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The goal of most people in the corporate world is to get promoted. Along with that promotion is usually personal growth, more responsibility, and increased pay. But, what happens if you find yourself promoted too soon?
There could be many reasons that you receive a promotion. Someone more senior could have left -- either the team or the company. You could have also pushed for it with your leaders and everything aligned for them to promote you. You may have even received a promotion that you weren't expecting.
When you receive a promotion when you are ready for it, it can be a great experience. But, when you are promoted early, it can lead to possible complications. Check out Episode 26 - Should You Be Promoted for insights into whether you are ready for a promotion or not.
The first complication is not having the necessary skills to perform the new role. Often promotions build on the skills you've already been using but there are additional new skills that you will need to develop. If you are promoted early, you may not have had the time to build those new skills. The more advanced your position, the more you are expected to just "figure it out". As soon as you are notified of your promotion, you should begin working on those skills in whatever form of learning works for you best.
Finding training courses for the more technical skills should be fairly straightforward. When it comes to the soft skills, it may be time to reach out to your mentors or your network to find someone who can provide the insights you need to be successful.
Another complication could be strife within your team. If there is someone else on your team that was angling for the same promotion, they may be resentful if you receive a promotion over them. This may make working with them difficult, especially if you now have a position of authority over them. If you foresee this as being problematic, you will need to work to build -- or rebuild -- that relationship.
If this leadership position is a new type of role for you, you may not be well positioned to navigate these types of relationship problems. Lean on your leader and your human resources department for insights into how to best smooth this rocky situation.
If you feel undeserving of the promotion, you may have a sense of Imposter Syndrome. This complication can completely undermine your ability to be successful in your new role and possibly even future roles. Imposter Syndrome as a topic is very large and I should probably do a future episode on the subject, but the number one way to combat it is to build your confidence.
You probably just said, "That's easier said than done". Confidence comes from skill and experience and support. I've already covered how to build the skills required of your new role. And your mentors, network, leaders, and HR should offer the support you need. The only remaining component is experience and the only way to gain that is to put yourself out there. Go back and review Episode 051 - Success or Failure that talks about how taking action and building on small successes can lead to much greater success. This success will build your confidence and dispel the feeling of Imposter Syndrome.
The final complication is more of a factor of the environment that we currently face. There are many companies that are looking for ways to cut costs or increase profits and one avenue that they pursue to achieve that goal is to reduce their workforce through some sort of layoff. Being promoted early could put you at higher risk of being selected for any pending layoff. With an early promotion, you will be one of the lower performers at your new level until you have addressed the other potential complications. Lower performance combined with higher pay is usually the attributes that lead to selection.
There is no easy solution to this complication because it is more of a factor of the situation. The best you can do is to work quickly to bring your level of performance up to the standards of the role.
If you've listened to most of the other episodes of this podcast, I talk about different things you can focus on that will make you more promotable. You should be prepared with the tools you need so that any promotion does not include any of the above complications.
If you want to be sure to get new episodes when they are released, go to https://ManagingACareer.com/follow to find all of my social media links.
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I was reading an article on LinkedIn by Christine Laperriere that was titled "How to get on the AAA team". This article talks about how a new leader could build a AAA team - a team with the three A's: Accountability, Autonomy, and Authority. From a leader perspective, it's important to build a team that everyone wants to be on, but what about you as an individual, if you are a AAA talent, you can help your leader attract other AAA talent to your team. In this week's episode, I'm going to talk about what it takes for you to become a AAA talent
Accountability is about taking responsibility for your actions and owning the results of them. But beyond just YOUR actions, if you want to stand out, you need to have a sense of ownership for the results of your project and team.
In order to build accountability, start with fulfilling your commitments. If you are assigned a task, see it through to the end. Be clear about the deadlines and raise concerns when they are at risk. Be proactive in clearing roadblocks, the earlier you can clear them, the better. When completing a task, don't just do the bare minimum, but complete your work with the highest quality.
If, in completing your work, you make mistakes, don't be afraid to own them. Go back to Episode 055 - Owning Your Mistakes and review the guidance there.
Once your commitments have been met, you should also look to help your team complete their tasks as much as is within your ability. Do as much as you can to elevate the quality of the team.
When your leader knows that, no matter what, you get stuff done with very little of their oversight, you build their trust. If you consistently deliver their trust will grow. Bringing that accountability to the rest of the team will set a good example and show your leadership skills.
Trust leads to the next A, Autonomy. Once you have proven that you are accountable, your leader will allow you to be more independent and own more decisions. When you are not autonomous, your assignments will sound like a list of tasks to complete - do this, do that. But, as you gain autonomy, your assignments will be less defined and sound more like desired results with a lot of the "how to get there" being left up to you.
To prepare yourself for more and more autonomy, start by mastering the core skills of your field. This knowledge and understanding will provide confidence as you make decisions. Next, work to understand how your tasks fit into the bigger picture. How do the things you are assigned lead to results in alignment with your team's goals?
With a better understanding of the mission of the team, you should begin to understand the priorities of your various tasks. As you complete a task, if you know where that task is leading, start working on the next task without being told. By taking initiative to do the "right" thing next, you'll build additional trust with your leader.
The last thing to work on to build more autonomy is to showcase your decision making skills. When your leader has given you a level of autonomy, they expect you to make some decisions without their input, but larger decisions they may still want to be involved in, at least initially. Instead of bringing the problem to them, bring the problem as well as the solution you would take. By showing them that you would make an acceptable decision, they will let you own larger and larger decisions leading to the final A, Authority.
Authority is the power to make decisions that impact your projects and your team, not just your assigned tasks. You grow your authority by strengthening your relationships with your extended team and sharing what you've learned as you've progressed from an A talent to a AAA talent. This builds credibility such that, not only will you gain trust with your leader, but you will gain trust with the rest of your team. When your team trusts and supports you and you communicate your decisions clearly, your decisions will be followed and your authority will grow.
Taking the steps needed to transform into a AAA talent, will help you grow not just as an individual but as a leader and a teammate that other AAA talent will gravitate towards. Helping your leader build a AAA team reinforces the trust you've gained and will put you on a fast track to advancement.
Do you have questions or topics that you would like me to cover on a future episode? If so, go to the ManagingACareer.com website and submit them via the Contact Form. I would love to be able to help you with your career questions.
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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The past few weeks, several of us at my job have been working on a slide deck that will be presented to an executive that is a few levels above mine. The final deck is just three slides, but it took a lot of time to get those three slides nailed down to the ideal content. Most of the time was spent on simplifying the content to only the information that the executive would actually care about and refining the slide design to be more visually focused.
For a deck to only be three slides but for it to take a few weeks to put together might seem like a really long time, but when you are communicating with your leaders, regardless of whether it's your immediate manager or the CEO of the company, it's important to get the message right. Leaders are responsible for teams of people usually spread across several different projects. The higher in the organization, the more teams and the more projects that the leader is responsible for. They usually don't have the attention for nor the time for minutiae.
What this means for you, is that you should focus on providing just enough context for the leader to know the situation and then provide a lens into the most relevant information for them to provide the solution or to make the decision you need them to make. Besides guiding your leader to the topic at hand, a well-crafted presentation will make you seem smart and aware and "leaderly" in the mind of your leader; all aspects that can put you on the fast track to advancement.
Peeling back the layers a little more, what actually makes a well-crafted presentation? It begins with the right structure. Since your leader has limited time, it's important to get to the point quickly. A good structure that maximizes focus with minimal content is the Goal / Problem / Solution structure. This is basically the structure we took with our three slide presentation that we've been working on.
