Be dependable

Following on from yesterdays note, another almost surprisingly simple way to stand out at work and further your career is to be dependable.

In almost every performance review I’ve had I’ve been recognised as someone who my manager can depend on. They know they can give me a task and I’ll get it done and get it done well. I’ve earned their trust.

There’s a few reasons I’m able to do that, even when work and/or life gets busy. I communicate regularly so my manager or other stakeholder is kept informed. I manage expectations so they know early if something is going to be later and they can plan round it. I say “no” regularly to prevent myself being too overloaded or promising something I know I can’t deliver.

But probably the most important thing I do is stay organised. I don’t rely on my memory to keep track of everything I said I’d do, I have an organised system to do that for me, based on the Getting Things Done methodology by David Allen (see also his book on Amazon).

I’d highly recommend using that or a similar system if you want to be dependable.

This is #3 in my 2023 series of short, actionable tips for your career. You can view the entire series at https://andrew-jones.com/categories/career/