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You might be ready for more responsibility in your role but not know how to ask for it. ‘I want more responsibility’ is a reasonable ambition, but it leaves your manager to decide what this means. Making a specific request makes the conversation easier and helps stop the extra work becoming an open-ended addition.

You should aim to come to an agreement about a manageable opportunity with clear support, authority and expectations. More responsibility should allow you to demonstrate readiness or gain a new skill rather than simply make your working day longer.

Decide what you want to gain

Decide on a specific skill you would like to gain; for example, mentoring, customer communication, decision-making, technical skills or project ownership. Then decide on a specific opportunity that allows you to practise that skill. For example, leading one well-defined project may be more useful than taking on several unrelated duties.

Link the opportunity to a real team need. For example, a process may need an owner, a new team member may need mentoring or a small project may keep losing momentum. Do not offer to solve a problem before you know the size of the problem.

Demonstrate readiness

Identify examples showing that you can handle the next step. For example, you may have completed current responsibilities reliably, coordinated a smaller project or identified and managed a risk. Also identify areas where you still require support.

Readiness does not mean you already know everything. It means you have enough knowledge of the project to discuss support and boundaries appropriately. If an aspect of your current role is still challenging, it may be useful to improve this aspect as well as attempt a manageable increase in responsibility.

Create a short request

Describe the opportunity, the benefit, what you will do and what resources you will require. For example: ‘I would like to coordinate the next customer feedback review. I will organise the interviews and produce a summary, with you approving the interview questions and final recommendations.’

Also decide on a timescale and a review. A six-week pilot is easier to evaluate than an indefinite change. Also identify how success will be measured and what you will gain from the opportunity.

Request to meet

Choose a suitable time for this conversation. This could be at a one-to-one or during a development meeting. Provide your manager with enough information so they can prepare; for example: ‘I would like to discuss leading a small project in order to develop my project coordination skills.’

A good starting point for a conversation could be: ‘I feel ready to develop X. I have found Y which could benefit the team. What would I need to show and how can this be made manageable?’

If speaking up feels difficult, see our guide to workplace confidence for a preparation approach.

Consider both responsibility and authority

Having responsibility without authority can cause frustration. Ask what decisions you can make independently and which decisions require approval. Also ask who will support you when the work requires colleagues outside of your team.

If you are leading other people then ensure that your role is clear. Are you organising information, assigning work or managing people? These are different types of responsibility. Do not assume that leading a project also gives you authority that has not been agreed.

Agree support and workload

Consider how your existing workload will be affected. For example, ‘I can take this on if the weekly report is moved to next month’ is more sustainable than simply increasing each working day without discussion. Estimate the amount of time required and revisit this when you have more information.

Agree training, systems and a person who can support your learning. Regular check-ins are particularly useful at the start of the opportunity. Requesting support does not mean that you are incapable but rather that you are planning to deliver the opportunity.

Discuss recognition without assuming a promise

Ask how this increased responsibility relates to expectations for the role, progression or review. Taking on a new responsibility does not automatically result in a pay increase, title change or promotion. Understanding the relationship will allow you to make an informed decision.

If there is a significant change to your role then ask about the arrangement and any policies that are in place. Employment and contract policies may vary depending on the country. Where necessary seek appropriate local advice. Do not use a general guide for career development to interpret your rights.

Use ‘not yet’ effectively

If you are not given a ‘yes’ then ask why this is. It could be due to capacity, timing or a specific readiness concern. Ask ‘What would you need to see before you would consider this?’ and ‘Is there a smaller opportunity that I can take on now?’

If the answer is conditional then agree a review date. Repeated delayed responses are also information. Consider another approach and see our guide to career options.

Make progress and learning visible

When the opportunity is in place share brief updates on progress, any risks and any decisions that need to be made. Flag problems as soon as they are encountered. During the review discuss what has been achieved and what has been learned, including what you would do differently.

Make a clear record of what has been done without holding any confidential information in a personal record. A successful increase in responsibility may be used as evidence in a development conversation. An imperfect one may still highlight a useful next step in learning.

Next steps

Create a five-line request for increased responsibility. In these lines describe the opportunity, its benefit to the team, the evidence of your readiness, the support you will need and the review date. Use this to start a conversation and then translate the agreement into a professional development plan. Clear boundaries will make the increased responsibility more useful to you and the team.