The Goal should set the context of the meeting. Why is this meeting on your leader's calendar -- as opposed to being an email or being a meeting with one of their direct reports? What is the outcome that you are trying to achieve? Ideally, this message can be condensed to a single slide.
The Problem should be where you drive their attention to the specific area that you need assistance with. This is an area that I struggle with because I'm in an analytical field where accuracy and completeness are important. But, when dealing with an executive, too much detail just becomes noise. If you feel that you really must include everything, move it to a back-up slide that isn't part of the core presentation. If there are details that your leader needs that you haven't provided, you can share the content from the backup slide or speak to it directly.
The last area should propose a Solution to your problem. Tell your leader what answer you want them to give you. If you've done all of the leg work and justified your case, your leader will likely agree and send you on your way. If they have insights that you aren't privy to or if your case isn't strong, they may send you back to do more research into possible solutions or they may tell you "no".
I mentioned that one of the other things we spent time on was making the presentation more visual. There's that old adage that a picture is worth a thousand words, and the same applies in a presentation. If you've spent a lot of time simplifying the message, particularly such that the problem is boiled down to just the information relevant to the decision you need the executive to make, using a more visual representation instead of just a dump of text allows you to hint to all of the information that was culled. It leads the audience to the fact that there is more there if they need it.
Beyond just making a good presentation and stating your case, there are some other things you can do to increase your chances of a successful request. The first is practice your presentation. The easiest way to combat nervousness -- either from just presenting in general or from addressing senior leadership -- is to just be so comfortable with your content that you can fall back to that to settle your nerves.
The second thing you can do is get people on your side. If you prepare others who will be in room, especially if they have the trust of the leader you will be presenting to, and convince them that your solution is the ideal choice, they will be able to support you during the presentation and provide additional context when the leader asks questions. They can also offer insights into the quality of your presentation before you actually present it.
Regardless of whether you are making a request of your direct manager or the head of the company or anywhere in between, making a clear, concise presentation not only has a higher chance of getting the result that you are going for, but it gives you an opportunity to stand out and be memorable. When you are brought up as a promotion candidate, being remembered -- especially positively -- will make your managers case much easier leading to faster promotions.
If you find the content of the Managing A Career podcast beneficial, share it with your friends and coworkers. And to help me spread the work, go to your podcast platform of choice and leave me a review. Reviews by people like you helps other learn about the value that my podcast provides and helps me grow my audience.
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I was reading through LinkedIn the other day and there was a post by Jason Feifer, the editor in chief of Entrepreneur magazine, where he had made a mistake but owning up to it and correcting the issue lead to an overall great outcome. That post inspired this podcast episode.
It can be scary when you make a mistake. Depending on how impactful that mistake is, there is always the possibility of severe repercussions. If you are insecure or unconfident, your first reaction may be to try to hide or cover up the mistake. But, that may actually make the situation worse.
So, what SHOULD you do when you make a mistake?
The first thing you should do is acknowledge that you made a mistake. This doesn't have to be an overly complex statement, just state what you did wrong and don't try to deflect blame to others.
Next, explain the situation that lead to the mistake. This isn't an opportunity to make excuses. If possible, offer potential solutions so that the mistake can be avoided in the future. Even if you don't have a solution, by describing the root cause, your team will have the information they need to make any required adjustments.
After acknowledging your mistake and explaining the situation, the next thing you should do is apologize. Be clear and genuine and show that the negative results were not intentional.
Next, you should address the impact your mistake has had and how you are mitigating that impact. What steps have you taken so far to correct it? How have those steps improved the situation? What steps will you be taking in the future?
The last thing you should do when you make a mistake is reflect on the situation and determine what you can learn from it. In your next one-on-one or coaching session, be sure to bring it up to get insights from your leaders and mentors on how this situation can lead to personal growth.
If you take those steps to address your mistakes, you will find that once the frustration with the immediate situation has passed, owning your mistake will lead to a greater sense of trust between you and your team. The demonstration of accountability and the willingness to learn and grow allows the team to know that you are team-focused and not self-serving. This can build credibility with the team. If you have a position of leadership, it sets a positive example and encourages the team to be more transparent.
One thing that WON'T be a mistake is engaging with a career coach the help you learn and grow as you advance your career. Reach out to me via the contact form on the ManagingACareer.com website. I will arrange an introductory session where we can talk about your career goals and how I can help. If we are a good fit, we can schedule regular coaching sessions or I can refer you to other coaches I know that may suit your needs.
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I focus a lot on the Individual Development Plan or IDP as a tool for managing your career. As a singular document, it encapsulates where you want your career to go and the steps it will take to get there. If you need to review the IDP, refer back to Episodes 036 through 040 where I break down each section. But if you are unsure of what that end goal should be, understanding your WHY may help you resolve that problem.
Have you ever spent time of self-reflection on your motivations for choosing the work that you do? To determine what your primary motivator is, think back to moments in your career when you felt the best. What were you doing at the time? What had you just achieved? Why was that the specific time that mattered most?
When I talk about motivation, I'm not referring to being able to pay for food, shelter, and basic necessities -- essentially anything required to support your family. Those things are all important but those needs could be met by various jobs. What is it about your current field that keeps you going? Let's take a look at several common motivators.
Financial - One possible motivator is financial. Beyond just meeting your basic needs, those that are financially motivated choose a career based on its potential for higher levels of income.
Altruistic - Some people are motivated by the impact their work has on the world. Those that choose humanitarian or environmentally focused careers or that work for socially conscious companies are likely motivated by altruistic impact.
Intellectual - If you enjoy the quest for knowledge or the challenge of solving complex problems, you might be intellectually motivated. Classic examples of this type of motivation are scientific and engineering focused careers.
Self-Fulfillment - Some people are motivated when their work aligns with their personal interests. If you find joy and your work aligns with your passions, then personal fulfillment could be the source of your motivation.
Social - When the relationship and comradery you have with your coworkers or being able to engage with customers is what keeps you going, you are socially motivated.
Advancement - The final form of motivation that I want to cover is that of career advancement. Some people are motivated by their career growth and the chase of higher and higher titles.
Regardless of whether you are Financially, Altruistically, Intellectually, Self-Fulfillment, Socially, or Advancement motivated, does your role provide you with opportunities to meet your motivations? What about the company or team that you work on? Based on the typical progression in your job at your company, will you continue to build on the aspects that bring you career satisfaction?
If the answer to any of those questions is no, you may want to consider a transition to something else. That doesn't necessarily mean that you need to quit your job or leave your current company, but finding a role that aligns with your WHY will allow you to enjoy your work more.
For example, if you are motivated by social engagement it may just be that your current team is geographically dispersed and you may need to transfer to a team that is all located in the same city. If you are intellectually motivated but have been in the same position for several years, you may no longer be challenged by the problems you face and you just need to work with your leader on being assigned to a project that leverages new technologies or techniques. However, if you are altruistically motivated and want to improve the environment, that may mean switching to a company that better meets that mission.
Regardless of your motivation, if you are struggling deciding on your career vision, have a conversation with your manager, a mentor, or a trusted peer and explain to them what motivates you and how your current role does or does not satisfy that. They can help brainstorm a career path that helps you find fulfillment. Use this information to revisit your IDP and put a plan in place that will get you there.
I hope that this episode has helped you think about your WHY and how a career in alignment with it will give you a better sense of success for whatever success means to you. If you need someone to help define a career roadmap that helps bring you a higher level of enjoyment, I'm available for career coaching. If you reach out to me via the contact form on the ManagingACareer.com website, I will arrange an introductory session where we can talk about your career goals. If we are a good fit, we can set up regular coaching sessions or I can refer you to other coaches that may suit your needs.
