Insight #349:
Did you know that a doctor may only work as a doctor once she is a doctor? You knew? And you believe that this rule does not apply to you. That’s why you behave as if they should promote you before you are the person who can be promoted.
It sounds weird, I know, but pay attention. A doctor does not become a doctor once he qualifies to be a doctor. He must first act like a doctor by serving an internship or a residency. Almost like being an apprentice. In other words, she was being a doctor before she was actually a doctor. Get it?
What I mean is that aspiring doctors don’t walk around saying, “I should be promoted to doctor status already!” Not so. You earn doctor status when you already perform many doctor functions. You become a doctor when you have practiced the role of doctor.
And yet, many of us at work expect, no, demand, to be promoted.
Don’t be like that. Treat your career like a profession. Remember, doctors practice medicine, lawyers practice law. Here’s the funny thing about practicing. A qualified doctor might know medicine, but needs to practice how to be a doctor. A qualified lawyer might know the law, but needs to practice how to be a lawyer. You might know how to do your boss’s job, but are you ready to be a boss? A manager? A leader?
So practice. Be the apprentice, the intern, the resident.
But be visible in your practicing. Because they can only promote you once you show them you have what it takes to be in that new position.
Above all, make the decision easy for your bosses: Be today the person who can be promoted tomorrow.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
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