Throughout my career, specialising in data analytics, I’ve learn that what’s critical for promotion and progression is adding value. Simply doing a good job – just turning up and doing what is required – isn’t the same. It’s pretty easy to deliver what’s expected, after all, you’ve been hired to do that. You have the necessary skills and experience.

Adding value is much harder. It can be scary to step outside your comfort zone and start looking at why something is done a certain way, how it could be done better, and what you need to do to achieve that. There’s a fear factor in not wanting to make a mistake, particularly when you are new, inexperienced or not in a leadership/manager position. Company culture can also be a problem. Some organisations and people are really resistant to change, and there’s a focus on just getting stuff done.

But if you can add value, it can benefit you and your company. I found that once I focused on doing this, my career really started to fall into place for me in terms of opportunities, development and progression. Here’s a list of 7 things that I’ve found have helped me to add value and benefited my career:

1. Focus on solutions

Make a conscious choice to focus on solutions rather than problems. If you focus on the issue then you’re not focusing on finding a solution. Start by asking questions, speaking to other people, doing mind maps or writing things out. It doesn’t matter how you do it, what matters is that you do it. Even if the initial idea you have isn’t very good, it’s a starting point and can be improved.

2. Own and learn from mistakes

We can view mistakes as bad, or as an opportunity to learn and grow. The reality is that you will make a mistake at some point, and how you respond to it is what helps define you.

In a previous role, I was using a system generated dataset to track movements in savings balances, to identify trends. Over time, I noticed some large monthly swings in balances that didn’t make sense, and errors I couldn’t explain. I notified the IT department who investigated, and found a bug with the program. The lesson I learnt was always obtain data from the source, and run a comparison to validate and identify anomalies.

3. Keep learning

Whatever your experience level, there are always things to learn or improve. Continuous learning, whether formal or informal, soft skills or hard skills, is important. Find out what successful people or people in similar positions you aspire to are sharing on LinkedIn, and read what they read. Many online courses are available, many of which are relatively inexpensive on sites like Udemy and Lynda.

4. Find a mentor

Don’t underestimate the power of having a mentor. They should be someone you respect, who is experienced and can help guide you, and give you vital perspective. Mentors also make great sounding boards to run ideas past and seek advice from. You could have a formal or informal mentor, in the same company or even in a different industry.

I had the GM of Strategy for a mentor. I was able to learn from their experience, run ideas past them, and discuss possibilities for career progression and professional development. Later on, a change management contractor I worked with became an informal mentor. With extensive experience in very senior roles across different industries, he was great to be able to discuss concerns and opportunities, and approach things in a different way.

5. Have evidence based discussions

When discussing an issue, gather facts and information that reinforce your position. If you have supporting evidence it makes your stance more difficult to refute. It also shows that you are prepared and what you are saying is more likely to be respected. An evidence based discussion is generally more effective than an emotional one.  

6. Take every opportunity

Taking advantage of opportunities when they arise, even if they don’t seem that significant at the time, can present a huge a learning experience. I was once given the chance to work on a very tedious, 18 month doing data definition projects. At the time I didn’t really enjoy it and wouldn’t have viewed it as an opportunity. But the knowledge I gained was invaluable as were the subsequent opportunities that flowed on from this.

7. Be proactive

It’s not always obvious how you can add value. You may need to be proactive and actively seek out opportunities, such as letting people know that you’re keen to work on other things. Once you get into the habit of doing this, it starts to become second nature to you, and you’ll be perceived as enthusiastic and willing.

There are many other ways you can add value, but these are the major things that I believe have helped me. Some days it’s harder to do them, and on other days it’s easy. But I think key is consistency, and over time I’ve improved in being able to add value.