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There is a lot of uncertainty in the job market right now with so many news stories talking about this company or that company laying of large portions of their workforce. If you've been following the guidance that I've shared in the various episodes of this podcast, you've likely done all within your power to keep your name off of "the list", but sometimes, no matter what you do, you could find yourself impacted by a layoff.
When you lose your job, it's ok to have feelings. Acknowledge them. Work through them. Find support for them. In Episode 043 - Mental Health and You, I cover several resources and strategies that may help you in this situation. Additionally, most companies offer counselling services to those affected by a layoff; take advantage of them if you need them. If you need an escape, spend a few days taking a mental vacation so that you can return refreshed and able to focus on finding new employment.
Once you have recovered from the initial shock, the next phase is to address short-term needs. Begin by understanding what, if any, severance is offered -- not just monetary, but how long will your health insurance continue, what sort of job placement assistance will be offered, etc. Additionally, apply for any government unemployment benefits as soon as possible. It usually takes time for those processes to complete, so starting early ensure a minimal gap before they begin.
Once your immediate personal needs have been addressed, the next steps are to prepare for the upcoming job search. If you are like most people, you haven't kept your resume up to date because there wasn't a need. Take some time to review and update it. If you were offered job placement assistance as part of your severance package, that usually includes someone available to help revise your resume. Don't forget to review and update any online profiles such as LinkedIn or job boards as well.
Before you begin the actual job search, it's a good time to reflect on WHY you were let go. Why were you selected instead of your peers? What skills should you work on while you look for a job? This is also a good time to look at new skills that you can develop that can open up additional options for potential jobs. Use your time away from the daily grind to focus on learning and growth.
In Episode 029 - Building a Network, I had covered how to expand your network. You don't build a network overnight, but if you've spent time building a strong network, now is the perfect time to take advantage of it. As a personal anecdote, other than my very first job in high school, every job I've ever had can be traced back to my network in some capacity. Reach out to those that you know to see if they have leads and connections on a new job.
At this point, you are ready to begin the actual search. Determine what your ideal situation will be and target jobs that meet that criteria. Will you look for a similar job to the one you had or will you leverage new skills that you are building to transition to a different type of job? Would you be open to considering a freelance or contractor position? Is this a good time to consider a management position? Early in your job search, it's ok to be selective. But the longer the search goes, the more flexible you may need to be, based on your personal situation.
Job hunting can be trying and stressful. It is good to have someone on your side during this process. Don't be afraid to engage a personal Mentor or a Career Coach to help you with the process. They can help you review your plan and practice interview techniques so that you are better positioned to land the job that you want. There may even be instances where you will want to use a Placement Firm to aid your search -- for instance, many executive positions are not listed on the public job boards and going through a placement firm can get you access to that type of position.
If you treat your search as your job and track your progress like a project, you can distance yourself from negative emotions and keep the focus on the goal. Use the lay off as an opportunity for personal growth. And if you find you need a Career Coach, reach out to my via the ManagingACareer.com contact form. I will schedule an introductory session where we can talk about your goals. If we're a good fit, we can set up regular coaching or I can refer you to other coaches I know that may suit your needs.
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Manager, Leader, Mentor, Coach; all four can help you advance your career. This week, we take a look at each role and how each one can help you in your quest for a promotion.
At the most simplistic level, the roles can be summarized as:
A Manager tells you want to do. A Leader enables you so that you can do it. A Mentor shows you how to do it. And a coach changes the way you think about it.Your manager is responsible for what projects you work on. It's important to have a manager that recognizes both your strengths as well as what skills you need to develop. If they take these things into account when giving you assignments, they can ensure that you are successful while still growing as an individual. And, of course, they are ultimately the decider on whether you are considered for a promotion. With that much control over your activities, you don't need to be best friends with your manager, but you certainly need to build a positive relationship with them.
A leader is someone who inspires and motivates the team. In Episode 016 - What Does It Mean To Be A Leader, I described a leader as someone who enables their team to do MORE. A good leader can remove impediments and provide you with the tools and resources you need to complete your tasks. Leadership can come from people in official leadership positions or from peers that lead informally. Regardless of the source, a good leader will put you in the best position for success.
A mentor is someone -- sometimes on your team, but not always -- that acts as a teacher. Episode 003 - Mentoring goes into types of mentoring in more detail When you are learning a new skill or working in a new company, having a mentor to show you the ropes can help you learn skills faster but also the way to apply those skills in line with how the company values them.
The final role that can help you advance your career is a coach. The role of the coach is to challenge your thinking and get you to look at things from a new angle or with a different mindset. Where leaders and mentors are focused on the shorter term tasks, coaches are looking towards the horizon. A good coach will help you set long term career goals and help you put a plan in place to achieve those goals. Where the mentor is focused on skills and tools that address your current assignments, a coach will focus on skills and tools that will help you grow as an individual. Often, a coach will come from outside of your organization where they will not be restricted in their thinking by the limits and attitudes of everyone else.
If you're lucky, you may find one person that serves all four roles, but that will be rare. More often than not, you will need to find two or three different people to fill them. Managers and Leaders, by their nature, will be people within your team or organization. Mentors and coaches may come from anywhere -- within your company or even externally.
When looking for a mentor or coach, there are several places that you can look.
First, look to more senior or longer tenured members of your team. Even if they are not interested or if they don't feel like a good fit for you specifically, you can leverage their connections to find other candidates. Another source for finding mentors and coaches is to reach out to your network and professional organizations. Ask your personal connections if there is someone that can and will mentor you or if they know someone who will. If you have access to a formal network such as an alumni network of your school or an industry association, they will usually have matching services that will put you in touch with potential mentors and coaches. Lastly, look towards professionals. There are professional coaches that can help with various aspects of your professional career. Whether technical skills or soft skills, look for a coach that is experienced in the areas that you wish to develop.Managers, Leaders, Mentors, and Coaches. Find people who will be on your side and can help you get ahead. Having several people in your cheering section will give you more confidence and support as you continue your career.
In the Managing A Career podcast, I cover short-form topics to challenge your thinking about career advancement. If you are interested in professional coaching, reach out to me via the contact form on the ManagingACareer.com website. I will schedule an introductory session where we can talk about your coaching goals. If we're a good fit, we can set up regular coaching or I can refer you to other coaches I know that may suit your needs.
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The other day, while browsing Facebook, a quote appeared on my feed that I found very inspiring. "The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action" - Alexander Graham Bell. This week, I want to break down why I find this quote so inspiring.
In general, I consider myself a fairly successful person. But most of that success has come from not being afraid of the results and just TRYING…..or using the language of the quote, taking action.
If you are looking to make progress -- on anything -- you can sit an analyze (very likely over analyze), or you can take action. Even when that effort does not produce the desired results, it still provides learnings and guidance for how to refine your approach and take additional action. Regardless of the results, taking action puts you closer to your goal.
In addition to the aspect of progress, taking action also helps resolve fear. Most fear comes from the unknown. Each time you take action, you become more comfortable and familiar with the situation. This results in eliminating doubt and transitioning the unknown that you fear to the known that you can overcome.
The final reason that taking action should be inspiring is the snowball effect. Taking small action leads to small wins. Small wins helps build confidence and momentum leading to bigger actions and bigger wins. Over time, those early small actions have led to exponentially bigger and bigger success.
To reiterate the quote from Alexander Graham Bell, "The only difference between success and failure is the ability to take action." Making progress, removing fear, and exponential momentum all leads to success….because you took action.
If you, like me, find this inspiring, the next question is how can you apply this to your career? I stress in the intro and outro of this podcast that taking control of your career is entirely up to you because no one else will do it for you. And part of taking control is to consider your situation and take action to move your career forward.
