curtisjalexander.com
I teach corporate managers how to get promoted!
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While I agree, I believe that is perspective as well!
The skills required to climb the corporate ladder (unless you did it by greasing palms and nepotism) are adaptable and usable in any venture.
The question should be: "Was climbing the corporate ladder worse than staying a front-line drone?"
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Gotta delegate that approval process James!
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It's throughout the entire ladder if you have the right mindset.
Are you adding value to your organization? Your coworkers? Your stakeholders? Your customers?
This can be accomplished at every level, but the higher you climb up the rungs, the more impact you can make.
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The view is what you make of it. If your goal was to get a title, you'll be disappointed. You're still the same person you were at the bottom.
If your goal is to gain scope of control to make the organization and those around you better, the view is magnificent.
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Nothing impacts an organization's success more than good management, aligning its teams with clear direction and concrete goals.
However, once that is accomplished, the most impactful actions are fostering morale, motivating teams and individuals, and reinforcing the vision, all soft skills.
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I can't tell you the number of times I've had managers tell me they deserve a raise or promotion without ever impacting the bottom line.
I can't promote you if you don't show initiative. I can't give you a significant raise if it doesn't justify the ROI.
Be the manager who shows out in reviews.
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They give you a job description.
You determine success factors for your role.
You design your job (add work-life balance here)
Hit your success factors. Quantify your value. Back it up with data and reports.
If they question your time off, show them your results. They can't afford to lose you.
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The quality level of managers in the corporate world today is so low that if you can PROVE the value you bring, you can walk into nearly any company in any industry and get a better job than you can in any company that uses nepotism.
Create a portfolio of success. Leverage it. There ARE good orgs.
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"What makes us successful?"
"What metrics indicate this success (or failure)?
"How do I access those metrics?"
"What metrics are we struggling with?"
Take the answers to these questions, determine how your talents can solve an issue, and fix the problem.
This is how to further a career.
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Best of luck, JT.
Consistency is key, positivity is invaluable. Keep taking steps forward, and one day you'll look back and be amazed at the distance you've travelled.
Reach out in the chat if you need any more motivation!
You got this.
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Promoting those who are unqualified or incapable of leading their peers is the quickest and most effective way to ruin organizational morale.
Early in my career, I was the unfortunate recipient of this experience. But I also learned how NOT to manage and used those lessons endlessly.
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- Debrief each failure
- Iterate the failure point
- Retain what worked
- Reaim
- Repeat
If you continue to struggle, your best bet is to get coaching or mentoring in your struggling area.
Career growth? Find a management coach who can show you a proven path forward.
Personal? A life coach.
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The only risk is not taking any risk at all.
Failure is the only path to compounding growth. Fail, iterate, act.
Theory only goes so far; one must act (and fail) to traverse the path to their goals. Small, consistent course correction at each failure is a recipe for untold successes.
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Let's talk tough upwards conversations, the ones responsible for promotions and pay raises:
The key to these is to bring ammo. Have a portfolio of proven successes. Present as if you have the leverage (if you add real value, you do). Quantify your value. Confidence with quantification is priceless.
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The economy of quality managers is in a depression. Managers must understand certain things to add significant value to their organizations, their customers, and the economy as a whole.
While university is valuable, it is generalized theory. One must go beyond theory and learn through iteration.
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Specifically on career:
A portfolio of career successes is one of the most valuable ways to build a personal brand and present your value to current and future employers.
I've used this tool throughout my career to leverage my historic success into future scope of control (and higher pay).
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If a practicing leader has a portfolio of quantified successes, then choose that practicing leader. Practicing leaders who can chart a course from where you are to where you want to be are invaluable.
Career coaches can provide theory, which is valuable, but leaves ambiguity in application.
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The opportunity to teach managers that career advancement isn’t random chance or who you know.
It’s a combined mechanical process of adding significant value and crafting a personal brand.
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Welcome to the economy of companies that can't turn a profit but are valued at astronomical valuations.
We need more leaders/managers who can add value to customers while making a profit for their organization. If this disjointed economy continues, we are in for a rude awakening, circa 2008.
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Often overlooked is building a buffer into key bottleneck resources to allow for the capture of growth opportunities.
Too often, organizations cut bottleneck resource margins so thin that they stagnate.
You can't grow without capacity.
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A strong #PersonalBrand based on past results and future potential is essential in finding success in the corporate world.
Being viewed as someone who "gets things done" and "solves problems," coupled with quantified results and the ability to present them, will always lead to high-paying work.
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Avoiding action and feedback is the best way to stay in one spot.
Teachability isn't just external feedback; the most valuable feedback comes from internal reflection after you've swung and missed.
If I could go back in time and tell myself one thing, it would be to act more and plan less.
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Writing is the single most efficient means of communication in the corporate world.
It is also the most overlooked and misused form of communication.
Nothing is worse than confusing and unnecessary emails, but nothing is more potent than a well-written, meeting-eliminating email.
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It sounds like your boss isn't willing to go to bat for you.
I suggest building a portfolio of your successes, a collection of documents that quantifies the impact you make (be specific if possible).
Use that portfolio to leverage yourself, whether with your current organization or a new one.
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The best skill you can couple with leadership/management.
Quantifying every dollar your ideas create for the organization(s) you worked for will allow you to get top compensation for your services.
Reporting and presenting the above will be critical for your career growth. Good luck!
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"Operating Efficiency" has weakened North American economies far more than reported.
In most operations, labor is the determining force behind the capacity to meet customer needs. Oftentimes, organizations cut labor so short that they fail to leave any room for growth, a long-term death sentence.
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All bad solutions.
Here's what to do:
- Determine organizational struggles
- Identify the KPI that the struggle is impacting
- Build a system or process to address the struggle
- Implement the system or process
- Collect data
- Iterate if necessary
- Report the value and impact you've made
Repeat
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Finding your purpose is an incredible force.
It's amazing how quickly it pushes you out of bed.
It doesn't matter if it's in the corporate world; once you find an outlet, purpose drives you.
Finding yourself in a flow state because you're working on what you were meant to do: Priceless.
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One of the most powerful things I've learned to do over the years is to quantify the value I produce.
There is great power in looking in the mirror at the end of the day and knowing in detail how much value you generated in dollars, or how much job and trust you built with teammates.
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Then they chart the course!
- "This tool is more effective. Here’s how to use it."
- "This process needs improvement. Here’s a solution to address it."
- "We should ship this next. Here’s how we prioritize to make that happen."
Leaders focus on solutions, create value, and drive progress forward.
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This statement is universally true across all industries.
An employee who solves problems and generates value multiplies their impact.
The workforce has too many problem identifiers - not enough solution generators.
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We need to train more leaders who understand what drives organizational value for customers, stakeholders, and employees alike.
A toxic work environment destroys the value of all three. Managing isn't about dictating; it's about expanding your team's value generation. Toxicity has no place.
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Thanks Mira,
When the world is in chaos and you feel overwhelmed, it's relieving to see beauty like this and remember that we are a blip in the universe.
There is nothing else to do but take one purposeful step after the next. The past is the past; ensure you learn from it and move forward.
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Take a walk and you've accomplished a perfect day!