I’ll be honest, this quote hits home to me, as it is a personal mantra that I live by in the workplace. In every role that I have had, I have always taken on more responsibilities than what I was originally hired to do – and it was by personal choice.
The problem with most people’s thinking is that they feel they should be promoted or rewarded for just doing their job. You could be good at what you do, but if all you are doing is what you are hired to do, then you are running about average. The average person wants to be good at what they do. The average person wants to put in their 40 hours a week (or less), and nothing more. The average person wants to do enough to get by without being fired. And the average person goes unnoticed.
It’s not until you step outside the box of your normal job duties, that you will get discovered. And not everything has to be big and elaborate.
I often tell people that you have to do the unnecessary things in order to become a necessity. And what I mean by that is in order for you to be elevated, it’s going to require some extra work on your part. You can start by looking for small areas of improvement on your direct team. What is your team missing, and what can you do to help solve the problem? After that, start paying attention to your direct supervisors to see if you can help fill a hole that’s missing. How can you make their role easier, not only for their day-to-day tasks, but with the team they manage? Next up, what is the organization missing? What can you help create within the confines of the organization that would improve culture, efficiencies or morale?
And if you’ve exhausted all your options within your organization, then look to other industries and markets that you have a passion for. No wealthy person relies on just one stream of income. To get something you don’t have, you need to do something you’ve never done. Put in the work first…and then put in some more work…and then put in some work after that.
“Do more than you are being paid to do, and you’ll eventually be paid more for what you do.”
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