In previous episodes, I've covered the Individual Development Plan. If you need a refresher on the IDP, a good place to start is Episodes 036 though 040 where I introduce the IDP and then proceed go through the process of creating one. After following the IDP Process, you should have created an Action Plan. If you find yourself struggling to make progress, find the simplest task in the plan and focus on completing it. Let this small action build to others and clarify the unknown.
In addition to the Action Plan, the IDP includes a Successes section. When you find yourself stuck, reflect on your accomplishments. Remember how completing those actions made you feel. Think about how you may have been unsure before you started the task, but once you took action, it built until you completed it.
If taking on tasks from your Action Plan and reviewing your Successes doesn't inspire you to move forward, seek out a mentor, coach, or trusted leader that can provide the motivation that helps you break through and resume career progress.
When you are ready to take action towards advancing your career, go to ManagingACareer.com and request a free IDP Template. The IDP provides a framework for ensuring that the actions you take are in alignment with your career goals and the difference between career success and career failure is taking action that moves you one step closer to your goals.
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If you regularly listen to my podcast, it's either because you know me personally and want to help me out (thanks, I appreciate it) or because you found me because you are looking for advice on how to position yourself for a promotion. I hope that you find my advice targeted and actionable while being presented with simple clarity.
But, I'll also be the first to tell you that you should listen to multiple people and synthesize your own plan about the best course forward because no one else lives in YOUR personal situation. The advice on my podcast comes from my personal experience or from conversations I've had with others that I have either worked with or lead. Even when inspired from another source, I still try to put my own spin on the content. But the factors that come into play in your life may not line up with my suggestions because they have been filtered through my lens and generalized for a wider audience.
There are quite a few famous names such as COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg, author Brene Brown, entrepreneur Seth Godin, or several other authors, coaches, or executives that you can follow, and if their approach speaks to you, you should certainly do so. But, this week, I wanted to highlight several less well-known public voices that you might also want to follow to hear different takes on similar topics. Combining what you learn from me as well as any of these other people can help you figure out the best option for your personal circumstances.
The first voice I want to mention is Jackie Simon of Jackie Simon Coaching. I mentioned her in Episode 012 - Receiving Effective Feedback as that episode was inspired by one of her posts. Jackie posts daily on LinkedIn with information targeted at people leaders, but as evidenced by my podcast episode, you can extrapolate the information to people of all levels. I find her posts to be inspirational driving me to want to be a better leader for my team.
The next person that I follow is Jayme Edwards from Healthy Software Developer. Jayme is someone that I actually know personally and respect highly. He and I worked together for several years. Jayme's podcast and YouTube content is targeted toward helping software developers maintain a healthy work life balance driven by a lot of personal stories. But, I would argue that his content applies to ANYONE because work life balance is crucial for everyone.
For those in a position of leadership with a goal of reaching the executive level, take a look at the content of Ethan Evans of EthanEvans.com. Ethan is a former VP from Amazon who offers deep knowledge of what it takes to move into the executive ranks. Learning from someone who has been there before, especially in such a challenging environment, is extremely beneficial. If his more direct style is agreeable to you, I can personally recommend his courses as I've paid for some with my own money and gained a lot of value from them. Ethan also have a newsletter that offers insightful answers to questions from his followers.
Wes Kao, the co-founder of Maven, posts on LinkedIn and offers a valuable newsletter at WesKao.com. She offers insights on how to build a positive relationship with your manager in order to gain more opportunities and build a successful career.
The last voice that I want to highlight is Randy Mahoney, Jr with his Work With Purpose podcast. Randy releases episodes of his podcast once a month with information targeted at job seekers looking for insights into how to stand out during the job application process.
Now, you may be wondering something along the lines of "these people are your competition, why are you telling us about them?" And the answer to that is the same thing I would say if there were one available promotion and someone else I knew was also up for that same promotion. One of the best signs of a good leader is how they lift up those around them. I alluded to that same idea in Episode 016 - What Does It Mean To Be A Leader? In that episode, I defined leadership as "enabling your team to do more". If you spend most of your time pushing your competition down, it makes you look petty and small. But if you spend time lifting those around you up, you show leadership and foster an environment where you can build a strong network.
Be sure to check the page for this episode for links to all of the people mentioned. Also, I'm always looking for other people to follow to round out MY personal approach, so if there someone that you follow that I haven't mentioned, please either send it to me directly via the contact form on my website ManagingACareer.com or better yet, post it in the community so that others can benefit.
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In Episode 001, I touched on the subject of Higher Level Tasks. In that episode, I talked about how you can position yourself for advancement by transitioning from process oriented tasks to higher-level tasks that leverage more discretion and judgement. This week, we'll revisit that topic and discuss additional strategies for making this transition.
Process oriented tasks are those that follow a standard flow and can be done more through rote action than through personal agency. Higher-level tasks are often unique and require more understanding and experience to resolve. These types of tasks usually provide more value to the organization leading to additional responsibilities and, eventually, a coveted promotion.
Previously, I offered several methods you could use to showcase your creativity, problem solving, and decision making skills. These included optimizing processes that you owned and volunteering to take work from senior members of your team. This week, I'll cover some additional options for stepping into higher-level tasks.
Understanding the BIG picture
Higher-level tasks are often focused on decisions that move the organization forward. Having an understanding of the values of the company and its leadership, allows you to align your decisions with them. So, how do you go about learning about other areas of the business?
First, you can pay attention during organization-wide meetings. During these types of meetings, they will often talk about projects that are important or that have a high, cross-departmental impact. This will give you insight into what ideas and initiatives you could champion in your area that would build on those important projects.
Next, look for cross-functional teams that give you exposure to people in other areas. Leverage those teams to build your relationships and expand your network. Schedule sessions with these new contacts to discuss what they are working on and how that relates to your work.
Lastly, keep up with trends in your industry. Dedicate time each week to read up on everything related to your industry and competitors. Are there new approaches or new technologies that you can bring to your organization?
Strategic Thinking
Once you've built an understanding of the big picture, you'll be better positioned to develop your strategic thinking skills. There are a few exercises you can undertake that will take your understanding of the big picture and use that to think strategically.
First, practice Critical Analysis of your existing work. Challenge the assumptions underlying each decision. Use techniques like the "Five Whys" to get to the actual root of them. Ask probing questions to understand why those assumptions are believed and look for evidence that those assumptions are still valid or if they need to be changed. When you determine that the assumptions are incorrect, analyze how that changes the original decision.
Next, leverage Systems Thinking. With each problem that you face, focus on the interconnections between the different systems involved in the problem. The interconnections will be where changes will have the biggest impact. Start by understanding the system at the highest levels and spiral down to lower and lower levels looking for areas where you can have the highest impact.
Finally conduct Scenario Planning exercises. Using the knowledge of the industry trends, play "what if" to see how those trends could be beneficial or detrimental to your company. What are some changes you could champion that would turn negative trends to your favor? How would that impact your current projects? What if your competitor is in a better position to take advantage of these trends?
By understanding the big picture and utilizing strategic thinking, you will be showing your ability to handle higher-level tasks. When you have your one-on-one meetings with your leaders, be sure to highlight how you have continued to grow and that you are interested in taking on additional responsibility and advancing your career.
Is there something that you would like for me to cover on a future episode? If so, go to the ManagingACareer.com website and drop me a note via the Contact Form. I'll do my best to schedule that topic quickly.
