How do you know if you’re a high performer, or at least perceived as one at your company? Are you in line to get the highest raises available or get that “raise” that trails the inflation rate?

It’s easy to blame someone else if you don’t get the raise and/or promotion you think you deserve. Maybe your boss doesn’t like you, or you’re not her favorite. Or maybe your boss doesn’t like black people. Or could it be that women just don’t get a fair shake at your company?

Here’s the tough pill to swallow—what if it’s you? What if you’re consistently passed up for the top raises and promotions because you’re simply not a high performer? How would you know? Early in my career I was a business analyst with Deloitte Consulting and walking in the door I just knew I was a high performer. Filled with all the confidence from a strong Ivy League education and success at every step to date, clearly I was going to take the firm by storm. Then my first project review came. It was a crushing blow to my ego. Partners questioned my work ethic. They wondered if I had what it took to be successful. And they gave me a few more clues that I wasn’t considered a high performer: they repeated some phrases I had said during my project, like “I’ll finish this tomorrow” or “It wasn’t my fault.” After that, my attitude changed.

If you hear yourself saying these things then you might not be considered a high performer (HP):

• “I’ll finish this tomorrow.” HPs finish it TODAY.
• “It wasn’t my fault.” It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. HPs fix it.
• “I don’t want to rock the boat.” HPs intentionally rock the boat.
• “I’m on my break.” HPs: “What break?”
• “I can’t believe the boss asked me to do this at 4pm on a Friday.” HPs: “The faster I finish, the faster I can head out.”

And the clearest indication that you’re probably not considered a high performer, you say this:

• “It’s not my job.” If you say it or even think it, you’re not a high performer.

Since those early career days, I’ve managed many people and teams at startups and Fortune 500 companies and here’s the truth: high performance is about attitude. If you commit to doing whatever you can for the business to succeed, then you’re on your way to being a high performer. When your boss inevitably asks you to complete a project on Friday afternoon, you respond with a smile—and keep your complaints to yourself. Pick up the slack for a colleague who is on vacation, or ask for more work because you’ve completed yours. That kind of attitude will improve your work in both perception and reality. After my initial poor review, I had to prove they didn’t make a mistake by hiring me. Instead of thinking about myself, I focused on what the client or the firm needed—and it worked. By the end of the year I was ranked as the #2 analyst in our office. The following year, I ranked #1. That early lesson of failure has carried me ever since and I’d like to think I’m doing fairly well.

You can be a high performer. First, talk to your manager. Ask what you can do to be successful and LISTEN to the response. Get an assessment of where you are. Are you meeting goals? Are you improving? Checking in periodically is a way to plant the idea into your manager’s head that you’re meeting (or exceeding) expectations and expect to be paid accordingly. Yes, you’re setting up your manager to have no choice but to meet your salary request come performance review time. Also, you will create an ally in your quest to get promoted as your manager would then be able to champion you to other internal decision-makers.

Adjusting your attitude is the best way to change your results. Look in the mirror. Talk to your manager. Decide to be a high performer and that’s what you’ll become.