This is a great article with some simple, yet meaty food for thought.
But, I must say I struggle with some of the remarks you provide for #1. "Demonstrating capability" does not necessarily secure promotion. There are quite a few people I've seen who clearly deserved promotion, but due to many factors - some beyond their control - they cannot get promoted. I'm not talking about excuses for lack of execution, I'm talking about the corporate culture, a lack of defined promotion/career paths, a professionally jealous boss, etc. that could all be playing a part.
When I was a new secretary at a large company, I volunteered for extra projects, took on new responsibilities often, and frequently went above and beyond my core job duties - and delivered high quality results on time every time. My hope was to eventually work my way up to a Project Admin/Coordinator type position. However, when the time came for my review, I found out the hard way that those types of promotions simply didn't exist for that role. In this particular company, once a secretary, always a secretary (that limitation has since changed).
The moral of the story is, before you beat yourself up trying to "prove yourself", and then wondering why you are never promoted, make sure promotion is possible. It may not be. Ideally, you find this out before accepting the position in the first place...
However, for people who are already "there" and are executing #1's advice to the letter, yet are still stagnant should schedule a meeting with their boss to talk about career path opportunities. Don't wait around for the once-a-year review cycle, because then it will be too late. If they know in advance you want to move up, they can do any required pre-work on their side (and possibly schedule you for training, if needed) before your next review comes up.
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Michael Wade of AZ 8:41PM September 11, 2010
AC of OH 1:03PM September 10, 2010