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Early in your career, advancement is generally easier and is just a matter of doing "more"……more tasks, bigger tasks, more responsibility. But, transitioning to senior levels may require a different approach - being more innovative. Senior members of the team are usually expected to bring new solutions, approaches, and ideas to the problems the team tackles. These expectations can best be met by those on the team that are the most innovative.
Innovative solutions can often lead to improved efficiencies, reduced costs, or new product lines. Before we look at some techniques that could help you be more innovative, let's talk about some of the benefits of adopting this mindset.
Opportunities to lead - those who provide thought leadership are often the ones given the chance to lead the efforts to implement those ideas. Demonstrates value - those who provide the most value are often promoted fastest; by being the one to solve difficult problems, you can give yourself an edge. Drives learning - innovation requires learning new skills and staying abreast of advancements in your field. Inspire teammates - by facing difficult problems with curiosity and determination in order to find a solution, others on the team will follow suit resulting in an elevation of the capabilities of the team.With some of the key benefits outlined, we turn towards some techniques that you can leverage to encourage more innovative thinking. Some of these techniques will work better in person, but several of them can be used in a remote setting, so regardless of whether your company has deemed there to be a Return To Office, you can still find ways to be innovative.
Host brainstorming sessions - whether in-person or virtual, hold sessions where anything and everything is considered a viable solution. Spend the first half of the session just listing out possible solutions, regardless of how absurd the idea seems. Then, as new ideas slow, transition to analyzing each idea. Don't consider why an idea WON'T work until every idea has been reviewed as to why it WOULD work. This will ensure that each idea has had adequate consideration and not dismissed unfairly. Bring together cross-functional teams - by working with people in other areas, you may be able to find parallels within their respective fields that can be applied in novel ways to your problem. Additionally, it can help you strengthen your network making it easier to implement the solution once identified. Schedule "thinking" time - one way to foster innovation is to schedule regular time on your calendar to just sit and think. During this scheduled time, turn off all distractions and if possible, get away from your normal workstation. Innovating is a skill and you build skill through repetition and practice. By scheduling recurring time to just think, over time, you'll find that you are able to envision ideas and solutions with less and less effort. Create prototypes - prototypes allow you to test aspects of an idea without focusing on a complete solution. Proving smaller complex pieces reduces the overall risk of adopting an unfamiliar approach and allows the cycle of innovation to proceed faster.Regardless of the techniques you use, there are several tools that can aid you as you work on ideas.
Whiteboards - whiteboards are one of my favorite tools because they allow you to capture notes or quickly edit as you think through ideas. Using multiple colored pens provide simple ways to categorize your notes or to make important parts stand out. Idea prompts - There are numerous apps and websites that will generate random words or random prompts. There are also physical books that offer thinking strategies. Using these types of tools allow you to contemplate the problem from angles that you may not normally consider. Idea diagrams - There are also several different popular brainstorming diagrams such as mindmaps, fishbones, flowcharts, bubble maps, and affinity diagrams. The structure of a standard diagram can help ensure that your ideas have traceability back to the problem you are trying to solve.There is no one "right" way for being innovative, but through continued practice, you can get better at coming up with new and novel ideas. Not all of them will be "good" or "great" but by honing the skill you begin being adaptable to unfamiliar situations and open yourself to being receptive of new ideas.
If you have a friend who should be receptive of the new ideas offered by this podcast, share it with them. Send them to ManagingACareer.com and help them subscribe.
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Most companies, at least once per year, go through an annual goal planning process. As part of this process, you are expected to have some number of company-focused goals as well as some number of personal goals. Company goals are usually related to revenue, profit, sales, projects, or initiatives. Your personal goals, however, have more freedom in what they target.
With the company goals, you'll want to start by analyzing how you can personally impact them. This may take a little bit of creative thinking. For example, if you are in the facilities organization and the corporate goal is related to profit, it may seem like you have no impact on the goal and it shouldn't apply to you. However, there are aspects that you DO have control over that impact the bottom line. If you are responsible for negotiating building leases, a cost savings there could lead to higher profits.
Before you start writing goals, pick a goal framework. There are several available, but by using a consistent framework, your goals will be clearer and have defined success criteria. A few popular frameworks are OKR - Objectives and Key Results, SMART, and Backwards Goals.
OKR - Objectives and Key Results is a popular framework where you take high level objectives (for example the corporate strategy) and provide measurable results that you can achieve that leads to that objective. In my earlier example, renegotiating a building lease to reduce costs by at least 5% could be a key result that supports an objective focused on profitability. A strength of the OKR framework is that goals (key results) are immediately traceable back to objectives. The Backwards Goals framework takes a long term objective and works backwards by consistently asking "if THIS is to be achieved, then THAT has to have happened by WHEN". Personally, I find this framework to be better suited for more targeted objectives than larger corporate strategy. If you have followed my earlier episodes covering the Individual Development Plan it follows a Backwards Goals approach toward defining your career path. SMART goals is another framework based on the attributes of the SMART acronym - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound - to provide all of the components that a good goal needs, ensuring that the path to success is understood by everyone. The strength of the SMART framework is that it provides a path for refining goals ensuring that you reach buy-in by all impacted by the goal. Additionally, SMART goals can be combined with OKR or Backwards Goals to ensure that your plan can lead to success.Using the framework you select write your company focused goals using the defining statements where you have personal impact. Be sure to include the appropriate success criteria to ensure that it is clear when the goal has been met.
When it comes to setting personal goals, you'll find this process easier if you have already gone through the process of creating an IDP. You can take a tactical approach and set goals based on your Action Plan or you can set more strategic goals based on your Roadmap or you can set goals based on some combination of both tactical and strategic goals.
Whether you have an IDP or not, if you find that you are making slow progress on your career growth, I would put more emphasis on strategic personal goals. If you only create tactical goals, a large part of your focus and a large part of the one-on-ones with your manager will be about short-term activities. If your career growth has slowed, you want to have conversations with your manager are about how to progress on your roadmap and those bigger picture goals ensure that they keep that focus throughout the year.
If the pace of your advancement is sufficient, I would favor tactical goals. You've already established a cadence you're happy with and by focusing on your Action Plan activities, you'll be able to maintain your existing pace. For your annual goal setting, pick items from your Action Plan that build critical skills and items that lead to higher level tasks.
Even though the goals are personal in nature, try to tie them back to the corporate strategy somehow, too. When there is a relationship between corporate goals and personal goals, your manager has a vested interest in helping you achieve them. Additionally, review the timing of all of your goals in order to spread them out throughout the year. If they all target the same timeframe, there won't be an urgency early and then, at end of the year, you could be overwhelmed when everything is due at once.
Once your goals have been documented, have a conversation with your leader about them. Work with your leader to put a plan in place so that you have the proper work assignments to be able to meet the goals. Use the outline in Episode 011 on How to Structure Your One-on-Ones to communicate the progress on your goals -- both corporate and personal. If you follow the advice detailed in Episode 044 - Reporting Status, in addition to the progress reported in your one-on-one, you will be sending out regular emails relating the value you have provided and often, that value ties back to the corporate objectives.
Annual goal setting is not just something you trudge through just so you can mark some task complete. It's an opportunity for you to relate the work you do back to your career aspirations.
You can help me reach my goals with this podcast by sharing it with a friend. If you know someone who is looking to advance their career and would benefit from the content in my podcast, send them to ManagingACareer.com and help them subscribe.
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Periodically, I check back and highlight the last few episodes to remind you of things you can work on to help set you up for career success and this most recent group has a lot of solid content.
Episodes 036 to 040 was a five-part series that covered the Individual Development plan in detail. It starts with an Introduction that emphasizes the importance of the IDP and is followed by episodes that describe the key sections: the Vision and Roadmap, the Assessment and Next Steps, and the Action Plan and Successes. The series wraps up with an episode that describes The Process you can use to integrate the IDP into your personal career growth.
