Want to move up the corporate ladder? Then you’ll
need to step up.
“John” is a client of mine who was feeling
unchallenged, undervalued, and increasingly
frustrated in his job. He was a mid-level manager
who’d been at the company for two years, received
successful performance appraisals, but wasn’t
getting the promotion he desired and knew he
deserved.
His frustration is common. Moving up the chain of
command within your current company is one of the
hardest things to do. The reason is that senior
managers already physically see you in your current
role, performing your day-to-day responsibilities.
They do not “see” you in that higher level role,
successfully managing those increased challenges,
risks and roadblocks. And no, it’s not a given that
if you’re successful in your current position that
you’ll be successful at a higher level position.
So how do you prove that you can do the job
before you get the job?
First, you’ll need to understand which skills are
required in that new position. Talk to other
department and senior managers to find out. For
example, if you want to move from Account Manager to
Sr. Account Manager, then you may find out the
position requires someone with a proven track record
in managing client expectations and leading teams.
Or, if you want to transition from a Sales Manager
to the VP of Sales & Marketing, you may find the
company is looking for a strategic thinker who can
generate revenue and influence senior management.
If you feel that you have the right skills and
qualifications to be successful in the new role,
then take an assessment of your current projects and
teams that you’re leading. Are they allowing you to
gain credibility with senior managers? Are they
allowing you to get the “big results” that you need
to get noticed?
If not, then you’ll need to step up and volunteer
for projects that do. Usually, these are projects
that generate revenue, streamline costs, or give the
company a competitive edge in the market. Be
proactive and go after those projects that are
valued by company leaders where you can flex your
muscles, showcase your strengths, and demonstrate
that you’re the right person for the job.
The next step key is to be visible among senior
managers. You want to be seen and heard by those
managers, or career influencers who could
praise your work to other senior managers, promote
you, or influence others to promote you.
Send a crystal clear message that you have the right
skills and experience for that higher level
position. Promote your project teams, key
successes, and the benefits that your projects are
bringing to the company in your status updates,
project reports, and presentations to staff and
senior managers. You should also consider
volunteering to write an article for the company
newsletter, hosting a webinar, or submitting content
to your company’s website or blog.
My client John stepped up and volunteered for a
highly valued and highly visible project, and two
days later the project leader transferred to a
different project. John quickly stepped up again to
take on the role of project leader. This gave him
tremendous opportunities for increased exposure and
communication to senior leaders.
In less than one month, John stepped up again to
support two additional high profile projects. Not
only is he now in prime position for a promotion,
but he is also feeling more satisfied, more
energized, and more respected in his career than he
has in years.
I’ve personally stepped up in my own career several
times with remarkable success. Once, when the
department I was working in shut down the marketing
line of service along with two projects I was
leading, my manager asked me if I wanted to lead a
high profile technical project. At the time,
I didn’t have any experience in technical
leadership. I remember being terrified, but I knew
the reward could be huge. So I stepped up and
within one year I received a promotion as well as a
22-percent increase in salary!
Successful professionals look for opportunities to
step up and take on higher-level responsibilities
that are valued by company leaders. Yes, there is
risk involved, but if you don’t step up and prove
yourself, then ten years from now you’re likely to
be in the same job role with the same
responsibilities and the same salary that you have
today. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with that
if this is where you want to be. But, if you want
more responsibility, more leadership opportunities
and a beefier paycheck – you’ll need to take the
first step.
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