You are your own best advocate. You can’t leave it solely to your boss, colleagues or clients to recognize your talents and contributions — you have to speak up about them yourself. When you advocate for yourself, you can open the door to new opportunities. You can shine a light on the resources you need and the growth you want.

Self-advocacy at work is about gaining access to opportunities and resources that serve you and the future you want, says Lauren Parker, the managing editor of Atlassian’s Work Life blog. Put another way, she says it’s mindful and deliberate participation in your own future.

Want to learn how to be a better advocate for yourself at work? Keep reading this issue of PromoPro Daily, where we highlight Parker’s top self-advocacy tips.

1. Get in the right frame of mind. It’s a good thing to advocate for yourself at work. It’s not arrogance or self-absorption. Remember that everyone you work with is doing work nobody knows about, Parker says. Surfacing your own good work helps your team and leaders understand just how much goes into your job. She adds that it’s perfectly okay to feel proud and celebrate your contributions.

2. Think about your own personal “good, better and best.” When you’re thinking about what you want out of your job, Parker recommends envisioning your future on a scale from “good” to “better” to “best.” When you go through this exercise, you can set your workplace qualify-of-life bar at a level where you’re happy, not merely getting through the day. Then, you can advocate your way to even higher levels.

3. Get input from those you trust. Tap into your network when you want to strengthen your self-advocacy skills. Whether you reach out to colleagues, friends or family members, these people can give you valuable insight into your work.

4. Document everything. Did you get a great piece of feedback from your boss? Or what about a glowing compliment from a client? Copy and paste these comments into a document. Parker says you’ll be amazed at the volume of meaningful contributions and growth opportunities you end up with when you’re disciplined about maintaining objective, in-the-moment records of everything that happens in your professional orbit.

Don’t be shy about advocating for yourself. It’s an art that can help you not only in the workplace, but in all areas of life. Start by adopting the right mindset, checking in with those in your circle and keeping a kudos file of all your compliments and feedback.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Lauren Parker is the managing editor of Atlassian’s Work Life blog.