This post is extracted and adapted from my e-book “Girl, take back your career.”
We’re taught so much that we can do it all, and we can do it alone, that we tend to forget that others play a crucial role in our careers too. It may take a village to raise a child, it also takes one to grow one’s career. So why are we so afraid to use the guidance and mentorship of more senior colleagues and executives to teach us those skills and tidbits they don’t really talk about in college? The stuff only long, hard experience teaches. The stuff you can only get by asking, probing, and getting closer to those “in the know”…
As a matter of fact, not only should you not be afraid of asking for that guidance, you should actively, even aggressively, seek it. Start with your manager and openly inquire about ways to advance your career in the department and company at large.
Stop by that executive’s office before or after-hours, and politely ask if you could pick their brains about your career path.
Send them a quick email telling them how much you admire them, and if they have a minute out of their busy day, you’d love to ask them a couple of questions.
Your best professional resources are the people around you, so use them! Not in an opportunistic, “let-me-step-on-everyone’s-toes” kind of way, but in a smart, strategic, always respectful way. In a way that says: “If you’ve done it, then you can pass it on and teach me how to do it! I want to learn!”
This is also how you form strategic alliances and fruitful friendships to take you to the next level… Remember, if you don’t ask, the answer will always be no…
And once you’re in front of that high-power executive, keep in mind these words from one of my mentors, whom we’ll call Ann for the time being:
“I didn’t go chit-chat about the weather. I remember standing there, at 20-something years old, in my boss’s boss gleaming office, earlier than most would consider even getting out of bed. And asking him one simple question, one question that would change the course of my entire career: “What do I have to do to get to the next level? Give me a list of deliverables that I canwork on.”
I asked this same question every month or so, when I would pop in to his office at the crack of dawn, notebook and pen in hand, fierce ambition in toe. I’d give him an update on the deliverables he instructed me to work on the previous month. And every month, I would go back with the same list now filled with checkmarks and questions, asking what’s next. That’s how I kept going to the next level, and the next level, and the next level…”
How many of us, like Ann, would dare to come up to leaders in our departments and companies, and ask for guidance? Not just vague, indirect guidance. But rather pointed, direct guidance with bullet points and deadlines and the whole career kitchen sink. The stuff that not only makes us accountable for our own progress, but also makes others accountable to follow up and deliver as well.
From talking to Ann and observing countless successful men and women from different walks of life, experiences and backgrounds, in various fields and professions, I learnt building a successful career is quite similar to playing a game of chess.
It’s about knowing how to move and sidestep your way to success, while still remaining true to who you are and where you want to go in life. It’s about taking all the pieces of your life’s work and creating your most productive and fulfilling picture.
According to the marketing classic “Positioning: The Battle for your Mind” by Al Ries and Jack Trout, the concept of positioning can be described as “ what you do to the mind of the prospect”. At work, it’s what you do to the minds of others, whether it be colleagues, executives and higher-ups, to get visibility across your organization. It’s what you do to gain access to the information and networks that can positively impact your career.
In their article “Gender and Career Success: The Facilitative Role of Political Skill”, authors Pamela Perrewe and Debra Nelson write about women’s disadvantage when it comes to this access:
“Women lack both access to important organizational information and effective positioning. Positioning involves getting into positions to take advantage of opportunities when they are presented, as well as helping to create opportunities.”
In this sense, it’s also what you do to capture your professional essence, and package it in a way to positively influence others around you as your grow through it. And it can come down to zooming in to a few select aspects of your professional persona:
Find Your Value Proposition.
Most of us hate talking about ourselves, let alone describe our accomplishments.
One of my managers once explained this simple concept to me: “In Big Corporate, people have to know who you are.” In order to build the relationships you need, you must promote yourself.
Does it mean you have to go around bragging about your latest accomplishments? Or interrupting every meeting to report the last project you’re working on, or how fabulous your work ethics are? Not necessarily…
And maybe that’s the problem with the whole self-promotion thing. Maybe it’s not a one-fits-all kind of strategy. Maybe it’s not meant to be a strategy at all, and instead should be tailored to who you are and how you prefer to interact with others at work.