After the series on the IDP, Episode 041 covers Gaining Responsibility During Company Change. As many companies are restructuring their workforce, you can take advantage of those changes to strengthen your position and set yourself up for future advancement. This episode outlines several ways that you make your own luck by leveraging this change.
Episode 042 addresses Mental Health. Taking care of your mental health is more important than any work that you do. If you find yourself struggling with mental stress, reach out to one of the resources I covered in this episode.
Next up I cover how creating a Personal Brand isn't just for social media influencers in Episode 043. By building a reputation that makes you unique within your company, you be come and expert and make it easier for your leaders to position you for advancement.
I wrap this group up with Episode 045 that covers Making the Most of Return to Office. As the workforce moves towards requiring staff to be in the office at least part time, I give some tips on how to make best use of your in-office hours.
I'm always looking for good content to bring to you, so if there's a topic you would like me to cover on an upcoming podcast episode, reach out to me via the Contact Form at ManagingACareer.com.
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If your company has a hybrid policy, how can you best use your time in the office? Well, first you should make sure you understand and comply with all aspects of the new policy. Are there specific days that you must be in the office? Do you have a designated space or are you participating in Community shared desk system? Which days and what locations will most of your coworkers leverage when they work from the office?
Most companies, as they roll out these return to office policies, state that the primary driver for them is to foster collaboration. It's very likely that you primarily interact with those on your team, or those that are directly involved in your projects. When you work remotely. So as you go back to the office, look for opportunities to spend face to FaceTime with business partners and key decision makers. You should really understand where those people will be and make it a point of spending time in those areas, especially for those important hallway conversations. When you do meet with team members in the office, focus on using that in person time to brainstorm solutions to difficult problems or to build agreement on next steps in your project.
Because there will be days that you go into the office and other days where you'll work from home, you're going to need to take full control of your schedule. Don't be afraid to decline meetings or suggest alternative times to ensure that your calendar aligns with the most appropriate work for the location that you're going to be in that day. For the days that you will be in the office, plan adequate networking time to ensure that you focus on those all-important face to face conversations. Reserve your at home days for deeper work where you have fewer disruptions. Additionally, review Episode 023 - "Can you be successful working remote?" For more tips on how to make the best use of your working from home time.
If you aren't going to have a designated home, Oregon or you find yourself working in a community area, it's going to be harder to be comfortable in your new working environment. Consider purchasing the essentials that you bring with you when you go to the office. Having things such as your own mouse or a headset or USB hub. It ensures that you can work how you want no matter where you're stationed. There are even things like a USB external monitor. If you work best with second monitor. Also consider going paperless to ensure that important documents aren't left behind when moving from one location to another.
In spite of returning to office, be sure to maintain your work life balance. The additional commute time is already going to have an impact on your personal life, so setting strict boundaries to ensure that you leave the office on time is important. Save your late nights for days when you work from home, especially since those days will be focused on more deep work. This should provide more flexibility, allowing you to still spend time with your family. Episode 019 - "Work / Life Balance" has additional tips on this topic.
Word of mouth is the single most effective way to grow community, so if you're enjoying this podcast, I would appreciate it if you help me get the word out by sharing it with a friend. I would love to be able to help everyone take control of their career.
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In several of my previous episodes, I've mentioned that one way to stand out is to produce status reports that are value focused instead of task focused. This week, I go into more detail about what that type of status report would look like.
Purpose and Audience
The first thing to understand about a status report is its purpose. By knowing who the audience is you can properly tailor the report to meet the purpose that they care about and summarized appropriately. For your clients and stakeholders, it's a means to communicate project progress. For your manager, a status report ensures that they are able to track your performance against your annual goals. For executives, it's an opportunity to update them on company initiatives.
Did you notice something? The purpose of a status report differs based on the audience and they aren't one-size fits-all. This implies that you would be creating different status reports for each audience.
The other thing to be aware is that each different audience will likely need a different cadence for reporting status. Clients and stakeholders are more engaged in your day to day activities and would require more frequent updates. Executives have a higher level focus and may only need updates a couple of times per quarter.
Content
Status reports that just list the things you've done are very forgettable. Regardless of who your status is for, the key is to transform your status updates from task-focused to value-focused. If you want to make an impression and stand out, focus less on the tasks and more on the outcomes. Activities that do not provide value likely aren't worthy of being included in a status report.
Instead of saying: "Automated reporting of our KPIs"
Say this: "Increased the productivity of my business partners leading to a $50k annualized savings by automating the reporting of our KPIs"
Instead of saying: "Delivered the Artemis project on-time and on-budget"
Say this: "Delivered the Artemis project within the planned 5 months and $1M budget which is projected to save the company $15M over the next three years"
These types of statements still reveal the work that you've completed but highlight the value that those activities provide.
Be sure to align the status with the purpose of your audience. When updating your clients and stakeholders, the focus will be on project deliverables. But if you are sending a status report to your manager, try to align the value with progress against your goals.
Structure
My background is in software development and in that field, we have a project management process called Agile SCRUM. In each daily SCRUM meeting, every project participant is expected to speak to three key points: What did you do yesterday? What are you going to do today? and What things are blocked from progress?
I think a good status report more or less parallels those same three areas. What value have you provided since the last status report? What are your focus priorities going forward? And what risks or impediments are you tracking that could prevent progress?
Additionally, keep your status reports succinct. The intent is not to detail every single thing you do but to provide key highlights. Noone is going to want to read multiple pages. Try to keep the length to two or three paragraphs or just a handful of bullet points. Develop a standardize template and use it consistently so that over time each recipient can learn to anticipate where the information most relevant to them is located.
If you haven't been sending status reports before, it may seem awkward at first, but by sending them regularly, the people you send them to will begin to associate "valuable" with you. When it comes time for raises or promotions, that's an association that should give you an advantage. And when faced with potential downsizing, it may even give you a layer of protection compared to others.
During this next week, identify the different audiences that you should provide with regular updates and create recurring events on your calendar to send those status reports. Also, create a template that you can use when you send them out. As you go through your week, keep track of what you have accomplished and how that provides value to each different audience. When your calendar even occurs, summarize your activities and write the status report. After you've done this for a couple of weeks, send me a note via the contact form on the ManagingACareer.com website to let me know how much of a difference they make.
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This week, I'm going to talk about your personal brand and how you can build one. When you hear the term, what impression does that give you? For many, I'm sure you associate the term with celebrities, athletes, and social media influencers. But, I'm here to tell you that it applies to everyone.
So, what is a personal brand? At the simplest level, your personal brand is the impression that others have of you -- your reputation. But it's more than just that. Your personal brand statement is a concise summary of who you are, what you do, and what you stand for -- or rather it's a concise summary of who you want others to think you are and what you want others to think you do and what you want others to think you stand for. Your reputation is based solely on the impression that others have about you, whereas your personal brand is also the aspects about yourself that you work to project and how you go about projecting them.
As you look to progress your career, often, you are promoted or are not promoted based on your personal brand. When your manager suggests your name as a candidate for promotion, how do his peer leaders react to that request? If they know who you are and have a positive opinion of you, that promotion request will be easy. But if you are unknown or the perception is negative, your leader will have to fight a lot harder to justify your promotion.
Within your company, are you known -- not just within your team, but within your organization and those organizations that you interact with? If you are known, what are you known for? Is that the reputation that you want to have?
