What You Need to Know
I’d like to get promoted and have done a lot to be ready for the next assignment. But there are so many others doing the same thing. How do I increase my chances of getting noticed?
Advertising that you want to be promoted is usually unbecoming. On the other hand, being clear about what you want and why you deserve to be promoted is very important, but a subtle approach can also reap rewards. You could, for example:
- find a mentor or sponsor in the organization with whom you can work
- approach your line manager and discuss your development plan in the light of your conviction that you have more to offer the business
- observe those who have been promoted and ask yourself if you’re mirroring similar attitudes and behaviors
Try to become more visible by ensuring that you take the opportunity to mix with decision makers and by sharing stories of your success at appropriate times. Again, don’t make too much of your achievements or you may turn off the very people you need to court.
No matter how hard I work, I feel that I’m buried in my organization in terms of getting visibility. How can I change this?
Often your organizational visibility goes up when you increase your visibility in other arenas. Why not publish articles in trade or professional magazines or accept invitations (or volunteer) to speak at conferences? If you want to raise your visibility closer to home to demonstrate your commitment to the community, you could get involved in local politics. The point is that a nose-to-the-grindstone demeanor isn’t always the best way to win a promotion. Ask yourself what you can do to garner acclaim in your industry or profession.
My organization has dropped from a dozen levels to just a few. Should I forget about becoming a manager here?
It sounds as if you’re working in a flat organization (where there are fewer levels in the hierarchy) or in a matrix organization (where the business is structured according to common activities rather than discrete business units). Project teams are often made up of specialists across a business. In such cases, “promotability” can take on a new meaning as there is often no longer a clear succession route. In such cases, the person who can most successfully lead a team stands out as management material when the time comes to name a new manager. Flatter organizations still have managers, just not as many. Learning to lead teams well is your best path to winning a management job.
What to Do
Winning the next promotion requires, first and foremost, that you think more widely. Being a technical genius or subject matter expert is critical to someone who manages a task or a function, but the traits needed for managing an organization or a business are more broad. Thus, if you choose to pursue this path, you will face a very wide development agenda. Aspects of this include familiarizing yourself with the broader business arena and general management issues, developing social and political skills that enable you to build effective relationships, and finding a personal leadership style that you’re comfortable with and can develop into a distinctive personal “brand” in the long run.
But watch out: The personal skills and attributes that have carried you to the point in your career where you’re looking at a more senior appointment are the very skills and attributes that can sabotage your success at this level. These include having too high a dependence on your specialist expertise, an individualistic approach that differentiates you from your peers, and an inclination to challenge the organizational status quo. In this sense, you might have to let go of what has propelled you so far in order to get further ahead.
Yet, you also need to think ahead in the sense that just getting a management position does not mean that you will succeed. Thus, you need to start now to build the skills that you’ll need as a manager. One way to create a development checklist for yourself is to look at the dominant reasons why so many managers fail. Communications, motivation, trust—these are skills seldom covered on the path to becoming a top-notch accountant, engineer, or transportation specialist.
Decide now that you have to learn more about management areas such as growing interpersonal relationships, meeting business objectives, building a team and adapting to change and transition. The most important of these include the following:
Develop Good Interpersonal Skills
As you progress through your career, a shift occurs in the balance between the expert contribution you make and your ability to build relationships. More senior positions demand a higher level of political and personal sensitivity, because at this level relationships go beyond the organizational setting and are more likely have an impact on the long-term viability of the business. This is so much more than knowing how to make a great presentation to a sales meeting. Good interpersonal relationships begin with a high level of personal authenticity. There’s no substitute for genuine self-confidence; people can generally see through bluff and bluster, so it’s as well to devote personal development time to really know yourself well, understand your values, and create a clear picture of what you want. With this knowledge in place, good communication and an easy manner will follow naturally and authoritatively because it will genuinely reflect who you are.
