29 Aug 2016 Three More Advanced Career-Driving Skills (Part 2)
In this Execu-Post, I will share with you three more advanced career-driving skills that will help you propel your career forward.
I’ve learned the importance of these skills while working with my Executive Coaching clients: CEOs, VPs, Directors, and Managers.
Irrespective of how senior and successful they were, these clients all asked me to help them further develop these skills, to get ready for the next level in their career.
These skills may come easy to some of us, while others have to deliberately focus on practicing them over months and even years to rip the benefits and excel in their careers.
If you want to read the first post in this series click on the link below:
https://www.thewilltochange.com/career-driving-skills-1
Our Career Mastery Program
In October 2016 we will launch our Career Mastery Program. It will be a three-month webinar-based program.
In this program, you will learn and practice the top career-driving skills that will place you on a strong foundation and prepare you for your next promotion.
The program is based on research from leadership luminaries, such as Warren Bennis and John C. Maxwell, on what I have learned from my executive coaching clients, and on my own observations during my 30-year career as a senior consulting leader.
The Career Mastery Program will be the most powerful and cost-effective career training course you have ever attended.
Please stay tuned for more information.
1. Make The Most Of Your Advocate And Mentor(s)
Your Advocate and Mentor(s) can help make your career, or break it.
Yet most of us do not make a conscious effort to establish an effective working relationship with our Advocate and Mentor(s).
“Making partner” with the global consulting firm Accenture (then Andersen Consulting) was by far the highlight of my career. And I can say with certainty that without my Advocate I would not have advanced to this level.
An Advocate and a Mentor is not the same thing. An Advocate is a senior and influential leader in the organization who has your interest at heart, who believes in you, and who will advocate for your promotion(s) along your career path.
A Mentor is a senior and experienced person who will teach and guide you in your career. You may have several mentors from inside and/or outside the company.
One of your Mentors can also be your Advocate, but you may have an Advocate who is not your Mentor.
Working With Your Advocate And Mentor(s)
Below are some important steps to make the most of your relationships with your Advocate and Mentor(s).
1. If you do not have an Advocate, review the group of senior and influential leaders in your organization, and select the one most suitable to become your Advocate. Ask that person if she/he is willing to guide and support you in your career.
2. Continuously work to earn the respect and recognition of your Advocate so that she/he can find it easy to positively influence your progress. Make sure you do this with good intentions in mind and not out of overt selfish motives.
3. At an appropriate time, let your Advocate know of your career ambitions and seek her/his advice as to what you need to do to achieve them.
4. Additionally, identify one or more Mentor(s) within the organization and/or outside. They should be experienced professionals whom you respect for their achievements. Ask them if they are willing to mentor you and let them know what you need to be mentored on.
5. Periodically assess your relationships with your Advocate and Mentor(s). Review whether the relationship is meeting their expectations of you and your expectations of them. Make sure they are still able to dedicate the time and attention required to guide and support you.
2. Act With Integrity, Respect, and Trust
All leadership books I’ve read so far say that acting with Integrity, Respecting everyone you work with, and earning their Trust are important qualities which every leader has to possess. Additionally, the value statements of many companies include Integrity, Respect, and Trust as their top values.
So if these qualities are so essential, why are we seeing so many leaders struggle who with them?
Like me, you have probably observed that practicing these qualities becomes particularly challenging when leaders are in a position of power:
- Acting with Integrity becomes more challenging when we find ourselves in compromising situations when there is a conflict between our primal desires and our higher moral values.
- Respecting everyone around us, especially people at a lower level, is difficult when we are under pressure to deliver. Allowing our team members the space to express themselves and to make mistakes, is particularly challenging when we are behind in our own work and/or when we believe we have all the answers.
- Earning the trust of people we work with requires attention, time, and energy, which we do not always have when we are challenged by the results we have to deliver.
Developing Your Integrity, Respect, and Trust
Below are some guidelines for developing your Integrity, Respect, and Trust:
1. Like with most career-driving qualities, developing acute self-awareness is the first step. Asking yourself every single day and in every single situation: “Am I acting with Integrity? Am I being Respectful toward everyone around me, especially people junior to me? Am I intentionally acting to earn the trust of the people I work with?”
2. Whenever you are confronted by a compromising situation, take a moment to consciously consult your own moral values. If you are still finding it difficult to decide on the right course of action, consult your Mentor;
3. Allow your team members the space to express themselves, even if their ideas may be different than yours, and even if you think you already know the answer. Take the time to let them know that you Respect their effort and their ideas
4. Trust is earned by delivering on your commitments, by being true to your word, and by being considerate and fare, even when you have to make a difficult decision that the other person may not like. Make sure you follow these guidelines in everything you do.
3. Create Your Professional Brand
Your Professional Brand is the professional image, qualities, and capabilities you want people inside and outside your company, to associate with you.
Examples of qualities you may want to be known for include: Always delivers on her/his commitments; Considerate, think about others, and likes to help; Knowledgeable in his/her field; A go-to person; Wise and always knows the right thing to say; Assertive and persuasive; Effective networker; Takes initiatives and makes things happen; Organizes and motivates people; etc.
Clearly, if you are able to create and maintain such an image of yourself, it will enhance your sphere of influence and will bring more opportunities to your doorstep. It is definitely worth investing your time and energy in Creating Your Professional Brand.
Creating Your Professional Brand
Things you can do to create and maintain your Professional Brand include:
1. First, you have to consciously define your brand. Who do you want to be known as? What qualities of yours do you want people to know about?
2. Develop a plan for creating your brand, including the amount of time, energy, and possibly money you are willing to invest.
3. Select the media and organizations in which you want to be active. Your brand-building activities may include: Posting professional content on Linked In and other professional blogs; Becoming active in professional associations and striving for elected positions within these organizations; Speaking at professional events. Volunteering at community organizations; etc.
4. Periodically assess the effectiveness of your Professional Brand. Consider using trusted friends who will find out on your behalf how you are being perceived in your communities.
This concludes the three career-driving skills described in this post. We invite you to read the next post in the series when it comes out.
You Are Invited to the Career Mastery Program
I’d like to take this opportunity to invite you to be one of the first participants in our Career Mastery Program. If you are unhappy about your recent career progress, if you want to break out of “being stuck at your mid-career level”, and if you are prepared to take charge of your career, you are the right candidate for the program. Please contact me at Uri@thewilltochange.com to be added to the list of candidates. I will keep you posted on the details of the program as they emerge so that you can consider if it is right for you when we launch it later this year.
Note that the Maximum Number Of Participants in each course is 15.