As you look to build your personal brand, identify what makes you unique. If your strengths are similar to the strengths of everyone else on the team, you will struggle to stand out. Is there something that only you are capable of? Is that something that you want to be known for? Maybe your reputation is that you are the person that can solve the most challenging problems. Or maybe you’re the one who can get any project back on schedule. Or maybe you're a great negotiator. Maybe what makes you unique isn't so much what you do or can do, but instead is how you approach things. Are you calm under pressure? Are you a take-charge leader? Are you able to talk anyone into anything? The more uniquely you can define your brand, the easier it will be to highlight those capabilities to the wider organization.
When you identify what aspect or aspects you are going to concentrate on for building your brand, look around the company to see how others will value them. How can you leverage those aspects to advance the company's goals? How can you leverage those aspects to advance your personal goals? If your company values logic and reason, how would branding yourself as being strongly empathetic play with the organization? Each situation is different -- being antithetical to the values of the organization could be invaluable or it could be ostracizing; you'll need to make that call for yourself. But, once you've decided, you'll need to put in the work to make that the opinion people have of you.
Your personal brand is about perception, but perception starts with action. As your brand begins to take shape, come up with a brand statement. Actually write it down, like on a sticky note, and place it somewhere that you will see it daily. Use the brand statement as your mantra throughout the day until it becomes a natural part of you. Every action and decision you make should trace back to your brand statement. When your actions support your brand, it almost sells itself.
If you are struggling to write your brand statement, come up with a short statement (often a phrase or a single sentence) that describes what makes you unique. Here are some examples:
I build and grow great teams. I aggressively manage cost in order to maximize profits. I treat everyone with compassion and equality. Nothing is impossible. I apply logic and reason to produce optimal solutions.The second part of perception is communicating your brand. In the social media world, you build your brand by how you present yourself on the various platforms. Within a company there isn't usually a platform for you to use -- but, you can be social. Work to build your network within your company. In Episode 028 - Building a Network, I cover ways to build your external network. However, when building a network within your company, it takes a different approach. Look for projects that allow you to work with people outside of your immediate team. Volunteer for initiatives that put you in contact with new people. Attend social events that you would otherwise avoid. Offer to give presentations on topics related to your brand. Find ways to have your name be associated with the brand you are building. How can you be viewed as the resident expert on your brand specialty?
Spend the next couple of days formulating your personal brand. Then, visit the Managing A Career community and make it real -- post your personal brand for everyone to see. By posting it publicly, everyone in the community can become your accountability partners. Everyone in the community can help you clarify your brand and ensure that you begin the path towards building it successfully.
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This week, we're going to talk about a very critical subject, your mental health. Each episode, I talk about subjects that can help you advance your career and understanding and addressing your mental health is an important one. If you aren't able to be focused on your work because of things happening in your personal life, it's going to impact you. So, let's take a look at what you can do about it.
First, I want to start by saying, no matter what anyone says, your health and your mental health are far more important than any work that you do. It's kind of like the statement that when the oxygen masks come down in an airplane, you should put your mask on before helping anyone else. It wouldn't do you or anyone else any good if you were unable to help them because you had passed out. The same is true when it comes to your health and your mental health. If you are facing personal stressors, it is better to address them than to ignore it and focus on work.
It is important to identify the signs of mental stress. Denying that they exists can delay any treatment and likely find them compounding. If you find your work performance falling off or if you have trouble concentrating on your work for an extended period of time, you may be experiencing mental stress. Another sign could be changes in appetite or sleeping patterns. Lastly, if you find yourself reacting strangely to normal situations -- overly aggressively, too lackadaisically, being touchy or sensitive -- these types of reactions can be because of how you bring your personal stressors into other aspects of your life.
If any of these signs apply to you I would recommend reaching out for help. If available to you, professional help is going to be your best option. Many companies have EAP programs - Employee Assistance Programs. These programs offer counselling services to employees, often by phone so that they are available any time night or day. These services can also refer you to local mental health professionals for in person session. If your company does not offer an EAP program, there are still online websites that are fairly affordable and can serve the same role as an EAP program. I have no affiliation with them and I do not know which countries they are available in, but a site like BetterHelp.com offers online counseling. And if you find yourself having suicidal ideations, most countries have suicide hotlines that you can call -- for example in the US, you can call 988 from any phone at any time to talk to someone at the National Alliance on Mental Health who can help. You can also reach out to the Crisis Text Line at CrisisTextLine.org for issues other than suicide; they have local numbers in several countries including 741741 in the US.
After the initial assessment, your mental health professional will often work with you to establish strategies that will help you cope with whatever stress you are experiencing. This could be something like mindfulness and meditation where you sit quietly, perform slow, steady breathing, and focus on the immediate. For some, becoming more involved in religion can give them the focus they need to calm their mental state. For others, vigorous exercise may be a way to alleviate stress. There will also be instances where medication is suggested -- this is not a stigma, if there is a chemical imbalance in your body, often medications can help regulate them. Regardless of the technique, it takes time; it doesn't have an immediate effect.
Once the root cause has been addressed, the next step is to address any triggers that may cause your stress levels to increase. If the triggers are from aspects of your work, have an honest conversation with your leaders to try to change your assignments. Remember, your health and mental health is the most important thing. Taking on less stressful duties will ensure that you can continue to perform your best which is good for both you and your company.
Everyone faces stress and handles it differently. If you find yourself in a situation where that stress is beyond what you can handle on your own, reach out for help. Personal health, including mental health, is important.
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There is a lot of corporate downsizing happening right now. In a future episode, I may go into more detail on that subject, but this week, I would like to talk about how you can take advantage of the downsizing to increase your responsibilities within the company.
If you are one of the ones that remains when a company goes through any sort of organizational change, it is an opportunity for you to increase your sphere of influence and position yourself for increased visibility. Adding responsibilities strategically can provide a measure of security and even accelerate your career growth.
The first key is to understand the primary drivers of the reduction. By understanding why each area is being impacted, you will have insight into where the opportunities will be. Next, you need to determine which areas were impacted the most and whether the work they performed is important to the business going forward or not.
Cost Reductions - If a company is downsizing in order to cut costs, there will be opportunities in increasing the efficiencies across the company. Look for ways that you can help people do more with less. As an individual, look for processes within your larger organization that you can streamline. As a leader, look for cross-functional processes that you can bring under your control. Divesting unprofitable functions - If a company is cutting a business unit that is underperforming or is not considered part of the company's future, you will want to determine what aspects of the business unit will still need to be performed and have those functions assigned to your team. Mergers and Acquisitions - When two companies combine, there will often be overlap in certain organizations; usually the ones that are more for business support such as Human Resources or Accounting. In these instances, the duplication of roles leads to elimination of redundancies and streamlining of costs. In these instances, the opportunities will be in owning the process of aligning the competing processes into a single process. Technological Advancements or Improved Efficiency - Another reason that a company will downsize is when roles have been made obsolete due to improved technology or efficiency. Can you become an expert in the new technology or processes in order to be best suited for leading efforts in its adoption? Restructuring - Sometimes, a company will just make general cuts across every area. In these instances, teams will have to prioritize their efforts on the most important work and let everything else go. Are there areas within the company that you can focus on picking up their slack?Knowing where the gaps are and how they align with the company vision going forward will allow you to assess their value potential. You should also consider how those functions align with your current responsibilities, however, that is less important than the value of the work to the company. Additionally, consider which of the opportunities align with your current skills or the skills you are looking to develop. Focus on areas that provide the most value to the company as well as lead to the most career growth for you.
Once you have identified which areas you would like to target, start to develop a plan for drawing that work to your team. Start by evaluating your network for any connections to the impacted areas. If you can reach out and offer your help, you can begin to suggest your name as a potential candidate to take over those responsibilities.
