Talent is obviously really important – it’s the thing that opens doors and creates opportunities, and it’s going to help you stand out in the job market a lot of the time. But anyone who’s spent any time in a workplace knows that you do need more than just talent because talent alone isn’t going to guarantee you getting further ahead. The fact is that plenty of capable, intelligent people stay quite stuck, and others who have similar skills at similar levels move ahead more quickly. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about why career progression depends on more than talent.
Reliability Often Outranks Raw Skill
One of the biggest things to get right if you want to get ahead in your career progression is to be reliable because if you’re someone people can depend on, that’s going to build trust, and that’s going to lead to more responsibility, better positions, and so on. So if you can meet deadlines, follow through on promises, and handle small tasks without having to ask for permission, that’s all going to be noticed, which is exactly what you want.
Managers tend to promote people who make things easier, not harder, and someone who consistently delivers good, reliable work and communicates well is usually seen as a better choice than someone who’s brilliant at what they do, but is actually unpredictable in how they do it.
Communication Shapes Perception
How you communicate can actually matter just as much as what you do, so you’ll want to offer clear updates, ask questions at the right time, and explain decisions clearly – all of that is going to influence how other people see you. In the end, the people who progress very often make their work visible, but don’t make it obvious.
We’re not talking about self-promotion in the awkward sense, we just mean you’ve got to share your progress, flag challenges early, and make it easy for others to understand what’s happening.
Photo by Yan Krukau
Understanding The Bigger Picture Helps
People who move forward in their careers often understand more than just their own role – they know how what they’re doing fits into the wider business, and they’ll know why certain processes matter (and what doesn’t matter so much). That kind of awareness leads to better decisions and fewer mistakes.
In structured environments, that could include understanding systems that help with day-to-day work, like ABA billing software, for example, which keeps things organised behind the scenes. The fact is, knowing how these systems affect the business as a whole shows maturity and shows you’re ready for more responsibility.
Adaptability Beats Perfection
Careers don’t usually follow a straight line because you’ll often find that priorities change, teams grow or shrink, you’ll end up with new tools and lose old ones, and through all that, people who progress are usually the ones who adapt without resisting it all – they’ll just realise they’ve got to move with the times and get on with it.
That’s great, but it’s also worth noting that it’s very hard to be adaptable and strive for perfectionism at the same time, so it’s best not to – just stick with being flexible and you’ll see you’re able to get a lot further ahead.
Talent is obviously really important – it’s the thing that opens doors and creates opportunities, and it’s going to help you stand out in the job market a lot of the time. But anyone who’s spent any time in a workplace knows that you do need more than just talent because talent alone isn’t going to guarantee you getting further ahead. The fact is that plenty of capable, intelligent people stay quite stuck, and others who have similar skills at similar levels move ahead more quickly. With that in mind, keep reading to find out more about why career progression depends on more than talent.
Reliability Often Outranks Raw Skill
One of the biggest things to get right if you want to get ahead in your career progression is to be reliable because if you’re someone people can depend on, that’s going to build trust, and that’s going to lead to more responsibility, better positions, and so on. So if you can meet deadlines, follow through on promises, and handle small tasks without having to ask for permission, that’s all going to be noticed, which is exactly what you want.
Managers tend to promote people who make things easier, not harder, and someone who consistently delivers good, reliable work and communicates well is usually seen as a better choice than someone who’s brilliant at what they do, but is actually unpredictable in how they do it.
Communication Shapes Perception
How you communicate can actually matter just as much as what you do, so you’ll want to offer clear updates, ask questions at the right time, and explain decisions clearly – all of that is going to influence how other people see you. In the end, the people who progress very often make their work visible, but don’t make it obvious.
We’re not talking about self-promotion in the awkward sense, we just mean you’ve got to share your progress, flag challenges early, and make it easy for others to understand what’s happening.
Understanding The Bigger Picture Helps
People who move forward in their careers often understand more than just their own role – they know how what they’re doing fits into the wider business, and they’ll know why certain processes matter (and what doesn’t matter so much). That kind of awareness leads to better decisions and fewer mistakes.
In structured environments, that could include understanding systems that help with day-to-day work, like ABA billing software, for example, which keeps things organised behind the scenes. The fact is, knowing how these systems affect the business as a whole shows maturity and shows you’re ready for more responsibility.
Adaptability Beats Perfection
Careers don’t usually follow a straight line because you’ll often find that priorities change, teams grow or shrink, you’ll end up with new tools and lose old ones, and through all that, people who progress are usually the ones who adapt without resisting it all – they’ll just realise they’ve got to move with the times and get on with it.
That’s great, but it’s also worth noting that it’s very hard to be adaptable and strive for perfectionism at the same time, so it’s best not to – just stick with being flexible and you’ll see you’re able to get a lot further ahead.
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