To succeed today, you need to punch above your weight. In other words, you need to think and perform at a level that is well beyond what your job title would suggest. It’s a sure-fire way to position yourself for advancement and new opportunities.

Punching above your weight is an expression that comes from the sport of boxing. In this sport, fighters are divided into different weight classes, such as heavyweight and bantam. People of the same weight category usually fight each other. Punching above your weight means that you’re fighting at a level above what would be expected of you, either literally or figuratively.

Within your organization, you operate within a specific “weight class,” usually defined by your job title. But you have many awesome opportunities to “punch above your weight” – to do remarkable creative things and gain the attention of executives higher up the food chain.

For upwardly mobile executives, punching above your weight means doing more than is expected of you and contributing more value than your peers think is prudent. If you’re a manager, think like a senior-level executive. If you’re just starting out in your career, take on the mindset of someone two levels above you.

Here are some tips to help you punch above your weight in your career:

Be intensely focused upon your area of expertise. Know more, understand more – become THE go-to expert within your company and the industry or profession in which you work. Many people dilute their impact by trying to be really good at a number of things. But to play at the level that we’re talking about, you need a singular focus and unrelenting passion to pursue it. If people can look at you and say, “He’s the mind mapping guy” or “she’s the process management expert,” then you’re doing it right.

Differentiate your skills and expertise in ways that matter to the senior leaders of your organization. If you’re really good at something that is not a strategic priority for your firm, then you’re in the wrong place.

Use creative thinking and problem solving to stand out in the minds of the people whom you want to influence. Think deeply about the implications of what’s going on in your industry or profession. See connections and trends that others have ignored. Uncover ideas and opportunities that can propel growth in your firm, and you’ll increasingly be viewed as a champion.

Use tools to enhance your efforts and command attention. For example, there are numerous brainstorming apps and hand-held tools that can serve as catalysts to help you develop more creative ideas and solutions. Visual thinking, which includes mind mapping, diagramming and graphic facilitation – is another toolset that can help you organize your thinking, identify missing information, uncover opportunities and make better decisions. Senior executives, who are overwhelmed by too much information and too little clarity, will appreciate your efforts to visually and concisely summarize the organization’s challenges and opportunities.

Ask for informational meetings with executives several levels above you, to learn more about what they do and the challenges they face in their work. This type of intelligence will help you to craft meaningful ideas and solutions. But proceed carefully – some bosses may perceive this type of move as a threat. To minimize this risk, consider using corporate events as a non-threatening opportunity to talk to the people you want to influence.

Start a blog and build a brand for yourself that is focused on your area of passion and expertise. Sharing the way you think online is a powerful way to differentiate yourself and open up your world to a myriad of new opportunities. Just be sure that your blog clearly states that the opinions are strictly your own, and not those of your employer.

Keep this in mind, however

As you brainstorm other ways to punch beyond your weight in your career, keep in mind that your focus should be upon helping others climb higher too, not to step over people on your way up. Unlike boxing, your aim is to make a bigger positive impact with the people who can help you succeed, not to “knock out” your peers.