1.
Smart
Adapted from the book
Smart Questions-People skills for
winning the games of career
success (& office politics!)
Michael McGaulley, J.D.
QuestionsPeople skills for winning the games of career success
(& office politics!)

2.
Ever get the sense that you’re not getting the
kind of recognition that your talents and efforts
deserve—pay and bonuses and promotions,
perks, and appreciation?
If yes— honestly yes —then it’s time to ask
yourself “smart questions” like these:

3.
Smart Question 5.0
Am I receiving the
recognition and compensation
that I honestly deserve?
• If not, why not?
• What can I do?
Adapted from the book
Smart Questions: People skills for winning the games of career success
(& office politics!) by Michael McGaulley, J.D.

4.
Smart Question 5.1
Where do the significant rewards go in my
organization, profession, or trade? To whom
or to what group? Why there? Am I in that
group?
Money talks, and tends to speak more honestly
than words.
By tracing where the budget dollars go within
your organization, you gain a realistic insight
on what is really valued there.

5.
• When I compare where the recognition and
rewards go, what does that tell me about how my
job, my contribution, and even my section are
really valued?
• Do promotions come as quickly in my section or
area as in other fields or departments?
 How do the career ladders compare — in terms of
how fast and how far one can progress?
 Am I in a backwater department, or a field to
which dollars and recognition do not readily flow?

6.
What if my section or area of expertise is a dead-end?
What if I conclude that my job, or the department in which
I work, are considered, by the key people, as dead ends?
Option #1: Develop a public-relations campaign to
“educate” my boss and boss’ bosses on the value of my
contribution. BUT . . . it may already be too late. Once
the handwriting is on the wall, it’s usually impossible to
erase. Which leads to . . .
Option #2: Pull the plug here, and think about starting
over someplace else.

7.
Smart Question 5.2
Is some other person getting the rewards,
promotions, budget, etc. that (honestly)
should go to me?
 Why? Is it really just favoritism and office politics?
 Is there something I should learn from them and
how they operate?
 OR, am I being sent an unspoken message . . .
that this is not the place for me?

8.
Smart Question 5.3
If I am not getting the recognition and pay
that my work deserves, why not?
In that case, then consider these points:

9.
 Am I in a job for which there is not a strong market
need, or in a field to which society or the
marketplace does not assign a high value?
 Is what I’m doing, or the way I’m doing it, not
particularly valuable to the organization? That is, do
I add enough real value?
 Even if it is valuable, is it not perceived as valuable
by those who dispense rewards?

10.
Some other issues to consider :
 Have I carved out my unique niche?
 What makes my contribution unique? Special skills?
Hard work? Contacts?
 Is it clear that I add unique value?
 Am I—and what I contribute—“visible”?
 Am I in the career or role that best fits my abilities?

11.
Smart Question 5.4
Who are the important judges?
How do they view me and my contribution?
What implications?
Way back, only one judge really mattered: the teacher who
graded your schoolwork.
But it’s not that simple now. Perhaps your supervisor does
give out grades, in one form or another—maybe feedback,
maybe ranking, or performance reviews.
But the supervisor is usually not the only judge . . . and often
not even the most important: Here are some others important
judges that you need to be aware of:

12.
1. Your boss, and boss’ boss.
If you work within an organization, normally your
immediate supervisor will be the key judge, and those
further up the organizational hierarchy will also be
significant.
.

13.
2. Your co-workers.
Your co-workers may also be important judges, as their
judgment of you will reflect in how much cooperation
and respect they provide.

14.
3. Your customers or clients.
• If you’re in contact with the ultimate paying
customer, then of course that customer matters.
• But even if your work output goes only to some
other department within the agency, that user, your
customer, is important, as their satisfaction, or the
lack of it, will reflect back.

15.
What if you’re self-employed?
 If you’re self-employed, then your customers or
clients will normally be the most important
judges.
• But your peers may also be crucial judges, both
for the degree of cooperation they give you, as
well as for the referrals they may pass on.
(Those might be other self-employeds in a
related field with whom you may trade
referrals.)

16.
Checklist: Spotting the important judges
 Who are the important judges of how well I'm doing my job? Why are they the key judges, and not
others?
 What criteria are they using to judge me and my contribution?
 Are these the most appropriate measures? If not, what should be the criteria, and how can I
"educate" them to recognize and judge by the criteria that are truly important?
 Are the apparent judges the truly important judges? For instance, is my outside client a more
important judge than my supervisor? If not, what should I do about it?
 If I am locked in with inappropriate judges, is there a way to bypass them and get the attention of
ones who are more appropriate—or more open to me?
 Overall, what are the practical implications for me?
Font too small for comfort? You’ll find this checklist here or at
http://www.careersuccesshow-to.com/

17.
Some overall issues to consider:
 Is there some unstated reason why I am not
getting the recognition and compensation that I
deserve?
 Am I missing some signals?
 Am I failing to recognize and respond to the
various “games” in play?
 What can I do?

18.
To wrap up, If you are not receiving all of the
recognition and compensation that you honestly
deserve, then it’s most likely because of one (or
more) of these reasons:
First, you may be in the wrong career track, wrong
department . . . or even wrong organization.
Second, you may not be working as effectively as
possible (which is not necessarily the same as
efficiently), or you may not be perceived as valuable.
Third, you may not be aware of the important judges
and what they look for. Or they may not be aware of
you and your contribution. Or they may not see you
as you think they should.

19.
This infographic was adapted from the book,
Smart Questions
People skills for playing the games of career
success (& office politics!)
Michael McGaulley, J.D.
• To order SMART
QUESTIONS as an e-book
or p-book
• To visit the blog
CareerSuccessHow-to.com