Ask HR: How come the average performers were promoted ahead of me?
What you need to know:
- First, keep up the excellent performance, then compliment this with key skills and competencies. Look for way to improve your team skills alongside your interpersonal skills.
- At your next move, you will no doubt be leading a team, guiding them and providing direction.
- If you like to fly solo, you are likely to be bypassed for fear that your teamwork skills are underdeveloped.
I work in an auditing and accounting firm and I have been here for five years. I Joined on the same day with four colleagues, at the same level, with the same qualifications and experience. I am very hardworking and never had any performance query. I have been at the top of the team. We recently had two vacant positions and I was surprised when two of my colleagues who are average performers were appointed without any due process. I deserved this promotion and I feel crushed.
What a distressing situation to be in, but allow me to showcase the attributes and skills that most managers look for when making such decisions. While being an excellent performer is a good way to get noticed for a career move, most higher positions call for more responsibilities, and thus different competencies. These may include team oversight, direct liaison with and communications with clients, and perhaps compliance oversight. These responsibilities need a myriad of skills. While appreciating that one cannot be excellent at everything, one must understand what each task entails to provide valuable guidance.
First, keep up the excellent performance, then compliment this with key skills and competencies. Look for way to improve your team skills alongside your interpersonal skills. At your next move, you will no doubt be leading a team, guiding them and providing direction. If you like to fly solo, you are likely to be bypassed for fear that your teamwork skills are underdeveloped. If you have a habit of riding on other people’s effort without acknowledging their input, it will be a while before you get noticed. Evaluate your communication, listening, presentation and influencing skills, and always deliver on your promises.
Such roles require people who are innovative and quick at solving problems. You should have a greater understanding of the firm’s vision and link this to key conversations within and outside the organisation. This includes having a good grasp of the overall strategy so as to translate it to key deliverable actions for your team. Lastly, you said you had the same qualifications and experience with your colleagues at employment. Might they have since advanced their skills and attained higher specialisation and more competencies during the five-year period? Managers keep a keen eye on staff who take responsibility for their own personal growth. After five years, you have a good appreciation of the skills and competencies required at the next level, so equip yourself to avoid another disappointment.
MillennialHR