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Job titles and tools change. But problem solving, explaining decisions and reliable teamwork may help across several jobs. Such skills are not an alternative to specialist knowledge. Rather they can help you use specialist knowledge.

Do not think of ‘adaptability’ or ‘good communication’ as qualities you either have or lack. Instead, look at the specific behaviour associated with each and then practise this in the work you do. As you do, build a record of what results from this behaviour.

1. Communicate to achieve the decision or action required

Effective communication starts with knowing the intended audience. What do they need to know, do or decide? For example, a manager looking to approve a project will require different information than a team member carrying out a task. Put the decision and action required at the start and then provide relevant information.

Try reducing a regular update to three pieces: the current state, a relevant risk and the next action to be taken. Ask a reader what they think you need from them. If this does not match what you intended then adapt your message.

Communication also includes listening. Take time to summarise the requirements before you start a complex task, and ask about any ambiguities. For more sensitive conversations, use our framework for difficult conversations.

2. Think critically about information

Critical thinking means considering the assumptions and evidence that support a decision or action. Where does information come from? What does the information say? What information is missing? A confident presentation is not necessarily evidence that a decision or action is sound.

When evaluating a recommendation, separate facts from interpretations and predictions, and consider whether the examples given are representative. Also consider if there is an alternative explanation for the information given. You do not need to question all information given publicly. Instead focus on those pieces of information that could have the most influence on the decision or action.

Practise this on a relatively small decision you make at work. Set out the options available, the evidence for each option, assumptions made and what would make you change your decision. This creates a record of your reasoning, not just an opinion.

3. Collaborate with clear agreements

Collaborating does not just mean being agreeable. There should be clarity around ownership and dependencies and also how disagreements will be handled. A helpful colleague can still set boundaries and highlight risks.

At the start of a collaborative task, agree the success criteria of the task, who is responsible for each part of the task and when ownership of work is transferred. Explain what you need from others and ask what they need from you. Inform others of any changes early.

A useful practice is to end meetings with decisions, owners and dates. Also check that those assigned ownership of tasks understand and can carry them out.

4. Organise around priorities

Organisation means making important work visible and manageable. This does not mean replying to all messages as they come. Instead, have a list of commitments that can be relied upon and for each important task note the next action to be taken.

When there are competing requests, clarify priority rather than silently committing to all. For example, you could say “I can either complete the report today or begin the new analysis. Which should come first?” Also explain the trade-off and set a realistic time frame.

Practise this by looking at the commitments you have for tomorrow before finishing the day. Set a small number of priorities, identify dependencies and leave room for the unexpected.

5. Adapt through learning

Adapting means being able to respond to new information whilst still being aware of the objective. Adapting does not mean accepting every change blindly. When a change occurs ask what problem this change is intended to solve and what learning you need.

Break unfamiliar work into an achievable first step. Seek feedback early enough to make changes before you have put too much time into the task. Keep a short record of what worked so that a second attempt can start from the learning gained.

When priorities conflict and change is constant seek clarification. More personal resilience cannot create a stable plan when an organisation is not clear about what is important.

6. Use digital tools with judgement

Digital literacy involves using digital tools and being aware of data, limitations and privacy. Be able to search for reliable information, manage files, collaborate safely and check outputs. The best tool to use will depend on the task and not the novelty of the tool.

AI tools can support brainstorming and drafting, however outputs from these tools may contain errors. Follow your employer’s guidance around the use of these tools and only enter personal, customer or confidential information with appropriate levels of authorisation. Also check any claims made in outputs and take responsibility for the work produced.

Choose one recurring task and improve your way of completing it using a tool that is already used by others in your team. Consider whether this reduces effort or errors. Do not learn a new feature simply because it is available.

Show skills through evidence

Making a claim such as ‘excellent communicator’ is not enough. Instead show an example such as ‘rewrote the project briefing to clearly show the decision, risks and next steps’. When writing an application or review consider the situation, how you contributed and the outcomes of your contribution.

Ensure that your examples are accurate. If the outcomes are shared by a team note only your contribution and do not claim all contributions of the team. If there are no numerical results make a specific mention of an observable improvement rather than invent a number.

Choose one skill to practise

Choose the skill that could make the biggest contribution to a current task. Identify one piece of behaviour, one opportunity to demonstrate this behaviour and one source of feedback. Then form a short professional development plan around these elements.

It is not necessary to develop all skills at once. Practising one skill at a time allows you to identify a clear next step and provide stronger evidence of your skills.

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