Prove you are the best to be paid well and get promoted

We don’t need to take a poll on whether or not we love ourselves. Everyone does whether they’re aware of it or not.

Why is it then that we are continuously engaged in some rather horrible activities against ourselves? It is common to hear interviewees claim that they know they are good for a position.

I don’t doubt them, it is just that if the interviewer doesn’t think so, no one is getting hired.

A fact of today’s dynamic business marketplace is that no matter how great a job or enterprise you are currently engaged in, you are constantly on the shelf hoping and waiting for a greater opportunity.

You’re hoping that a better employer or client will see more value in you and be willing to offer you more.

I do not doubt that you’re worth a whole lot more, it’s just that before that better offer comes, it is all about you creating an exciting and promising sneak preview of what you have to offer.

If your future employer or client cannot envisage the greater service you have to offer, he/she is not going to pick you.

If you do not manage how he/she perceives you, you are not getting an opportunity to really showcase your talents and abilities.

Despite this being common sense, nearly everyone is guilty of keeping their thoughts and ideas — their value is in their heads instead of getting it out in the world where they can perform productively and be rewarded for it.

Your perceived value about what you have to offer is crucial to your upward mobility in your personal and professional journey.

While your perceived value may vary from person to person, the fact is that it really does not matter how valuable you think you are unless you consume and pay for your own services. What matters is how valuable others perceive you to be.

This is what interests them to offer you a chance to prove it. If your value cannot be perceived as high and beneficial by others, your value means very little.

While this may not be the most empowering suggestion, look at it this way; study the work you do right now.

Ten miles

There is a common denominator in how you tackle the various tasks and how each of them contribute to the greater goal — value for your employer or client.

In some instances, you need a string of activities while in others, only a little input is required. You already know this.

So to create better opportunities for yourself, you do not need to be promoted, move to a new job or acquire a new project. All you need to do is to take a look at your current contribution, figure out what is needed from you for more to be realised and get it done.

Don’t go the proverbial extra mile. Be 10 miles ahead of what is generally required or expected and have this as your standard operating procedure.

This mindset will save you the years you need to spend climbing one rung of the ladder at a time and get you to your peak in a flash.

It helps you improve others’ perception of your value but more importantly, it makes you stay on a continuous improvement trajectory of the actual value you provide.

This operating model can be processed, canned and repeated at every rung of your growth ladder. It has a name. It is the template you use to create magic out of every endeavour and can become your signature - your unique selling point.

You already have it but it is of no value if you keep all that magic in your head waiting for someone to miraculously offer you the opportunity to showcase it and pay you for it without your proactive action to entice him/her.

Its not enough for you to think you have it in you. Show it all out in the open where everyone can watch you in your true element because most people will not pay you to provide value they cannot perceive you as capable of.

Ruligirwa-Kamara is an expert on Attitude and Human Potential. Email: [email protected]