The views expressed by the business participants are their own.
When I was growing up, “work hard” was a motto I often heard. My parents believed that professional success was achieved by showing unwavering dedication to whatever organization or company I was lucky enough to work for. I was often told that I would get to the top by logging long hours and doing whatever was asked of me.
When I became a CEO at the age of 36, my parents were proud, but what was hard to understand was that it wasn’t my career goal that got me there. Instead, I attribute my professional success to a series of choices I started making years ago. If you’re interested in changing your career, here are four ways to get started, especially if you’re already a manager and want to become a senior leader or executive.
Related: I Wish I Knew These Four Things Before Starting My Business
1. Don’t do what you can empower others to do
Early in my career, I was reluctant to give difficult assignments because I didn’t want to be perfect. I wanted things done right (and quickly), and if I could quickly identify someone to do a challenging job accurately and quickly, I would just do it myself.
This was a big mistake. It meant that the people around me were not getting stronger and better. It meant I wasn’t growing and developing my team more. It meant I had no real bench or succession plan. Ultimately, it meant that I was a manager rather than a true leader.
At some point, I realized that leadership is not about that we what I did; it’s about what we can do to help others do – so I made a change. I stopped prioritizing efficiency and started prioritizing efficiency. I stopped prioritizing how accurately or quickly the work was done, and started prioritizing opportunities that would stretch and challenge everyone around me (in a good way). As I did this, everything changed. I had a reputation for not only being able to cultivate top talent, but being willing to let that talent go so they could take on new and exciting opportunities elsewhere in the organization. When that happened, I would just develop more talent. That was very valuable.
2. Be 110% direct and transparent
When I first became a manager, I used to cover the truth. With my employees, I was afraid that if I was too strong, they would talk bad about me behind my back, stop working and stop delivering results. With my boss, I used to hold back when I had opposing views because I didn’t want to “rock the boat” or come off as a dissenter.
Later, I realized that I was included in the leadership because my own understanding and opinions were considered very important. I wasn’t fulfilling my abilities or the role I was hired for by holding back, trying to be “nice” or “play nice” with others in the sandbox. Instead, I was there to help the organization improve. That meant I had to grow and develop others. It also meant that I had to challenge convention and the status quo – so I got brave and started (respectfully) saying it. indeed as I have seen. I decided to be a straight shooter in all situations. As I did so, I developed a reputation for openness, honesty and conflict resolution. It turned out that it was necessary.
Related: 5 Reasons Why You Should Speak Up – Especially If You’re a Junior Employee
3. Set boundaries and say “no”
When I started in corporate America, I was a people pleaser and worked hard to say yes to everyone and everything. At some point, I realized that this was bleeding my period and I stopped. I couldn’t take on special projects or develop my own vision because I was always promoting the vision of others. Constantly saying yes to everyone else kept me in an active place, instead of taking too long, and kept me from really standing up for something.
It is as Stephen Covey is rumored to have said in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, “Do or be done.” At some point, I started planning my days and weeks in advance with the activities I do I it is considered very important. That allowed me to handle future requests from others in positions of power. If others asked me if I could help them, I would first check my calendar and agree only if other important competing interests would agree. I would like to humbly share that it wasn’t that I didn’t search to help them; it was that I had other irons in the fire that were more pressing and were pre-planned. This allowed me to work and earn the way I really wanted. In short, it allowed me to express my true self. Finally, that made me realize.
Related: Embrace the Art of Saying No: 4 Tips for Setting Healthy Boundaries
4. Expect change and move on
As a child, I was taught great respect for authority. At one point, I realized that I was seeing myself as nothing more than an employee or a scholar of my boss, whose only job was to carry out instructions from above – so I began to think of myself as my colleague or friend. to my boss.
Instead of waiting to be asked to do the next big “thing”, I worked hard to understand the business and the landscape well enough to anticipate what the next big “thing” might be. I created solutions around my forecast, asked for time on my manager’s calendar and bent their ears about my ideas. I’m asking for permission to run tests and make some changes. Then, I would make my opinion and come back with a report of my findings. Sometimes this led to widespread changes that affected more than just my section. This earned me a reputation for being quick and flexible. As many organizations focus on change, this skill is often valued. Later it gave me opportunities to introduce or test new programs, and that experience proved to be incredibly useful.
In all of these examples, the key was less about “going in” and more about “standing out.” It’s amazing how many of us will be seen as top leaders when we start acting like top leaders. Instead of waiting to be “asked” to do things, grab them and figure out how to get involved first. Although it’s scary at times, taking chances like these often help you set yourself apart.
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