I facilitated a workshop this past week for women executives from ADP at The Athena Center for Leadership Studies at Barnard College. Before the workshop, a survey was sent out by The Athena Center in order to determine some of their barriers to advancement.

The results were not surprising and are representative of professional women in general. 82% of the women responded that they were “heads down” and focused on their work and managing their team’s success. 50% of the respondents also stated that they believe their performance will lead to promotion.

This is troubling! There is no such thing as a meritocracy at ADP or anywhere else for that matter. It takes more than talent and hard work; more than a track record of great performance to get ahead. But here is our comfort zone: doing the work and focusing on the tasks at hand.

How long will it take us to get with the program? We need to look to our male counterparts for clues on how to improve our career status. Men traditionally spend 80% of their time doing their work and 20% letting everyone know what they have accomplished. Women still insist on spending 100% of their time doing the work and believe that performance will lead to promotions.

Do you fall into this trap? Is this your comfort zone as well?

Let’s get with the program! In this current business environment, people are far too busy to go out of their way to notice and recognize you. If you are ambitious and want to move your career forward, it is your responsibility to let others know of your achievements.

If you are ambitious, it’s time to bust out of your comfort zone and take responsibility for your career.

If you are ambitious and have difficulty in this area, please contact me. I can help you promote yourself effectively so that you can achieve your career aspirations. Don’t waste another minute thinking that one day someone will come along and tap you on the shoulder for the next big job. It not only takes hard work, it takes strategy and planning.