It’s not hard work that determines your promotion. It’s making your hard work and yourself visible that determines your promotion.
Visibility means connecting the dots from the work you do with the advertisement you are looking for, which means that you are working on getting your hard work and yourself visible to get noticed, recognized and rewarded. Visibility opens the door wide to promotions: Because key decision-makers know and like you, hear and feel the effects of your work, and imagine your potential for the company.
In this report by the Internal Auditor, Gerald Ebenezer names the three most relevant things for him in order to be visible to important decision-makers.