At times, growing in your career within an organization can be a challenging and confusing process to navigate, but it doesn’t have to be. Throughout my time in leadership, one of the most common questions I was asked is, “how do I grow within the business” or “what do I need to do to take the next step in my career?” As a new leader, I admittedly didn’t always have a clear answer for those who asked. I had an idea, but not one that was thought out enough to give clear guidance. I often found myself giving a long winded explanation on the importance of hard work and showcasing your abilities, as I over-explained what was actually a fairly simple process. Over time, I began thinking about what formula has consistently led to growth for the most successful professionals in their careers, in order to provide a more concise and direct answer to those who asked. Here is what I found to be consistent in those who were able to successfully grow in their career, get promoted, or earn a higher income within one company.
Step 1: Successfully and consistently manage your existing responsibilities:
Showing your leadership team that you are capable of managing what you are responsible for is the first step to being considered for a promotion or to be considered for an opportunity. As a leader, it’s hard to consider anyone for a promotion or an opportunity if they have not shown that they are capable of achieving their immediate goals and handling their current responsibilities. When an employee shows that they are able to consistently perform over time, it gives leaders a level of trust and ease that those duties will be handled. This ultimately enables that leader to spend more time focusing on other business critical items because they have an assurance that the responsibilities assigned to you will be handled. This allows the business to perform more efficiently and ideally operate with a greater profit, as everyone performs in their role and you build trust with leadership.
Step 2: Look for opportunities to take on more:
This particular step always seems to bring up the most controversy because there tends to be two schools of thought: (1) I’ll take on more responsibility once I am promoted and paid to do so and (2) I’ll take on more responsibility now in order to showcase that I’m deserving of a higher salary and capable of handling the duties that will undoubtably come along with a promotion. Personally, I’ve tended to align myself with the second school of thought and it’s allowed me to achieve my career goals. Throughout my own process of taking on more responsibility, there were two questions that I would frequently ask myself:
- Am I learning a new skill? If I was learning a skill or becoming more marketable through the experience I was gaining, I counted the experience as a win, until I reached a point where I was no longer learning or I had mastered that skill.
- Will taking this on set me up for success in terms of where I want my career to go? If so, it may be worth it to temporarily increase your workload for the benefit of the long term pay off. Remember, not every opportunity is good for your career growth, so consider what you’re being offered and even more importantly, what will be required for the opportunity to be successful. You don’t want to find yourself in a situation where you are set up for failure, as this will negatively impact your career growth. So be sure to be curious, ask plenty of questions, and request what you need to be successful from the beginning, should you decide to take on the opportunity. Check out my blog on Determining If a Role is the Right Fit for You for more details.
More often than not, learning a new skill or showcasing that you are willing to be a team player will give you more leverage when it comes to negotiating the benefits of a promotion (salary, paid time off, stock options, etc). Obviously, there is a tipping point on an individual's return for learning new skills and taking on more, but it’s ultimately your responsibility as an employee to determine your boundaries and how much to take on, as you pursue the opportunity. There are definitely companies and leaders who will take advantage of someone’s willingness to take on more, so go in with your eyes wide open and ready to determine when you have taken on enough. Over time, if there isn’t an opportunity internally or you feel as though you’re being overlooked for the opportunities that are presented, you should be ready to take the experience you’ve gained elsewhere and utilize it to your benefit. Remember, making the decision to take on more does not guarantee a promotion, so be grateful for the opportunity to learn and begin exploring other opportunities where your new found skill set can be of use.
Step 3: Communicate:
Ask for feedback early and often to help ensure that you and your direct manager are aligned on your performance. Having a clear understanding of what you are doing well and where you can improve is essential to growth. As you begin to build a relationship and consistently perform, ask your boss how they were able to grow into their role and what traits the leadership team is looking for when it comes to the promotions or career opportunities that arise. Be sure to look for opportunities to highlight these skills as you develop them.
Ask for the opportunity to take on more once you have shown that you are capable of taking care of your essential job duties. Taking items off of your bosses plate and handling them well is a sure way of positioning yourself as an asset to both that leader and the business.
Vocalize your desire for growth and aim to create an open conversation around your growth, what it might look like for you to step into specific roles, and the rough timeline to do so with your manager. Remember, that no timeline in business is completely linear, so you need to decide on a timeline that you’re comfortable with and be open to making a change if things don’t play out in that time frame.
Please know that not everyone who follows these steps is guaranteed to be promoted and there may be times where you need to make a decision to pursue opportunities elsewhere. There are a number of intangibles that also factor into the process, so I’ve listed some of them below to paint a more complete picture of the factors that may or may not be at play as you seek out that promotion or opportunity for growth.
The Intangibles:
- How the business is performing. Unfortunately, this is often completely out of your control, unless you’re in a role that directly impacts revenue (sales or retention). There is an argument to be made that every role impacts revenue in some way shape or form, but more often than not, certain roles carry a greater influence over revenue than others. If the business is not in a position to offer you a promotion, you need to decide how long you’re willing to wait for an opportunity to arise and determine if adding a particular skill set will set you up for success elsewhere.
- What the business needs to be successful. Businesses are forever growing and changing entities. With that comes a variety of needs that come at different points in time. In a growing business, there is often a wide range of opportunities because of the needs that go hand in hand with growth. Even still, a company producing $15 million in annual revenue, has very different needs than a $50 million dollar business, just as a $50 million dollar business has very different needs than a $100 million dollar company.
- How your soft skills translate to the roles available. There’s a common understanding amongst experienced leaders that not all top performers make great leaders. The reason being that the skills required to be a top performer, don't necessarily translate to the skill set required to be an effective leader. This is why communicating with your manger is critical. Doing so will help you understand what skills the leadership team is looking for in the roles or promotions you are seeking. Knowing this and developing a particular skill set will only increase your chances of landing your desired role. At the same time, be open to the idea that some roles may not be the right fit, so rather than attempting to force your way into any role that you see as growth, consider your abilities, and seek out opportunities that align with your skill set.
- Understanding your competition. Determining which of your internal peers might be interested and a good fit for the role you’re interested in is often helpful because it helps you determine your competition and consider what strengths they bring to the role, as well as how you stack up. Be sure to consider those a level above you who are interested in making a lateral change or those a level below you who are high performers in your area of interest.
- Be aware of department ceilings or personnel limitations. Considering those a level above you is also helpful in determining your potential for growth, as it can help you forecast what opportunities might arise in the future. For instance, if your boss who is highly motivated to grow and he or she is actively pursuing opportunities (internally or externally), this is more likely to open up an opportunity for you to grow. Whereas if your boss is content in their role and not considering making a change, it may be difficult for you to advance within that department, depending on the size of the company and the businesses overall needs.
- Relationships. This might be the most underrated intangible of career growth. At the end of the day, relationships matter and more often than not, when an effective leader is making a decision on a candidate, they’re going to ask other leaders what they think of that person. If you’re an internal candidate, this could work in your favor or against you (depending on your relationships). It’s really up to you, but being aware of your relationships, how others perceive you, and taking action to improve your relationships is the first step to this working in your favor.
Growing in your career can be confusing at times and even seem intimidating, but it doesn’t have to be. Remember to handle your responsibilities first and foremost, look for opportunities to take on more, and always communicate. In most situations, the rest will take care of itself. Not every situation is the same, so if you need help navigating your specific circumstance or have found yourself in a situation that seems more complicated, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Lastly, if you found this information to be helpful or insightful, please share it with someone who would also find it to be valuable.