Highly effective people, particularly in policy, don't wait for job listings. They proactively create their own opportunities by identifying a need and proposing a new role or fellowship to an organization. This approach bypasses traditional career paths and allows for greater impact.

Excelling in assigned work is valuable, but credit can be diffuse. Brendan Burns advises that creating a successful project from your own idea makes attribution for the impact undeniable. This is a high-risk, high-reward strategy that can accelerate career growth, especially at senior levels where creating new scope is the expectation.

To accelerate your career, focus on developing 'agency'. This means moving beyond assigned tasks to proactively solve unspoken, systemic problems. Instead of chasing high-visibility projects, look for the unaddressed issues that keep leaders up at night. Solving these demonstrates true ownership and strategic value.

Don't blame a manager for a lack of promotion. True career acceleration comes from radical self-accountability. You must proactively step into the role you want *before* you have it and demonstrate your worthiness, rather than waiting for someone to grant you a raise or new title.

Don't wait for a promotion or for the perfect role to be created. The most effective path to leadership is to proactively identify and take on critical, unowned tasks within your organization. This demonstrates value and allows you to carve out a new role for yourself based on proven impact.

TikTok's Sofia Hernandez grew her remit from marketing to commercial partnerships by identifying and solving broader business needs. Instead of waiting for a promotion, she built relationships across orgs and demonstrated value, making her scope expansion a natural outcome of her contributions.

Don't wait for a promotion or new job opening to grow. Proactively identify other teams' pain points and offer your expertise to help solve them. This proactive helpfulness builds relationships, demonstrates your value across the organization, and organically opens doors to new skills and responsibilities.

A linear career path is not required for success. Businesses ultimately value high performers who demonstrate an ownership mentality and consistently drive impact. Focusing on helping the business win creates opportunities to move across roles and industries, making your journey more valuable.

Instead of asking managers for a checklist to get promoted, focus on delivering significant impact. This approach is more effective and viewed more favorably by leadership. Genuine impact is what gets recognized and rewarded, while simply 'checking boxes' can backfire.