Many people have grown up with the notion that “If they work hard, they’ll get ahead.”

While this view of life is perfectly admirable, I’m not sure how well it holds up in real life. In my experience, there are other things going on that affect a person’s success, foremost of which is how much they take initiative, that is, thinking about what they most want from their job, their career, and their life—and actively planning strategies to achieve those goals.

Getting ahead starts first and foremost with doing good work! If you are not a performer who does what they say and consistently achieves at or beyond expectations, you will not be considered a candidate to advance to a larger role in the organization. If you are such an achiever, make sure you are being recognized for that by your manager. If that isn’t happening, ask for it: “I’d like to periodically set up time with you to discuss the job I’m doing so I can get feedback on my effectiveness and be helpful to you and the team.” If you strive to make your manager look good by doing good work, they will be more inclined to want to help you advance.

If you work in a company, the most important person in your work life is typically your immediate manager. This person not only hired you, but they also provide you direction and give you feedback on your work. They conduct your performance appraisals and can connect you with the larger organization you are both a part of.

As such, it’s critical that your manager be on your side, and there’s strategies you can follow to help assure that’s the case, including:

• Does your manager know your career aspirations? For example, where you’d like to be in three to five years? Or types of work you prefer or career paths that interest you?

• Does your manager know that you are interested in projects and assignments that go beyond the specifics of your job description and stretch your skill development?

• Does your manager know that you are interested in learning opportunities, whether those are formal, such as classroom training, or informal, such as a mentorship?

You should seek an opportunity to have a discussion with your manager about your future in the company. Many companies ask their leaders to have one-on-ones with each of their direct reports every week or two. This one-on-one time is typically allocated for whatever issues the employee most wants to discuss. If your company is not currently doing this, please suggest it as a best management practice to follow. Even if your company does not do one-on-one meetings, you can schedule such meeting time with your manager or include the topic as an agenda item in other meetings you have with your manager, such as a project debriefing.

Once you have some dedicated time scheduled with your manager, you can start to ask some important questions about your future within the organization. For example:

• What are the pathways for various careers within your organization?

• What skills and experiences do you need to have to advance?

• What opportunities do you have to learn and grow?

• What training and/or development programs are available to you?

• Are there ways you can learn what other parts of the company do?

• Is it possible to have a mentor and who would your manager recommend?

• How can you best gain visibility with upper management and others in the organization that could affect your success in the company?

You don’t have to have answers to these questions all at once; they can serve as an ongoing conversation you have with your manager over time that’s integrated with the daily work, learnings, and responsibilities that you have in your job.

Just initiating this conversation with your manager sends a signal that you want to get ahead, and its human nature for your manager to start viewing you differently, perhaps thinking of you when opportunities become available and generally viewing you as more of an asset than just a cost to the company.

All development is self-development. Having a plan to advance in your career needs to start with you and integrate everyone that is important to you in your life, foremost of whom is your immediate manager. The faster you can enlist your manager to help you advance, the sooner that is likely to happen for you.