Four Strategies To Accelerate Your Career in 2020 In Austin, TX

18 Nov 2019 Four Strategies To Accelerate Your Career in 2020 In Austin, TX

Like many areas in the U.S., Austin is experiencing exceptional growth. Specific industries that are growing in the Austin area include Advanced Manufacturing, Clean Technology, Life Sciences, and Data Management.

To stay competitive in the Austin market, we recommend four strategies to build critical skills and qualities that all employers will value. These are: Engaging your advocates and mentors, Building your presence and confidence, Communicating with impact, and Developing your political acumen.

As my coaching client Chris told me last week, “I know that in order to be competitive, I have to invest in myself.” In order to make these strategies work, you’ll need to invest several hours each week in practicing these strategies, and after nine to twelve months you’ll notice measurable advances in your career.

If you want to discuss how Executive Coaching can help you accelerate your career even faster, please contact me at Uri@thewilltochange.com

Engage Your Advocates and Mentors

The most impactful strategy you can possibly employ is to identify and engage your Advocate(s) and Mentor(s).

During my 30 year experience as an Executive Coach and with my own career, I found that the Advocate is the single most important person that can influence the trajectory of your career.

I have noticed many cases where the presence of an engaged advocate accelerated the career of my clients (and mine), and the absence of an Advocate slowed down or even blocked the progress of my clients’ career.

An Advocate is a senior and influential person inside your company, who has your career interest at heart, and who is willing and able to mentor you and advocate for your career.

You may start by identifying a couple of senior and influential people in your company who believe in you, and ask them if they are willing to be your mentor.

Once you have engaged one or more mentor(s), start earning their trust, show them that you are taking their mentorship seriously, that you are implementing their advice, and that you are motivated and committed to making the most of your career.

Over time, your senior and influential mentor(s) will turn to be your Advocate(s) and help you drive your career forward.

Build Your Presence and Confidence

Presence and confidence are two inter-related qualities that our managers always expect of us, especially when they consider our readiness for the next level in our careers.

Scientists say that 40% of these qualities are etched into our DNA, while 60% is within our grasp to develop.

Presence

The best science-based strategy to develop your presence is informed by the work of Harvard Professor Amy Cuddy. (Please check her TED Talk).

In order to develop your presence, Professor Cuddy recommends that you assume a Power Pose for two minutes right before any situation where you want to demonstrate your presence. (See Cuddy’s Ted Talk).

For your quality of presence to take hold and become a part of who you are, you’ll need to practice the Power Pose on a regular basis for an extended period of several months.

To measure the improvement in your presence, you can ask people close to you, whom you trust and respect, to give you feedback on how you are coming across during meetings and presentations.

Over time, your colleagues will report measurable improvement in your presence.

Confidence

Here I am informed by the work of Katy Kay and Clair Shipman who co-wrote the book “The Confidence Code”.I recommend that you check out their book and their videos on YouTube.

To build your sustainable confidence, you have to practice deliberately and regularly over an extended period of time. Below is my recommended strategy.

First, start your Confidence Journal. Once a week, usually on the weekend, write in your journal 3 to 5 actions that will take your confidence to the edge of your comfort zone. These could be actions that you would normally procrastinate on, dismiss, or just avoid doing.

Examples include having difficult conversations, approaching someone with whom you would like to build a friendship, applying your assertiveness at work or at home, etc.

Once you have done these uncomfortable actions, write the experience in your journal, ideally on the same evening. Write what you felt as you brought yourself to take the action, what you felt while doing it, what the outcome was, and how you felt after you completed the action.

The act of writing your experiences will enhance the re-wiring process of your brain.

Over time, you will notice that you are becoming increasingly comfortable with operating at the edge of your comfort zone and that your confidence is increasing.

After six to nine months of regular practice, the re-wiring of your brain will become permanent. It is recommended, however, that you continue with this routine, just like a diet or going to the gym.

Communicate With Impact

The secrets of impactful communication are simple, yet the effect on your career is significant and measurable.

Below are the strategies to consider:

1. Consider your specific desired outcome in each communication opportunity (including one-on-one meetings, presentations, and team meetings). Namely, what you want your audience to leave the meeting with, and/or what you want to inspire to do.
2. Consider the mindset and expectations of your audience, including your presentation audience, your team members in a meeting, or your one-on-one audience.
3. Carefully craft your message to meet your desired outcome, given your audience mindset and expectations.
4. Practice delivering your messages succinctly, clearly, with a prudent measure of voice and body language, and with personal stories where appropriate.
5. Ask for feedback, and act on it.
6. Practice, practice, practice.

Impactful communication is a skill you can develop like playing golf or the piano, but you have to practice deliberately and regularly for an extended period of time.

Develop Your Political Acumen

The higher you climb up the corporate ladder, the more you should finesse your political acumen.

Politics is typically perceived as negative, but it does not have to be so. In fact, masterful “politicians” are those able to achieve their agendas and outcomes while creating a positive collaborative environment around them.

Like all other skills, political acumen can also be developed, but it requires regular and deliberate practice over an extended period of time.

Here are the strategies I recommend for developing your political acumen:

1. Map the power landscape of your organization. Namely, who are powerful players in the organization that influence the strategies, key decisions, and popular views within the company?
2. Develop relationships with the key power players, and build alliances with key players that are aligned with your agenda and are prepared to support your desired outcomes. All this while holding onto your core values, and while building your own influence.
3. Respect everyone in the organization, and earn the trust of those important to you. Also, identify the people whom you can trust, and build closer relationships with them.
4. Build your brand and advocate for yourself in a respectful and humble manner.
5. Build your credibility. Become a ”go-to” expert in your area. Become a person whose advice people seek.
6. Choose your battles carefully and avoid pitfalls. Understand the social norms of the organization, adopt the ones that are aligned with your values, and carefully avoid the ones that are not consistent with who you are.

How To Build Your Skills

You have probably gathered by now that cultivating new skills requires a deliberate effort over an extended period of time.

Here are a few tips that will help you sustain your efforts:

1. Find an Accountability Partner. This is a person whom you trust and respect, who has your interest at heart, and who is prepared to help you execute your plan over time. The researcher found that working with an Accountability Partner significantly increases your chances of success.
2. Make public commitments. Let your team and your peers know that you are working on building XYZ skills, and ask them to share any constructive feedback. Scientists found that making this public commitment will significantly enhance your chances of meeting your goals.
3. Start your Leadership Journal, and make it a habit to write in it for a few minutes every night, and for a little longer over the weekend.
4. Develop a plan for each skill you’d like to develop, including how you will practice it, in what situations you will practice, how much time you can realistically commit to it, etc.
5. Take time off to reflect and strategies. Choose a place that is conducive to productive reflection, perhaps your favorite coffee shop, or restaurant.

If you wish to discuss how you can implement your career acceleration and skill-building plan please contact me at Uri@thewilltochange.com