You’re great.  You’re invincible.  You deserve that promotion.  You work wonders.  The company would fall apart without you.  You are the best worker in your entire company.

How many of these statements are knocking around in your head?

If your boss is anyone other than your mother, there’s likely a big difference between what you think of yourself and the reality of your work.  Through the performance review process, you’re likely not to hear what your boss really thinks of you.  You’ll get a taste, but not the entire plate.  It’s time to grab the spoon and demand second helpings.  Okay, bad analogy, but hear me out.

You need to have that tough conversation where you ask for 100 percent honesty and transparency about you, your skills and your weaknesses.

Be bold and brave and push your boss or boss’ boss when they give you the answer you want to hear.  If you’re not getting promoted, there’s a reason.  The good news is that they know why.  Your job is to find the answer and then work hard to eliminate the roadblocks to your progress.

Keep your ego in check and ask the tough questions.  You might not like the answers you hear, but you’re a grown-up, you can handle it.

Ever wake up on the wrong side of your career?  If you’re not in the place you wanted to be, do something about it.

• Call your mentor and ask for some advice.
• No mentor?  Get a mentor.
• Have an open (and probably uncomfortable) discussion with your boss to find out all the things you need to do in order to get to the NEXT LEVEL.
• Find some better role models to hang around.
• Talk to a career coach.
• Read What Color is Your Parachute?
• Work Harder and Smarter toward your goal.
• Apply for a new job in your company.
• Apply for a job outside your company.
• Network with people and follow-up with them.
• Talk to anyone and everyone about what they do and consider a career change.

This is just a short list of some things you can do to start moving your career forward.  The list you will follow and the path you take is highly individualized.  Do what works best for you, but do something.

Regardless of what you do, you should definitely do some deep soul searching over the holidays.  Figure out if what you are going through is temporary or systemic.  If it’s the latter, do something about it.  Move forward.  Take action.  Don’t just sit there, unhappy and unmotivated.  This attitude and condition is not going to lead to a happier life.  Doing something will definitely get your career back on track.

It’s a time-honored tradition of the hard-worker – Taking One for the Team.  It’s taking on that assignment no one else wants, but you do it because it’s the right thing for your business.  You stay late and miss the company party because the product had to ship.  You fill in when someone is out on sick leave – wearing both hats until she returns.

Congrats.  You took one for the team and you think you’re going to be repaid for it.  It’s likely that you will, someday…maybe.

Make sure you’re not the guy or gal who’s constantly taking one for the team by taking on extra work, doing the hard work, going above and beyond and somehow, someway getting screwed at the end of the day.

If you are long overdue for a rotation or a promotion, say something.  If you want to pass off some work that’s now beyond you, but you’re the best at it, so your boss still gives it to you, say something.

It’s up to you to voice your dissatisfaction with things and make changes happen instead of waiting around for your efforts to be acknowledged.  If you stay silent, then nothing will change for the better.  Your boss and company will keep allowing you to Take One for the Team without any reward if you don’t speak up.

Note: This isn’t about whining about getting your due or getting a promotion or recognition because you took on extra work and took one for the team.  It’s about getting what you deserve because it’s people like you that allow companies to become great.

Second Note: You shouldn’t always “take one for the team” for brownie points, a shot at a promotion or some other end benefit.  Sometimes it’s okay to roll-up your sleeves and do the work that needs to get done because it needs to get done.  Take One for the Team from time to time, just don’t make it a habit if there’s no end reward.  You could be spending more time with friends and family instead of shouldering the entire burden.

Just a short reminder on an important topic.  If you’re in a meeting with your boss and you find yourself constantly waiting for them to decide things and give you a list of things to do, rather than providing your Point of View (POV) on something, you’re on the wrong track.

Whether boss-inflicted or self-inflicted, waiting for someone to give you the strategy or path forward is the wrong way to operate.  You need to have a POV on things, you need to share your POV and you have to be known as the person who has a POV and is willing to share it with others.  This advice isn’t about being some hard-charging blowhard who just wants to hear themselves think.  It’s about becoming a person of action, someone who is moving their business or project forward.

Have a POV…always.  Don’t wait for others to decide things and tell you what to do because that person is replaceable…always.  The person with a POV and who decides things isn’t as easily replaced.