Do you know the feeling of unease when the boss comes to you and says, “come see me, now.” Then leads you into a private office and shuts the door — all while having a very stern look on his face, which is uncharacteristic.

I know that I had not done anything wrong, but still there is that moment of fear and saying to yourself, “what did I do? What happened?”

The boss pointed to a chair, and said, “sit down. We need to talk.”

I don’t have a “poker face” and must have looked anxious. Then the boss said, “hey, this is good news for you! Buck up and smile!”

To make a long story short, I have been promoted within my same position but to a higher rank. This was totally unexpected. I was assigned new duties, too, which will be very challenging — but I like to dive into a good challenge and make things work. The boss and the boss’ boss and the boss’ boss’ boss all know that, so they decided to assign me to “fix the problem” and give me a promotion to the rank commensurate with the duties I will be performing, as well as the rank-authority required to execute them.

I was told this happened because: 1) I have a solid track record of accomplishing tough challenges; 2) I don’t complain, I just work; 3) I have the training and background required and earned through years of growth, experience, and professional credentials and credibility; 4) People I work with both within the agency and also external partners have told the boss how much they enjoy working with me and how they feel that I support them solidly; 5) when I’m at work, I work — I don’t goof off surfing the internet or socializing in the break room; 6) I *like* what I do and where I work — and it shows.

Man, this is such a dramatic turn-around from about 18 months ago when the boss-of-the-day was so intimidated by me, that I was reassigned to nothing. The current boss — a strong leader and excellent manager of people — brought me back to my former position expressly because I had the skills and people connections that the previous boss feared. He is not intimidated by a subordinate who has stronger skills in some areas. Instead, he appreciates and values those skills and connections, and gives me challenges requiring leveraging those relationships for the greater good of all. That is the mark of a true leader, not a mere supervisor.

Will this promotion result in a pay raise? Well, not so fast. The way things work in many employment situations these days is that you get more duties and an increase in rank, then eventually the pay increase will follow, but not for a while. That’s okay — I love what I do and admire the boss I work with.

Effective now… new rank. Let’s do this!

Life is short: be good at what you do, get the job done, and appreciate recognition for it.