivity. Don't expect immediate recognition but rather establish yourself as the idea person and over a period of time you'll develop a positive reputation and increase the likelihood of job advancement when openings occur.

In summary in most jobs the better you make your boss look good the better you will look yourself which is what it's all about. Think in terms of when your boss gets promoted whom will they look to fill their spot? Who will your present boss suggest as a possible replacement? Who has the visibility that will come to mind when the management team meets to discuss an open position? By volunteering for assignments, projects, coming up with novel ideas you will enhance your opportunities to be considered. Yes it means more work but keep in mind if you are promoted that means more work too thus it is a good test to see if you really are mentally prepared to accept those additional responsibilities if they are offered to you. The 'bottom line' is that in most jobs you shouldn't expect more money and responsibility just because you've warmed a seat longer with your 'bottom' then your co-workers.