Seek Small Changes, Not Big Ones, To Get More Responsibility At Work

Seek Small Changes, Not Big Ones, To Get More Responsibility At Work

Knowing how to pursue upward or lateral mobility in a company is important if you want to stay relevant and gain more experience. Ask your boss for small changes, instead of big ones, to give yourself a better shot at gaining more responsibility at work.

Photo by Pascal.

While you may know how much you can handle, it’s important to understand that your boss will be cautious about giving you extra responsibilities. Instead of asking your boss for a promotion or position change, ask to take on one task at a time so you can get a foot in the door and prove your worth. The Fast Track explains how to approach this low-stakes method:

If your boss isn’t as enthused as you are about you branching into a new area, suggest something low-stakes at first so that if it doesn’t work out, the impact will be contained. For instance, if you’d like to get more management experience, you might propose managing the department’s interns before you take on managing full-time staff. Or if your goal is to eventually run important client meetings, you might propose just filling in for your boss when she can’t attend.

Your boss will be worried about the risk, so keep that in mind when pursuing other positions. Read more about how to get more responsibility at work below.

How to Convince Your Boss to Give You More Responsibility [The Fast Track]


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