Upping your career

An executive posted this question on my Facebook page: “How do I advance in my career? I would like to be a senior leader in my company one day, so what should I do in order to advance my career?”

It’s a common question. Most people want to know the answer, though many more are shy to ask the question. I’ve trained thousands of junior, senior, up to Mancom-level executives, and I understand it’s everyone’s desire to climb up the corporate ladder. The advice I’ve given a long time ago is still the advice I give today: embark on a journey of personal growth, pursue excellence and don’t outshine your boss. Let me explain.

Most leaders want to lead, but they don’t want to be led. Is it possible to have a business corporation full of leaders without anyone following? That would be ridiculous! Leadership guru John Maxwell said, “Those who think they are leaders without anyone following is merely taking a walk!”

If you happen to be a smart person then you’ll understand that the way to advance your career isn’t just to add value to yourself, but also to add value to your boss. Rather than trying to prove you’re better than your boss, you should be concentrating on supporting your leader, adding value to your business organization, and performing your tasks with excellence and reliability. This will earn you the trust of your boss, so your advice and influence will be highly valued by him. Your consistency will then increase your influence and open more opportunities for you to lead up.

How does your boss view you? Does your boss see you as a person who’s seriously working on improving yourself? Does your boss perceive you as a person who knows how to manage yourself? If your leader must continually expend energy managing you, then you’ll be perceived as someone who drains resources. If you manage yourself well however, your boss will see you as someone who maximizes opportunities and leverages personal strengths. To become someone your leader turns to when the heat is on, manage your emotions, time, priorities, energy, thoughts, words and your personal life.

Why do you need to make your boss successful? The answer is actually very simple. When the boss succeeds, the organization succeeds. It also gets you noticed, and increases your value and influence.

Here are some practical things you should do in order to prepare for the big promotions:

1. When you find a problem, offer a solution.

2. Tell leaders what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.

3. Go the extra mile, and do more than is asked.

4. Also, stand up or stand in for your leader whenever you can.

5. Begin thinking like a leader.

6. Be perfectly professional in your words and actions.

7. Think longer term.

8. Push boundaries to find a better way.

9. Show initiative.

10. Be pleasant, be inspiring and be trustworthy.

You should aspire to be better all the time. Being better isn’t just about a higher position or a fancier title. Being better means growing in character and skills.

Strive to be better. Learn, expand yourself, and you expand your world. Be so remarkable you become indispensable. When you help your boss go places, chances are, you’ll go along with him too.

Cultivate a heart of service because great leaders serve. Serve consistently, and you’ll find yourself rising to the top one day. And your boss will be happy when you do.

(Let’s stay connected! Click on to www.franciskong.com or “Like” my page at www.facebook.com/franciskong2. You can also listen to my radio program “Business Matters” aired at 8 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. during weekdays over “The Master’s Touch” 98.7 dzFE-FM, the classical music station.)