A colleague of mine, lets call her Mary, was perplexed about why she was overlooked for promotion after promotion.  Every time a job was advertised in the Executive Team, she would dutifully spend hours of preparation on her application making sure that everything was just so. 

And her applications were little masterpieces in themselves.  She was especially proud of pointing out that her branch achieved better results than any other branch in the network of 70 on a per capita basis.

She even won the National Sales Award two years running.

 When it came to results no one could deny that she was punching above her weight.  Not only that but she talked the talk and she walked the walk.  On paper at least, she was every recruiters dream. So let me explain why she never did quite make it into the Executive. 

She was so determined and single minded about getting good results that she would do almost anything to get them.  Within her company this never say die, break down the doors, get out of my way I’m coming through attitude is generally rewarded. But Mary crossed the line. She would routinely call Executive Leaders and the CEO directly to get what she wanted even though this breached established communication protocols. 

This had the effect of undermining her direct Manager who went to great lengths to explain Mary’s actions. Mary actually made both herself and her Manager look unprofessional and while the company was proud of her results Mary could not be trusted to do the right thing so her career stalled and her prospects dropped like a stone. 

To avoid Mary’s plight go out of you way to make your boss look good.  You should include this statement under Key Result Areas in your job description.  For example, “My job is to Make My Boss Look Good, Win New Accounts and To Grow Sales. Actively go out of your way to do things that will bring recognition to your Manager. Even if you feel wholly unsupported in your endeavours it can be a good career move to praise your Manager publicly at every opportunity you have. 

Although this strategy may seem counter intuitive it will help you to win the confidence of the boss and this is crucial when applying for promotions within the company.