Meet Business Objectives
How up-to-date is your business acumen? In order to make yourself promotable, not only do you have to meet the objectives of your role, but you have to contribute to the wider business, too. This means showing initiative and taking an interest in areas outside your role boundaries. Being supportive of, and passionate about, the business is a fundamental way to become noticed as someone who could add value at a more senior level. It may be out of your comfort zone to work on projects that deal with organizational functions other than your own, but do it, with passion, if you hope to be seen as one who can manage a business.
Build and Lead Teams
One of the essential skills of a senior executive is the ability to build and lead teams. What’s most important to think about in this regard is that you can learn the skills that most often result in successful team projects. Much of a person’s success in this area depends on his or her ability to communicate clear objectives as well as understanding the skills, motivations, and personal values of those in their team. Relationships must be open with a healthy ebb and flow of feedback to ensure that everyone is aligned with the purpose of the team. Milestones and markers need to be part of the plan so that progress can be monitored and successes celebrated. And there a few joys in business greater than having a group of people share a goal—and succeed!
Learn to Manage Transition and Change
Harvard’s John Kotter wrote an excellent book on leading change. It’s a skill, he says, that too few people have in the business world. Yet, change is the order of the day. Business and organizational models change in response to developments in the market and economy. The ripple effects of these changes are felt throughout the organization and have an impact on everyone. Being able to field such changes and use your knowledge and insight to direct people’s creative energy towards making them a success are valuable attributes of a leader. As soon as you face the reality that change is a permanent fact of organizational life, the sooner you can lead others who would rather entrench themselves in the past. To win the next promotion, you need to show that you’re prepared to keep people motivated and learn from the new experience rather than demonstrate resentfulness or obstinacy. In short, remaining flexible and actively seeking ways of making (sometimes difficult) things happen, keeping people motivated, and learning from the new experience are all-important characteristics of those in the top team. Loyalty and solidarity are values that are prized in cultures that are subject to transition and change.
Build an Effective Network of Champions or Sponsors
People who get ahead in the business world believe in networking. But this is not about cozying up to one senior executive and becoming his or her fan club leader. It’s important to build a robust network of relationships that will support you purely because of your potential and personal integrity. Think about your network and identify role models, potential coaches, and mentors for different aspects of your development plan. As you approach them, be open with your request for assistance but beware of projecting self-interest above the interests of the organization. Frame your request in development terms by stating that you feel you have more to offer the business and would appreciate their guidance. Keep in mind that you are not trying to enlarge your circle of friends, although you probably will make some new friends whenever you network. The main purpose of networking is to identify people who share common interests and concerns about the business and who recognize that the business will grow stronger if your own skills can be developed in alignment with business goals. In this way, networking is always a win-win proposition.
What to Avoid
You Irritate People Who Could Help You
Sometimes, people looking for a move up the career ladder make such a fuss about their ambitions that they make a lot of noise around the people who they think can promote them. This is very irritating and counterproductive. You must keep in mind that your chances at a promotion will be judged on whether it will help or hurt the larger organization and business. Winning the next promotion means projecting a winning personality and avoiding behaviors that will assuredly kill your career.
You’re Not Willing to Change
Unless you’ve been asleep since the 1980s, you’ll know that every major business on the globe has committed to the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). And a central belief of TQM programs is that systems and processes (and products and services) should be considered candidates for continuous change and improvement. It’s sad, then, when someone who wants to be promoted to a higher level of responsibility resists change. The Chinese philosopher, Lao Tzu, said it best: “Resisting change is like holding your breath; if you persist, you die.”
You Ignore Your Team
Organizations and businesses excel based on the performance of many. Jack Welch, alone, did not build today’s powerhouse General Electric, and he would be the first to admit that. It’s tempting to focus on yourself as you look toward your career horizon and plan for your own success. But make no mistake: you’ll be judged on your ability to develop the talent on your team. You won’t succeed by squashing those on your team who also have potential, so you must trust in your own abilities and let your best team members flourish as well. It may seem counterintuitive at times, but the winners picked for the most promotions help others to become winners too.
Where to Learn More
Book:
Karseras, Hugh.
Web Sites:
Monster.com: www.monster.com
The Wall Street Journal’s CareerJournal: www.careerjournal.com
