Let’s be honest, none of us want to be the thousandth person that tells our boss “I want to grow and be invested in”.
Every senior leader’s life is full of people that think telling someone that they want “growth” is the key to opportunity, promotion, increased salary, or whatever holy grail identifier your organization has for fast-track leaders.
And regardless of how you define being on the fast-track at your company, you’ll get there 10x faster as someone that shows versus someone that says.
So if you’re committed to being the person that lets their actions speak for them, here are some things you should think about (and act on) to make a splash at work.
Be a student of your industry/business
The things that make you great at your current job don’t guarantee that you’ll succeed at the next job. Avoid becoming another casualty of the Peter Principle by expanding your knowledge of your business and industry.
Meet with other department heads, learn about other roles – be seen as someone that is eager to learn. People love to talk about themselves and what they do, so give other leaders a chance to share their stories and and how their work impacts the business. It’ll build your reputation and give you credibility when speaking in those areas.
What is the organization’s strategic plan for this year? How does your business differentiate itself in the larger market? Do you have an executive-level understanding of how your business runs? If you view yourself as a future executive, you need to be able to talk and think like an executive.
Set time with a member of the senior leadership team. Ask them to go through the strategic plan with you and explain some of the high-level organizational decisions. Ask questions, be curious, and don’t be defensive if they mention something that makes you worry about your role/department/responsibilities. Try to see the company as they see the company. With a better understanding of the business, you’ll be more credible in critical meetings. You’ll begin to hear “they really get the big picture, I like working with them”.
Play offense, not defense
Too many of us are so focused on our own imposter syndrome that we avoid taking risks and looking for opportunities to learn because we’re so desperate to avoid looking foolish. “I’ve never done [skill] and I don’t want to look silly, so I’m better off avoiding that project. Is this other project going to involve me being in the spotlight? What if I screw it up!? No thanks.”
It’s natural to play it safe at work because we want to validate that we were a good hire. We tell ourselves that if we can just keep our head down, and rely on the skills that got us here, then that’ll be enough.
Here’s the problem: you were put into this leadership role to make a difference. You’ll make the biggest difference by growing your skills, which means taking risks. If you followed the above advice, then you’ve identified and understood the company’s current strategic plan. Are there projects or initiatives you can take on to contribute to these objectives, even if it means feeling like you’re out of your comfort zone?
A common misconception we have is that senior leaders judge you harshly if you make mistakes. Quite the contrary, senior leaders are more likely to applaud your initiative and willingness to put yourself out there. Your success will always be proportional to your willingness to be uncomfortable and risk making mistakes. Most only judge you for the mistakes that you make repeatedly and should have learned from.
Make mistakes in pursuit of excellent results. You’ll skin your knees, but as long as you learn from these experiences, you’ll wind up better suited for the next project and better suited for the project after that.
Maintain credibility with your team
“Our boss is too busy sucking up to senior leadership to pay attention to us lowly employees”, say your underappreciated employees behind your back.
You need a team of employees that will advocate for your leadership. If you can’t get respect and credibility from the people that are paid to follow your guidance and influence, then you won’t ever be able to convince your peers and superiors that you should be taken seriously.
People aren’t going to hold being ambitious and having aspirations against you as long as those ambitions don’t come at their expense.
Does your team know you’re in their corner? What are the one or two key problems facing your team right now? What was the thing the last leader said they would do and never got around to? Commit to giving your team some wins, and make it clear you’re not asking for anything in return. Follow through on these commitments and stack up other small wins for your employees. Be consistent with the day-to-day tasks (scheduling, payroll, time-off requests, etc.) that make life easy for your frontline staff.
After you’ve built up credibility with your team, you’ll find them better able to take care of their own day-to-day issues and more willing to involve themselves in pushing for aggressive goals. Do you want to have the best employee satisfaction scores? You’ll need the buy-in of your team. Do you want the best customer satisfaction metrics? You’ll need their buy-in for that too.
If you set your sights on aggressive, aspirational organizational objectives then you’ll only be as good as the team that’s supporting you. The team will only go with you as far as you’ve shown that you’re in their corner. Stay plugged into your department’s needs and you’ll keep the credibility necessary to keep them on board.
It’s an unfortunate truth that senior leaders can often overlook great mid-level managers and leaders because they think they’re missing the “x-factor” needed to succeed at the next level. By becoming a student of your industry, being proactive about growing your skills, and keeping your team engaged and motivated, you’re going to give yourself the best shot at being the person with that “special something”. Good luck out there.
-Patrick