Next, have a conversation with your leader on how you would like to take on this additional work. Be prepared to provide justification on how that additional responsibility aligns with your skills or how it can expand your capabilities going forward.
If you have enough warning, work to build any skills you will need to take on the additional work. This is what is happening with Generative AIs such as ChatGPT today. Those who are learning everything they can about AI and how they can incorporate it into their work are getting ahead and those who aren't are falling behind.
The last step to take is to evaluate your current workload and figure out what aspects of your job you can delegate in order to free up the time you will need for the additional responsibilities that you take on.
As I mentioned in Episode 013 - A Little Bit of Luck, luck is when preparation meets opportunity. Any time there is change, there is opportunity. Are you going to be in position to make your own luck and take advantage of the change, or are you going to fall behind those that are already prepared?
If there are any topics that you'd love for me to cover in the future, why don't you drop me a note via the contact form on my web page at ManagingACareer.com?
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Over the course of the past four weeks, I've described the Individual Development Plan -- why it's important to your career and what the various components are. This week, I'm going to talk about how you can integrate an IDP into your development processes.
Initial conversations
Once you've spent the time creating your IDP, it's important to share it with your leaders and mentors. If you don't already have a recurring one-on-one with your manager, you should schedule one. In Episode 011, I cover How to Structure Your One-on-Ones. I recommend having a career-focused one-on-one every four to six weeks -- more frequently and you haven't had enough time to act on the feedback and any less frequently and you aren't putting adequate focus on personal growth.
As you speak with your leader, talk about your goals and aspirations -- talk about what aspects of your road map exist within the company. Can your leaders help you get in contact with people who already have those roles? Can someone in that role act as a mentor for you?
Ongoing conversations
Beyond just talking about your longer term goals, talk with your manager about the items in action plan. Are there resources available from the company -- such as budget for training -- that will support those activities? Can your manager provide you with assignments that allow you to build the skills you need to progress?
Remember, your action plan should be targeting activities that can ideally be completed within three months. This would imply that the activity would be discussed in up to four different one-on-ones. In the one-on-one where the activity is introduced, talk with your manager on strategies for achieving the goal so that you start off correctly. In subsequent one-on-ones discuss progress and any roadblocks; verify that you are still on track to meet the target date.
Once you have completed an activity, spend some time in your one-on-one doing a retrospective on how that activity has impacted you. How has that activity improved you? Were there any obstacles that you had to overcome to accomplish the goal -- whether internal issues or external factors that caused you trouble? Does completing that activity open you up new opportunities? Are there follow up actions you can take that can reinforce or build on the take-aways from the completed activity? Use the notes from the retrospective to record them in the Successes section of your IDP.
Continue to add new activities to your Action Plan as you identify gaps in your current role or areas of growth towards your next role. Even after you feel that you are ready for the next role, continue to plan actions that expand on your capabilities. In many organizations, being ready doesn't get your promoted -- often, you have to have already been performing at the next level. Work with your leader to increase your responsibilities and scope of work.
After a promotion
At some point, you'll reach the next role. When this happens, I recommend archiving your existing IDP and starting a new version. Much like the successes section, having an archive of your IDP gives you something that you can review later to see how much progress you've made. In your new IDP, review each section to make sure that it still applies.
When you review your Vision Statement, is it still true? Is the timeframe still reasonable; can you reach your goal or can you reach it sooner? Have you learned anything that would lead you to a different goal -- whether a bigger goal or a complete shift in direction? Update your Roadmap based on your revised Vision Statement.
Now that you have reached your next role, perform a new Assessment of your strengths and weaknesses in this role. You should be able to transfer quite a bit from the previous version of your IDP. Additionally, research what skills you need to build for your new Next Role. While an additional promotion is likely several years away, you start working towards it TODAY.
If you have any open items in your Action Plan, carry them forward to the new version of your IDP, but work with your leader on a set of activities that set you up for success in your new role.
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The episodes for the past few weeks are part of a series where I take a deeper look at your Individual Development Plan. Episode 036 introduced the IDP and covered some of the benefits of creating one for yourself. Then, in Episode 037, I covered the Career Vision and Roadmap sections where you define the direction of your career. Last week in Episode 038, I talked about the Assessment and Next Role where you identify the areas of focus for career advancement. This week, we cover the final two sections of the IDP -- Action Plan and Successes.
Action Plan
In the assessment, you identified areas where you still had room for growth within your current role and the next role section identified areas where you needed to build skills before you could achieve the next role. In the Action Plan section, you identify specific activities you will undertake in order to address one of those areas of focus. If the Assessment identifies the WHAT, the Action Plan reflects the HOW.
Like most planning, using a framework such as SMART Goals will ensure that the activities in your Action Plan are well defined. SMART and other similar goal frameworks aim to create clear and practical goals that can be realistically completed. In the case of SMART, goals are expected to be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
I specifically call this the Action Plan and not Goals because it's about doing things….and doing them NOW. It reminds me of the Chinese proverb that "the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago, the second best time is now". Setting yourself up for a promotion in the future starts today and not the day you expect to get the promotion.
In my IDP template, for each entry in the Action Plan, I include several details.
First is a Target Date. No matter what goal framework you use, having a date when the action is to be completed ensures that you maintain focus on these activities. Unlike annual goal planning, I would recommend that the items in your Action Plan have near-term target dates -- usually within the next three months, but six months at the longest. Next is a description of the Activity. Be very tactical when defining these Actions. For example, you aren't going to "Improve my presentation skills", you are going to "give a 30-minute presentation in front of an audience of at least 30 people". By keeping the activities focused on smaller tactical actions, you'll see immediate progress which will keep you from being discouraged. Very likely, you will need to complete multiple items on your Action Plan in order to fully close any gaps identified by the Assessment. The third detail is the Success Criteria. In this area you will explain what success in the activity looks like and how that success will be measured. You will also describe what new capability you will have after you complete the action. By defining what success looks like, you will have clarity on the action and what you hope to gain by completing it. This will ensure that you put appropriate priority on the actions, especially those that have the most immediate impact on your career. The last detail is the Area Addressed. Tying the activity back to your assessment ensures that you have traceability for the actions back to which gaps or new skills you are working on.In the context of SMART goals, the different aspects of the acronym are all addressed by the details in the template. Specific is addressed by the Activity description. Measurable is captured in the Success Criteria. Achievable is covered by a combination of the Activity description and the Success Criteria. Relevant is ensured through the Area Addressed. And, lastly, Time Bound is obvious from the Target Date.
As you add items to the Action Plan, be sure to have regular conversations with your leaders to ensure that they are in alignment with the plan. If the activities require specific work assignments, you will need their support in order to gain them. Additionally, if you are struggling with what activities will help you close any gaps or add missing skills, your leaders and mentors can help you devise the Action Plan.
Successes
The final section of the IDP is the Successes section. As you complete activities from your Action Plan, record them in the Successes section. By recording your history, you can show the evidence of your growth when it comes time for a promotion. If you find yourself discourage, you can review this section and reflect on how far you've come.
Where the Action Plan section is focused on the activities you will be performing, the Successes section should be focused on the improvements you have accomplished. As you complete each item in the Action Plan, spends some time reviewing how that activity puts you closer to your career goals. Have you shown an increased level of competency in an existing skill? Have you gained new skills? Has the activity improved how you go about your daily work?
At this point, I have covered all of the sections of the IDP, but there is one more episode in this series. Next week, we will take a look at the processes around maintaining your IDP and how to integrate it into your career development conversations. As a reminder, if you need a copy of my free IDP template, reach out via the Contact form at my website, ManagingACareer.com.
- Visa fler
