27.11.2024

DO YOU REALLY WANT A HIGHER POSITION AND HOW TO REFUSE A PROMOTION

The question do you really want a higher post may sound silly only at first reading. True, in almost all companies and institutions, a higher position brings more money, prestige, power, opportunities, etc. Only in this world

nothing is free

and all this comes with more responsibilities, work, challenges, stress, etc. The result is less peace, free time, pleasures, communication with family and friends. So be careful what you wish for - if a raise won't make you happier, you don't need one.

This is the first question you need to answer yourself - would you be happier if you had a higher post.

Only then comes the second - do you want a promotion.

The third has variants. It could be how to achieve it. Or it might be how to turn down a promotion if your boss offers it without damaging your career. You may also get only the most tempting extra - a higher salary.

You can take a week off to decide. It is a good time to think. You have freed yourself from the usual workload, you have gone out of the everyday rhythm, you have changed the environment, you have relaxed and your head works better. But most importantly, you feel the value of paying attention to yourself and your family.

Analyze the possible new post with what responsibilities it is associated with. If you will have to be on a business trip very often, is there someone who will take over your obligations to the family, how much will it cost him in terms of effort and will he manage without risks to himself and others. And are you personally ready to often miss your children's school celebrations, let's say because you are somewhere far away.

If you and your family are going to be miserable because of it, will most of the money you get compensated enough. With them you will afford a great weekend, but can it balance the sacrifices in the other 5 days.

Money is an important point, but it's probably not just about money. Everyone needs to grow in their profession, and a promotion is usually just such a step. You have gained enough experience, you want to do something different, you need new challenges. The very step up the hierarchy is an assessment of your abilities and efforts, counts as success and therefore brings satisfaction. It will increase your self-esteem and also the opinion of others about you. This is also not to be underestimated when you think about how you will feel.

There are probably many more facts, circumstances and probabilities to analyze. If the account shows that you will still be happier, then

it's your turn to judge if you can handle it

with the new job. There is no way it will be the same as the one you have been doing before, because that means there is something wrong with your company's job characteristics.

In the higher position, you will have to make decisions, take initiative, be inventive, lead a team. In order to successfully cope with everything, you will need to acquire more knowledge, acquire new professional qualities, develop leadership skills. In short, at the same time as most of the duties, you will also need to study. You also need to find time for that, and it should make you happy.

The last stage of the analysis is

to draw the line

and with a great deal of certainty you can tell yourself that you will be successful in your new post.

Otherwise, you risk your career. Better to excel further down the hierarchy than fail after the promotion. Indeed, from every failure many valuable lessons can be learned for the future, but right now even the most philosophical person feels unhappy. And some cannot recover for a long time.

The worst thing is fear itself

to take on new challenges, but by doing a good amount of preliminary thinking, the answer to the second question - do you want a promotion - comes quickly.

Once you want it, it's time to make a plan to get it. There are many and specific details depending on your profession, the company you work for, the situation in your department, and the like.

It is basically what is needed

to show your boss three things.

First, that you have a desire to develop in your career, to grow, to take on new responsibilities and challenges. If he doesn't feel this, you may not come to his mind as a candidate at all, even if there is a vacant higher position in the company.

Second, whoever your promotion depends on must be pretty sure (there's never a 100% guarantee) that you'll do as well as you do in your current position. No boss is willing to risk the good results of the company. And his own career because he promoted the wrong person. It's up to you to show him you're ready by finding a way from your current position to demonstrate the qualities and skills needed for the next step up the ladder. Be sure to signal that you have already started learning new skills so that nothing can hinder you in your new post.

If the position is management, it will be useful for your boss to see that you are one of those people who are not only excellent at working in a team, but also at organizing, leading, motivating, inspiring, appreciating your subordinates.

The third is to show unequivocally that the new work will bring you satisfaction, that you will do it with pleasure, which will help you achieve high results. Every boss knows that happiness is the most effective motivator.

How to decline a promotion

The result of mental work well done may be that you don't want a promotion. Reasons many, exactly the opposite of those for which you consider yourself ready for a higher post.

However, it is delicate how to refuse it if it is likely to be offered to you. This also needs a good plan.

It is commonly believed that every soldier wants a marshal's baton. And suspiciously, he refuses to take it out when offered to wave it around. The boss has evaluated you, makes an offer, and you pull yourself together and give him bad thoughts - that you plan to leave and go to the competition, that you have your eye on an even higher position (his) or that you are a person without ambitions develops. These and other similar assumptions are still not in your favor in the current position in which you want to stay.

Honesty is a good approach, but not quite. By declining, you can communicate that you appreciate the offer and that you really have the skills to handle the new position. You are ready to learn more and take on challenges. But you're fully aware that more responsibilities will cut into your free time, and right now that's not good for your family. You don't have the opportunity to travel, for example.

You need to be persuasive and carefully choose what arguments you make so they don't sound fake and drive down your price.

It's not good to say that you won't put in the effort to acquire new skills - this will still be necessary at some point in your current position. It will be misconstrued that you value your free time because you prefer to go fishing or on trips with girlfriends instead of negotiating with foreign partners on the weekend. It's bad to admit that you won't feel happy leading people because you hate conforming to others. With children or with elderly parents, you can justify yourself, but if it is with a healthy and upright, but capricious woman, it will turn out that you are under a slipper.

A really good promotion waiver plan can allow you to reap dividends. If the management has decided that you are fit for a higher position, then it values you. Deftly offer to get something to your current one - for example, a higher salary or some other extras. Naturally, not for nothing, but by using your abilities and increasing your duties to a tolerable degree.