Do you wish to advance in your career? Be an upwardly mobile leader? Make more money? Have more responsibility? The first step is to raise your hand and get the attention of your boss (and his or her boss) by learning how to brag in a business-savvy manner (for suggestions, visit TimeToBrag.com). Asking and communicating your readiness and willingness will help overcome any hesitation on your boss’s part.
Once you’ve been given an opportunity, it’s important you make a full commitment to successfully completing the project, on time and within budget. New assignments require you to operate at a new level (yes, it can seem risky), being resourceful while ensuring the team has the opportunity to bring forth new ideas and daily generating your “game on” with the team when problems arise and excitement wanes. Lone rangers seldom succeed. Being responsible and accountable from start to finish is required for success. Giving up is not an option and will nix future opportunities. Communication and bragging are the keys to keep everyone on the same page (visit TimeToBrag.com for ideas on how to do this).
During this time, your blind spots will become glaringly noticeable to others and can actually derail upward mobility if not addressed. Simply being aware of them will not help you transform these weaknesses into strengths—you cannot build upon weaknesses! Minimizing their impact (and avoiding the natural tendency to dominate others to avoid responsibility) requires you to be coachable and have a good coach, someone who provides straight talk. By seeing potential problems faster, you can manage them more effectively. Clarity helps you take what’s working and develop the discipline of practicing good habits—it makes it easier to handle people and system challenges. This enhanced awareness is a great starting point for the next project. It is the signature of upward mobility as a leader.
©Jeannette L. Seibly, 2013
Jeannette Seibly delivers straight talk with immediate results to business owners and executives of $1MM to $30MM enterprises, achieving dynamic results. Along the way, she helped create three millionaires. You may contact her at JLSeibly@SeibCo.com to discuss your coaching challenges.