How to move up the rank without switching jobs
It is about converting what you love with smart tweaks in everyday behavior to make sure your rise stays risk-free.
Some of the most successful people often had an interesting curve in their career paths. They strive for greatness and commitment to meaningful growth, not just to become the CEO but to actually be irreplaceable. This is for those people who have the zeal to have a career progression like Sunder Pichai or Satya Nadella. This is not for those who want to rise just for the sake of rising.
The strategies discussed below will convert you from a Cost to Company (CTC) to an Investment to Company (ITC). These rules will help you master your strengths and work on your weaknesses to help you become an asset to the company.
There are many specifics that are never taught to us before we actually enter an organization. It does not matter if you have graduated from a university or not, almost all newbies make the same mistakes which quickly ruin their chance of becoming great within the system.
This is about converting what you love and combining it with smart tweaks on everyday behavior to make sure your rise up stays risk-free.
However, there might be a few factors preventing you to get to the top like hierarchy, office politics, and jealousy to name a few. You have to choose how to navigate the hurdles and make each day impactful. In being consistent, not only will you reach the top quickly but also gain respect from your peers. Bear in mind that a few people might not like you but they surely would respect you and know the kind of value you bring to the company.
Here are a few mantras that you need to embed in your thoughts and actions for the best possible results:
Know how to absorb into the company culture
This is essential for anyone entering any organization at any level. Company culture is often the most overlooked aspect of one’s corporate journey. Things in the company are the way they are because of a reason. No matter how a company claims to have an open culture and believes their employees’ collective contributions shape their company, those are often lying as there are unspoken rules in any company in the world. Knowing how to integrate into an organization is the first step you should care about apart from your performance obviously.
You should be able to observe what your peers and seniors mostly care about, is it performance or reputation? Is it creativity or productivity?
During your initial days, you will most likely be trying to adjust to your surroundings but avoid some obvious mistakes, for example, if called into a meeting with senior managers do not speak unless you are asked for your input. There are certain rules and maybe those are kept in place for a reason, just respect them and move on.
You might have been a manager at your previous job and a shift could mean new people, new culture, and a new boss. Trying to change the people around you work in start-ups and a small group of employees but large corporations often have their own culture embedded in them.
With all this I do not mean that you should become a suck-up, you should be yourself. Just try to maintain a fine balance between your principles and the company values.
Build Credibility
This is what most people often find challenging as they try too hard to be seen as credible employees. As your time in the company progresses so will your experience in dealing with problems and your productivity. Support your manager in solving the problem no other employee has taken up. By taking such challenging tasks, you not only show your true potential but also show them you will do it again and again if needed. This is how you truly become a credible employee.
Getting known as the ‘problem-solver’ is a great tag to have as it shows how much passion you have for your work. You will most likely be among the first two people for the raise.
Humility is a huge part of being successful in life and that is what every boss needs in their employee, that is what you will one day look for in your team. Always be ready to learn from your peers, try to better the system by providing knowledge training frequently, and push for a healthy workplace competition.
Become someone who is not only just a ‘problem-solver’ but even looked like the ‘secret weapon’ by the senior managers. You will soon be part of high profile meetings pitching your ideas which can create a huge impact on the system.
That’s a sense of satisfaction every leader deserves. Once you have reached this stage, the sky is the limit.
Know how to sell yourself
Do not brag! But do not shy away from taking the credit you deserve. Little actions such as pushing a group mail to your peers about the new industry trends or attaching your name on the knowledge training you provide can take you a long way forward. This way you make sure you are always in the limelight and no one can discredit it. There are always those people who undersell themselves because they shy away from any kind of attention at all. Being humble is definitely a good trait to have as an employee and a boss.
You should not be willing to sell unless you feel the occasion is right. Since you became a ‘problem-solver’ of the team, it should not be too hard to find such occasions where it will be difficult to not take the credit.
Another way of selling is involving in cross-departmental works. You will be recognized within a large number of teams and senior managers definitely take note of such candidates for future leadership roles.