After years of struggling with the whole “toot your own horn” thing, and growing less and less comfortable with the entire concept, I finally came to terms with it. For the slightly introverts, bragging- adverse people like me, I suggest replacing self-promotion with self-awareness.
Know what you’re really good at, and how you’ve shown your expertise and talent through the various projects you’ve been involved in. Now take that self-awareness and use it to help others and advance the goals of your organization. Not only does it take away that uncomfortable “me-me-me” edge, but it also extends your accomplishments further than your own work, into others’ goals and objectives. That’s not just self-promotion, that’s defining your value proposition.
It’s really about knowing what sets you apart, the unique way you perform and deliver your work, and how that contributes to your department’s or company’s goals. For instance, if your “secret sauce”, your “mojo” is coming up with great, unique strategies that help your team save significant time and effort producing results, then that IS your value proposition.
Establish Your Power Network.
IN OTHER WORDS, who’s in your “Who’s Who” list? Not that you should play “Corporate Groupie of the year”, but knowing and being known by the cream of the crop in your team, department or company does open up a world of opportunities, knowledge and wisdom for you.
But how do you get to know the who’s who, the cream of the crop, when you don’t report directly to them, and have literally no work interaction with them, other than seeing them on the Intranet’s front page day in and day out? Do you just crash the Director’s office on a random day with a smile and a thousand questions (please don’t)?
There are ways to go around the “I don’t know all these high-powered people” problem. Start by seeking one or multiple mentors, which is nothing more than asking someone you highly admire in your team, department or company to share their experience and show you some of the Big Corporate ropes. Most high-powered executives have themselves had mentors who helped them further their careers through networking, opportunities and oodles of corporate wisdom. And most would be happy to send the elevator back down…
JOINING PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND GROUPS, as well as attending professional conferences and events, is also a great way to meet and network with high-powered execs in your field.
EVEN IN YOUR day-to-day interactions and meetings, pay close attention to the individuals you come in contact with. Networking doesn’t have to be this formal exercise in meeting other human beings. And it doesn’t have to be restricted to after-hours venues, or golf courses for that matter. It could be as easy as sending an email to someone you may have come across to ask for advice, or pick someone’s brain in the hallway at the end of a meeting.
ALL IN ALL, it comes down to purposely and consciously leveraging your professional interactions, whether they happen in the hallway at coffee break time, or in a more formal professional event, or even from afar with someone you greatly admire.
You don’t have to pick between competition and collaboration.
NOW THIS IS A TOUGH ONE. We’re told to stand out, to position ourselves in a unique way, to rise to the top of the Big Corporate ladder (and annihilate the competition in the process, right?).
Yet we’re also told to collaborate, build a team spirit, and help each other meet our respective goals. And when it comes to career women, the less of us there are at the top, the more we (and society in general) are tempted to believe the hype: that there indeed isn’t enough room for all us at the top, and that the best shall win…
Yet, in most cases, collaboration is an innate skill for women. According to an August 2013 research working paper by the National Bureau of Economic Research, women were found to be more inclined towards team-based compensation than men. And in general, women are simply expected to be more nurturing and team-oriented than their male counterparts. But the real question is: how much of it works to our advantage? And how much quietly backfires in our lives and careers?
Maybe the mistake many of us corporate and business sisters make when approaching this collaboration vs. competition thing, is to pick one over the other. What if the right mix of both is what we really need to push ourselves to success? What if allowing our natural collaborative gifts to shine while maintaining some level of healthy competition is really the best way to go about it?
But how do we go about measuring the right dosage? If we were to make the perfect “Collaboration/competition” cake, how much of each one of these main ingredients should we add in to the mix?
As one of my mentors once told me, as a general rule, we should be collaborative enough to get the job done, but competitive enough to clearly distinguish ourselves.
Now that’s powerful positioning…
What are your thoughts on positioning yourself in your career?
PS: To read more on positioning yourself at work, check out my ebook “Girl, take back your career“.
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
