Do You Know the Unwritten (Often Invisible) Rules of Success on the Job?

Have you watched with wonder or envy some of your peers, having talent equal to but not greater than yours, move on the fast track? In many cases, has it seemed to be a mystery why they have moved up the organization chart so quickly? Fear not.

Although some people seem to know the  unwritten rules of success  intuitively, you can learn the same things the fast trackers already know. But, first, you must understand why some of your peers appear to mysteriously move on the fast track.

The simple fact that the fast track rules are unwritten creates this aura of mystery. Try as you might, you will never find these rules in a human resource handbook, a policy and procedure manual, or any job description. These success rules exist – they are just never reduced to writing in the corporate world.
Remember that there really is  no  mystery. Work on learning these rules of success. Be confident that you can learn these rules and hop on the fast track yourself.

Learning the fast track rules also helps you become a more attractive candidate. When you contact the top employment search firms, like Kelly Services, you should find yourself attracting more attention than previously. These rules can add great value to your persona and career with both your current and future employers.

Adopt the Unwritten Rules of Success to Fast Track Your Career

The unwritten (often invisible) rules of corporate success require more self-awareness and practice than extreme mental concentration or education. They are simple to state and only slightly more complex to adopt and use.

• Adopt a more wide-ranging – even “global” – approach to setting your personal goals.  Along with your individual objectives, develop some team, department, and company goals, too. By itself, this unwritten rule improves your mental state, outlook, behavior, and performance.
• Develop supreme, unyielding confidence in your skills, ability, and self-worth.  Don’t worry if this mindset, at first, is a “fake it 'til you make it” approach. With many people it will initially be a reach. However, through visualization you will begin to believe more every day. Visualization, a technique used by most professional athletes, involves seeing – and believing – a result before it happens. Just as a professional golfer visualizes the result of his/her next shot, you should see yourself on the fast track, enjoying promotion after promotion, and finally having your own seat at the supreme executive management roundtable.
• Encourage and foster good personal relationships at the workplace.  Many, many experts believe this unwritten rule has even more beneficial effects for your career than high performance and consistently good results. Remember, even with all the electronics and scientific measuring systems, people still want to do business with people. These firm relationships also help you if you change employers, as a long career will often bring you full circle, reintroducing many of these people back into your corporate life.
• Be diligent in promoting yourself.  If, like many people, you are a bit uncomfortable about adopting this important unwritten rule, once again adopt a “fake it 'til you make it” action plan. Self-promotion becomes easier the more you practice. Understand that you should avoid becoming a neon advertisement for yourself. In the professional world, promoting yourself involves dispensing information and taking actions that display your skills and talents for all to see.
• Package yourself to develop the “right” brand and image.  The “perception is reality” condition is never more important in using the unwritten fast track rules properly. Do not, for a moment, believe that your employer is not looking for more fast track employees. They are. Fast track employees make evaluations easier and promotions less risky. After all, these people have already been identified as the cream of the crop. Just as your company spends large dollars on creating a brand and image that your customers like and trust, you should take every action – keeping your office or cubicle neat, produce exceptional oral presentations when asked, exhibit thoughtful, correctly written work, and always carry yourself with style and grace - possible to create the same result.  Remember, you are what management thinks you are.

These unwritten, invisible rules of professional success have worked for many years, work now, and will continue to work in the future. Regardless of your industry and corporate culture, companies want more fast track employees than ever before. The first part of the 21st century is witnessing the retirement of millions of Baby Boomers, most in important management positions. Companies are desperate to identify fast track employees to fill these critical gaps.