“The person who gets the farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore.”

~ Dale Carnegie ~

Have you been passed up for promotions despite your hard work, knowledge, and experience? Do you feel like others keep climbing ahead of you on the corporate ladder? Why does this happen? Why do some employees quickly move ahead, while other good employees seem to be stuck where they’re at? The answer–they didn’t use perception, visibility and influence (PVI) to their advantage.

In my article entitled “Getting Ahead: Have More Influence” in the January 2012 issue of Personal Excellence, I provide three easy steps to using PVI to propel your professional career forward. Each step focuses on one of the three components of PVI. By the end of the article, you’ll have actionable steps you can begin to take to further your career.

• Step 1 centers on perception and discusses how you can control how others perceive you. A positive perception will result in increased opportunities for you.

• Step 2 discusses increasing your visibility and how to demonstrate leadership. By increasing your visibility, you will show others how valuable you are to the organization.

• Finally, step 3 instructs you on exerting your influence up, down, and across the organizational chart. When you have influence within your company, others will willingly follow you. By following these three steps, you’ll find yourself leap-frogging over your peers to the top of the corporate ladder.

To learn how to use the PVI formula to get ahead in your career, read my new book, Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level.

Image: ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

~ Orville Wright ~

Success in your career is dependent on a variety of factors. It’s not simply a matter of garnering expert knowledge, working hard, and building your experience. There are other more qualitative factors at play that can be the difference between career advancement and career stagnation. One of these critical factors is perception.

In my interview for a USA Today article by Anita Bruzzese, author of 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy… and How to Avoid Them, I discuss the importance of perception and how promoting yourself is key to getting promoted. Read my interview in Bruzzese’s article, Perceptions of Your Work May Linger Longer than Actions.

As you read this article, you’ll learn not only why it’s important how others perceive you in the workplace, but also how to improve that perception. I discuss the difference between sharing your contributions to your company and being an arrogant blowhard. Although people often worry that talking about their efforts will come across as bragging, when done correctly, you’ll enhance the perception your boss has of you while helping your company in the process.

As an excecutive coach, my clients have expressed four common life experiences that negatively affect their ability to promote themselves in the workplace. Bruzzese’s article states the following four: your cultural upbringing, the region where you were raised, your gender, and the company you keep. These facets can all affect how you are perceived and your proficiency at changing those perceptions for the better. With my suggestions, you can overcome these challenges and begin to promote yourself to get promoted, since it is often a matter of perception.

Read my new book, Getting Ahead, for practical advice to help you improve your perceptions, increase your visibility, and exert influence to work your way up the career ladder more quickly than you could have imagined.

“Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.”

~ Ray Bradbury ~

With the current state of the economy, the trend in the workplace is to “play it safe.” Some employees feel that if they hide in the shadows and continue to do their job without getting noticed they’ll have a safe and secure career.

In my experience I’ve constantly seen people just do enough to keep a job. These are the same people who never see a promotion and are the first to go when the company downsizes.

Organizations look for leaders—those who innovate, think outside the box, and improve the company’s bottom line. In today’s economic culture, playing it safe just doesn’t cut it. If you can stand out, make influential relationships, and do more than what is asked of you, you create both job security and success.

Playing it safe can be detrimental to your career. If you’re looking for career and job advancement, harness the courage to step out of your comfort zone and take a calculated risk. Don’t be afraid to fail and don’t let the recession hold you back. You don’t know what you can achieve until you try.

When you’re ready to take a risk, don’t get side-tracked. If you want tips and real-life examples on how to get noticed, head over to a recent blog post I wrote on 3 Ways Remarkable Leaders Get Noticed. That should give you the confidence to take your own risks and leap ahead.

Are you ready to get ahead in your career? Read my new book, Getting Ahead: Three Steps to Take Your Career to the Next Level.

~ Donald Trump ~

Passion is not something you are born with, yet it defines who you are. Developed from a combination of your interests, your inspirations, and whatever truly motivates and excites you, you are the only one who can decide what you are genuinely passionate about.

