Most people don’t want to climb the corporate ladder. Getting promoted takes hard work, time, connections, and a complex blend of soft skills, interpersonal skills, expertise, and more. But if moving up the ranks is your goal, lay a foundation prepared for leadership. Up your chance for advancement with these strategic moves.
Stay Visible
It takes more than working hard to be deemed ready for advancement.
Relationships are key to career success. Connecting with coworkers and company leadership creates trust and builds relationships with stakeholders who can not only vouch for you but support you as your career advances.
Staying visible is crucial to showing your value, expertise, and contributions to the company. Engaging in meetings, highlighting accomplishments to your supervisor, and staying in touch with your team and leaders are proactive steps to improve your visibility.
Share Your Career Aspirations with Your Boss
No one climbs the corporate ladder alone. By sharing your career aspirations with your boss, you create the opportunity for them to advocate for you when an opportunity arises that aligns with your goals.
While company support for professional development is invaluable, you’re in charge of taking career development into your own hands. Meet with your boss to share responsibilities you’d like to take on, skills you want to build, and where you hope your future leads. Prepare for the conversation by researching common career paths in your field and naming the management level you hope to achieve.
Take Advantage of Mentorship
Mentorship is a unique opportunity to learn from a professional more experienced in an area where you’d like to gain skills. When planning to climb the corporate ladder, learning next steps and pitfalls to avoid from someone who has been through the process is irreplaceable. Identify potential mentors in your network, or ask your boss to support you in making a connection, and have a conversation about what the mentorship may look like.
Understand Supervisor Challenges and Prepare for Them
Supervisors face challenges that often overshadow their leadership roles, yet many companies fail to provide proper training, leaving them ill-equipped. Understanding these challenges, and training for them ahead of time, equips you to be the best leader possible. Ask for advice from leaders you respect and pursue training on how to handle conflict, giving feedback, and more.
Build Skills Leaders Need
- Executive Presence – 26% of what it takes to get promoted comes down to having executive presence, according to Coqual. Executive presence inspires confidence in others through gravitas, communication, and appearance.
- Professionalism –From having a positive attitude to handling mistakes honestly, professionalism is a necessary quality for leaders. Beyond following the dress code or using formal speech, professionalism is shown by being dependable, honest, and responsible.
- Soft Skills – Soft skills, like delegation and navigating workplace politics, are essential to being an effective leader, and adapting to the benchmarks of climbing the corporate ladder.
About Specialized Recruiting Group
Specialized Recruiting Group (SRG) is in the business of people. SRG supports local business communities and professionals seeking new career opportunities by offering an individual approach to professional staffing placements.
