Page 102 - Free Yourself From

Making the Break 85

give you good feedback. That doesn’t mean they are necessarily dis-
cussing your good work with others in the organization who might
have opportunities or control promotions you are interested in. But
it’s not their job to talk you up; it’s your job. Even if you are happy
where you are for the time being, it’s important to lay the ground-
work for future moves by networking and making your work, skills
and interests known to others.
Secondly, if you are doing a great job and aren’t expressing any
interest in advancing in your career, your boss can naturally assume
that you are happy with what you are doing and aren’t looking to do
something else. Even if you aren’t looking to move ahead at full speed
at the moment, you need to raise the question of your long-term
development with your boss to set an expectation for what you want
to see happen with your career over the long term. That’s the only
failsafe way to make your boss responsible for your professional
development.
Third, there are times when a person is too good to lose. If your
boss depends on you a great deal, he or she might not want to lose
you! I think many managers want to hold on to a good thing and
therefore don’t look for opportunities to promote their star per-
formers unless someone (you) brings it to their attention that they
need to be doing this.
Finally, you can also lose your marketability if you stay in one
place too long. People put a box around what you are good at and
stop expecting you to move beyond that. People who don’t know you
might also wonder why you stayed in one place too long and suspect
that you might have tried to move and some lack of ability or know-
how has held you back, even if that isn’t true.
The bottom line is that having broader business expertise, more
diverse work experience and greater exposure is always going to serve
you better in the long run than going out of your way to limit your
experience and exposure.