How can you get promoted to the top job? Is the process really so mysterious? Yes and no.

The part that is mysterious is the cloak and dagger operation that characterizes how many companies approach succession planning. It’s like Oz behind the curtain. Who knows what’s really going on? Few companies do it well, and it’s something you can’t control.

What you can control is one thing - the way you think. What you can control are the questions you ask yourself every day. One question you need to ask yourself every day is, “Why not me?”

Yes. “Why not me?”

“Why not me?” is a powerful question because it eliminates the excuse of perfectionism, the negativity around the process, the drag on your psyche from perceived missteps or missed opportunities. No one person is perfect for any job. There are only great candidates, and there is always one who will be chosen. When you ask yourself, “Why not me?” you empower yourself with the belief that you have as good a shot as anyone.

Recently I have been advising a long time client who was going for a top job. She is talented, respected, brilliant and savvy, yet at the outset, she wasn’t even on the list. She didn’t fit the “usual criteria” for a candidate for this position. They had someone else in mind - someone “everyone always thought” would get the job. Yet, she decided to throw her hat in the ring. She had embraced the question, “Why not me?”

This attitude ignited a fire in her; she worked harder and smarter than any other candidate, she prepared better, she learned more, she built more support. As a result, interviewed better than anyone. How do I know? They told her. She earned enormous respect from a board of directors that barely had her on the radar screen. Whether or not she gets this job, I can guarantee this - she’s going to land another one, just as prestigious, maybe better, because she has started asking the question- why not me?

Your confidence and self-esteen are the number one factor in your success. Confidence isn’t ALL you need, it’s just that with confidence, you do everything differently.

When you ask, “why not me?” you start spending your time and energy more productively, you make better decisions about your career, you find good mentors and coaches to help you; you open up to the experiences that will shape you; you invest in developing the skills you need to get to the top. The question “why not me?” takes you out of your comfort zone to explore who you really might become. I’ve seen it happen hundreds of times with our coaching clients. Those who ask “why not me,” don’t look at coaching as something they “have to do” because it’s good for them; they see it as a process that will help them to realize their dreams.

Hitting a home run isn’t just about taking enough swings. You have to picture yourself in uniform, picture yourself at bat, picture yourself hitting it out of the park. When you picture it, THEN you’ll take enough swings, take enough risks, try enough times to knock it out of the park.