An immediate — and effective — response to your boss’s Slack could help you land that promotion.
PwC’s Dallas Dolen has spent the better part of two decades conducting performance reviews and promotion meetings, and he said there are two things workers can do to improve their chances of getting ahead.
As the leader of the Big Four firm’s US technology, media, and telecommunications practice. Dolen oversees a business of about 7,500 people and is based in San Jose. Promotions depend on several factors, he said, including whether colleagues recognize your contributions.
Still, he said, employees can take two intentional steps to build a stronger case. The most important, Dolen told Business Insider, is responsiveness.
That means answering the call when someone needs help and stepping in, whatever the assignment, Dolen said. He credits some of his own advancement in over 21 years at the firm to a willingness to get the job done, even when the timing was inconvenient.
“You have to be willing to, at midnight, jump on the plane,” Dolen said.
Enjoying the work and being passionate about it helps, he said. However, being responsive and available doesn’t mean working all hours of the day and night. In fact, if an employee is too busy, especially in the AI era, where people can use technology to be more productive, it could be a red flag, Dolen said.
“Activity for the sake of activity is not right,” said Dolen, who is also a PwC tax principal.
Dolen said that face time is another critical factor. The executive said he tries to build a collaborative, rather than top-down, team culture and to give everyone an equal chance to spend time with him. He said he tries to make himself “very accessible.” If someone asks for 15 or 30 minutes, he always says “yes,” he said, and considers that time “really important.”
While coffee and lunch with a boss can be useful, Dolen said employees can stand out by taking that time to make sure he’s on board with a plan, or to explain an idea.
“It’s not me making time for them,” Dolen said. “It’s them making time for me.”
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