Solve as many diverse problems as you can, even if you don’t have a financial gain. Do not go over your manager’s command chain to find work in other departments. It is always good to be on your boss’ good books.
And as you move up the ladder, you will have the power to solve such diverse problems yourself which will be worthy enough of the praise and the raise.
Be good at Networking
For most people, networking means a way to get to your dream job and that’s it. Networking does not stop once you get into an organization; it starts in a massive way. Wouldn’t it be amazing if your name is dropped in the most important rooms?
By now you have absorbed into the company culture, built credibility among important people, and has been seen as a team player and a problem solver. Next is to be on the tip of the tongue of some influential people within the system.
You could take part in networking events or even visit industry summits to broaden your circle outside of the workplace. An easy way to put your name out there is to volunteer to mentor junior employees and nurture them into leaders of tomorrow. Your circle of influencers will help you move forward and push your name to the highest level.
Let’s say you have an idea that you need to pitch it to the CEO directly, if your network of influential people has already dropped your name more than once, it makes your job easier than pitching in a cold room.
Set a goal
By now you would have surrounded yourself with some like-minded people who are growth-driven, extremely productive, influential, and credible. You must observe their career trajectory and set a realistic goal for yourself. It is obvious that you shouldn’t try to copy their exact moves but rather carve your own path. Setting a goal is essential to this process; most of us succumb to anxiety and impatience and eventually give up.
You might give yourself two years for a team lead position or four years for a senior manager position, maybe you are extremely ambitious and set a ten-year goal to become the CEO.
Most importantly, finding and solving the biggest problems of the organization should be your biggest goal; the bigger, the better. Some of the most productive folks maintain minutes of meeting logbooks and send it across the team on a weekly basis.
Set small yet powerful goals and see how your life changes over time. Apart from being one of the top performers, you will fail sometimes like the rest of us because no one is perfect. We have to face the hard truths.
Beware of the hard truths
- Your hold on time gets trickier as you move up the ladder because the result of promotion means more work — point-blank. Each and every day will get challenging, promising, frightening, and exciting. If you like this mix, you’re at the right spot. It is different to manage a team of fifteen compared to two sets of such a team. This leads us to the core of the problem; Time Management skills and how to master them? The way you will tackle the problem of time will define your personality each day. Sometimes it might mean coming in early before anyone else or staying in late.
- There will be some weight attached to your words because you will have to speak up on most occasions and take tough decisions at every level. The way your words impact others will play a big role in your life. You don’t want to reach the top and find yourself lonely at the end. If you manage a team or even a part of the team, you’ll have to make sure that your communication skills are impeccable so that you don’t come across as being condescending or negative. It’s a tricky situation when some words exacerbate your good actions.
- As time passes, you move closer to the top the existential dread kicks in. You have collected so much experience that you start asking questions like “Is it time to switch jobs?” “Should I wait for the CEO to retire?” “Am I content with what I have?” It is true that these thoughts linger among the best and they will haunt you in a big way. It might even pivot you towards a wrong decision during the best time of your career. The best way to tackle is by being honest about the fact that you are here because you are unique. Your vision gets clearer when you realize that going to the top isn’t lonely if you take everyone with you, listening more than talking and helping others shine rather than being in the spotlight.
- Your work-life balance might not be at the level you need it to be. This is not your fault as work is important but personal time is more than that. How do you draw a fine line? There will be times when your life outside of work will directly influence your performance. Do your best to keep your work life separate from your personal life. Your father might have passed away, maybe you went through a horrible breakup, your toddler is getting addicted to technology and you think your rent is too high. These are some heavy things to deal with and you should be dealing with them. But make sure when you come back, you completely dislodge with that part of your life otherwise you will stumble.
Conclusion
All of the mantras are based on successful bosses and those who mentor the leaders of tomorrow. However, you cannot find a magic book about being a CEO here but these lessons are here to shape your mind.
But imagine if you knew what the future holds, would it still encourage you to follow these steps? These will not only get you to the top but also fill you with purpose.
