Angling for a promotion? It's no secret that corporate politics matter as much as personal competence. It's not enough to go to work every day, get the job done and go home. You need to manage how people at work perceive you—and most importantly, how your boss perceives you. You might be saving your company $10 million a year, but if your boss doesn’t know about it, it might as well be $10. Here's how to keep your supervisor singing your praises.

 

1. Say no.

Think we're kidding? We are not. People who achieve and surpass their career goals say no all the time. Refusing certain tasks is a way to ensure that you spend quality time on the things that matter most. Career and business coach Marla Eurick says that employees often get into trouble by saying yes more than they should. “Pleasing your boss doesn’t always mean saying yes,” she warns. Being a yes-man all the time will sabotage your career: you’ll promise to accomplish more than you can, but you won’t be able to deliver, so you’ll look disorganized and unreliable—not to mention just plain frazzled.

 

Instead of creating this impossible situation, say yes only to the things that matter most to your manager. Remember that she probably doesn’t know everything that's on your plate. So when she asks you to do something you don’t have time for, ask about her priorities. Let her know that you want to finish what is most important.

 

2. Pinch the right pennies.

Think about what matters to your superiors and tailor your actions in that direction. Bob Rosner, co-author of The Boss’s Survival Guide, says employees should keep in mind the politics the boss faces. Rosner says one of the most common errors people make is to concentrate on projects that mean a lot to them rather than those that mean a lot to the boss. This means you’re going to have to invest some time and energy understanding your boss’s context. But this will be effort well spent. Remember the $10 million? If you saved your firm that money but your manager couldn't care less, then your accomplishment will be all but forgotten during your performance review. Make a difference in areas that mean the most to the higher-ups.

 

3. Be a high self-monitor.

Beth Rosner, a psychologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, explains the characteristics of a self-monitor: “High self-monitors are people who analyze social situations and try to match their public self to the situation. They are very good at gauging what their audience expects in a given situation. Low self-monitors attempt to alter a situation to match their private selves.” What does all this jargon mean? Well, in the workplace, self-monitors adjust to fit their teams rather than make their teams adjust to them. Supervisors appreciate that, since it makes for less friction.

 

The same goes for one-on-one encounters. If your boss expects small talk before the weekly meeting, make sure to bring up your twenty-foot birdie putt on the sixteenth hole. But if he wants to get down to business quickly, recognize that and keep quiet. If you are a high self-monitor, your boss will feel more comfortable with you—which makes you more likely to receive a promotion.

 

4. Seek new responsibilities.

Find holes in your department before your manager finds them. Take responsibility for filling those holes—and your boss will appreciate not only your foresight, but also your ability to go the extra mile. Ali Bernstein, account manager at Empower MediaMarketing, received her most recent promotion by doing the job above her before she got the title. This strategy is particularly impressive to a manager because you assume a leadership role without being officially designated the leader. Your supervisor will be wowed not only by your ability to accomplish higher-level work, but also your knack for fixing departmental problems before they land on her desk. One caveat: Make sure you don't neglect your official job duties while taking on more.

 

5. Ask questions – diplomatically.

Curiosity is not just for uppity college students in poetry class. Ask questions when they are not expected, and you may gain more than you expect. But when you do it, don't make a scene. If you notice that a number looks off on a report and your boss is about to send the document farther up the food chain, tactfully suggest that you'd like to recheck the calculations. You'll save the boss some embarrassment—and when review time comes around, he just may remember that and return the favor.