Dreaming of that promotion and the salary that comes with it? Wondering what it would take to move up, or why it’s taking so long to happen?

In the race towards a higher position and a higher pay, you must always remember that there’s room for only one at the top, and there are several of you fighting for it. With such fierce competition, you have to show that you are the best, most competent, most reliable and most responsible candidate that they have.

To achieve that, here are things you must never do – the five fatal career mistakes that can kill your chances for promotion:

1. Whine

   Upper management is no place for crybabies, and nothing screams “crybaby” more than whining in the workplace. It’s understandable that you have some gripes and complaints, of course, but a mature person either talks directly to the ones who can solve the problem, or keeps them to himself. Pestering the people around you with your whining shows you to be undisciplined and immature – not promotion material at all.

2. Miss Deadlines

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   If whining shows you to be immature, missing deadlines shows you to be unreliable – which is even worse. If you are given a deadline and can’t meet it, say so immediately, long before it’s due. If you accept a deadline, you meet it, period. Not doing so not only shows you to be unfit for promotion, it also makes people suspect that you are unfit for employment in the first place.

3. Finger point

   One of the greatest hazards of a management position is that once you’re there, you get blamed not only for your own failures, but for your subordinates as well. Managers must be willing to take blame as well as responsibility, so if you’re the type who tends to pass the blame, those looking for a promotion candidate will most likely pass you over as well.

4. Never show initiative

   We often hear how valuable good followers are, and how they are just as important as good leaders. The sad fact, though, is that good followers don’t get as much pay and power as good leaders. Also, people looking to promote other people aren’t looking for merely good followers. That’s simply not what management is about. You have to show that you can lead as well as follow. You have to show innovation and initiative. You can’t be passively waiting for orders; you have to be asking all the time: “What else can I do for you?” or “Would it help if we do it this way?” This way, in your own little sphere, you can prove that you have the drive and mindset of a leader without stepping on your present manager’s toes.

5. Talk badly about your colleagues

   This is the mistake that you could possibly get away with on your way up, but still, if you make it, you won’t stay up there very long. The thing with criticisms you say behind your colleagues’ back is that they have a way of coming round and being heard by the people you didn’t want to hear them in the first place. And if Anne, that person who sits across from you, ever hears how you hate her constant whining, she’ll hate you even if it’s true. Then when you do get promoted, she’ll make your life hell trying to manage her. Now imagine if you had complained about Jack and Steve and Joan and Ashley as well, and they heard about it. Can you imagine how cooperative and productive your team will be once you’re promoted and become their manager? If you have gripes about work, tell it to your family. Never gripe about your colleagues to your other colleagues, or it will come back to haunt you and hurt your career ambitions.

Now if whining, missing deadlines, finger-pointing, not showing initiative and talking badly about your colleagues will hurt your chances for promotion, what will help them? Just the opposites, of course: learn to shut up and focus your energy on doing your work; meet your deadlines consistently; take accountability for your actions; periodically ask your boss what you can do to help him/her; and keep your tongue in check no matter how painfully imperfect your colleagues are.

Show discipline, maturity, prudence and responsibility – in other words, act the part – and the management position you’ve been dreaming of will have your name on it, inevitably.