How intense your passion is towards something directly correlates to the level of fulfillment you get from doing that task. This is why those who are truly passionate about what they do don’t think of work as “work.”

How would you rate your level of passion in your job?

If your current job is leaving you burned out, tired, and exhausted at the end of the day, think about what you like to do outside of work—your hobbies or interests. Studies suggest that 65% of people do not like their current job. Money can be one of the biggest limitations to finding your true passion, especially when you’ve got to put food on the table.

If money was not an objective, what would you be doing to bring you the most happiness? Once you know what gives you the most fulfillment, see if you can’t find a job you’re passionate about or an opportunity that supports and fuels your passion. Passion is essential to reach your true potential and be the best that you can be.

If you are passionate about what you do, you can use that passion to get ahead. Learn how you can use passion to grow as a leader and gain loyal followers in your industry, and find out how the wrong kind of passion can work against you.

Do you want to find passion in the job you already have? Order your downloadable copy of Love Your Work and reach new levels of fulfillment in your current job.

Image: Marcus74id / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I was very appreciative when Ken Blanchard endorsed my book, Getting Ahead. He just wrote co-wrote a new book, Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, which you can order now on Amazon.com. Here is a guest post by Ken Blanchard.

Today, I’m going to give a short, one-question quiz. Here’s the question: How do you rate as a leader?

I don’t ask this question flippantly. It is a question I’ve asked countless people at the leadership seminars we conduct.

As leaders, most people rank themselves as being very close to a minor deity or at least Mr. or Ms. Human Relations. Seldom do leaders give themselves low marks. Strangely enough, when the tables are turned and people are asked to evaluate their boss’s leadership style, we often find many supervisors graded as being adequate, merely OK, or at worst, office autocrats who depend heavily on the often-referenced “seagull management” technique as their sole line of attack—they leave their people alone until something goes wrong, and then they fly in, make a lot of noise, dump all over everyone, and fly out.

More often than not, we find that leaders lull themselves into thinking they are top-flight leaders because they think they use a supportive or coaching style, which someone told them are “good” leadership styles. Not too surprisingly, this isn’t the way they are seen by those in their department, office, or store.

To get a true and accurate answer about the question above, it is necessary for you as a supervisor to honestly determine how your employees perceive your leadership style. These are the folks who know you best. They have first-hand experience with your leadership style and operate on their own perceptions about it. They are the best judges of your managerial effectiveness. However, getting an employee or subordinate to give his or her honest feedback on your leadership style is difficult. People fear being the messenger who will get shot for bearing bad news. Hence, they are naturally reluctant to be totally candid.

Employees are sharp observers. In the past, they may have gone to their leader and made an honest suggestion such as, “Ken, I think our Thursday afternoon meetings are a waste of time.” If the supervisor answers with an outburst by saying, “What do you mean a waste of time? Are you kidding? Those meetings are important,” it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that one thing the leader doesn’t want to hear is the truth.

It is important to remember that when people you supervise tell you what they honestly think about your style of leadership, they’re really giving you a gift. When someone gives you a gift, what is the first thing you should say? “Thank you,” of course! Then it’s a very good idea to follow up by saying, “Is there anything else you think I should know?” When a person learns that you won’t become defensive or hostile when he or she gives you an honest evaluation of your leadership style, you’ll find that you’ll be given many nuggets of truth which are extremely valuable. My advice would be to encourage people to give feedback at the office, and to give often!

Just remember, what you think about your own leadership style really doesn’t matter. In addition, there is no one correct style, nor is there a “good” or a “bad” style. Rather, style is judged by those immediately influenced by it. It’s your people’s response to your style that matters. If you are getting the right response consistently—high productivity and morale—then you’re doing just fine. If not, then perhaps it’s your style that needs changing, not your employees.

Originally published on “How We Lead”

© 2012 Ken Blanchard, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life

Ken Blanchard, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is cofounder and chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies. He is the author or coauthor of 50 books that have sold more than 20 million copies, including the iconic One Minute Manager®.

For more information on the book please visit http://greatleadersgrow.com.