When you’re ready to grow your role, add a new responsibility, or suggest a new project at work, it can be difficult to feel like you are being heard. Your best strategy is to have regular check-ins, make clear plans, and be coachable.

Before making any suggestions, make sure that you and your manager have a regular schedule of check-ins, at least twice a year, but preferably once a quarter (every three months). These check-ins should be special meetings just between the two of you, where you specifically discuss how your role is growing or changing, what new skills or tasks you are being asked to do, your aspirations for growth or additional responsibilities, and your ideas for how to improve the workplace or the business. It’s also the right place to provide constructive feedback on how you and your manager can improve, or to clarify anything that’s been confusing or demoralizing since the last period of time.

If you don’t have a regular meeting like this, your first step is to get one on the calendar as soon as possible. Regular check-ins are a normal part of most jobs. If your manager isn’t open to the idea of regular check-ins where both of you can talk about what could be done better, what is going well, and what things are coming up soon, that should be a major warning sign. Psychological safety is the basic requirement of a good job.

If you are going to bring up grievances or propose new work, be sure to spend a little time writing a plan of action. If you’re bringing up a grievance, be sure to take some time to write out what happened and how it affected your work. Don’t attack anyone or assume that lack or caring or intelligence was the cause of the event. Listen carefully to your manager’s response: be coachable if they suggest a way to resolve the issue, and note if they are being coachable by listening to your feelings on the matter.

If you want to suggest a new project or responsibility for your role, think about what event created the idea for the new project. It should include a suggestion of what should be done, a description of the cost (in money, time, and effort) that the new work would probably take, and who should manage the work. Again, be coachable whether or not your manager accepts, rejects, or has questions about the new work.

Whether you bring up a grievance, suggest new work, or things are going great, be sure to write down what promises and assurances your manager has made. Ask for estimates on dates when you can expect changes to be implemented. And here’s where it all comes together: at your next check-in, bring up these issues that were created in the last check-in. Use this method to stay on top of your improvements and hold you managers accountable.

If you promised to do something and you didn’t do it, you would be expected to provide a good excuse for your failure or you would be reprimanded. Managers should be open to being held accountable to the same standards. If you’re having regular meetings with your manager, making clear plans, being coachable, and following up, you are acting in a way that is professional in any field or role.