Nine Steps That Can Help You Move Into Management
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Elevate Your Visibility
Become a go-to person for good advice in your organization, industry, and professional and social networks. -
Differentiate Yourself
Identify what you want to be known for—technical expertise, analytical abilities, people skills—and do that better than anyone else, while sharing your knowledge. -
Strive for Consistency
You should compile a long track record of high reliability and accountability every day, not just sporadically. -
Convey Authenticity
In addition to simply demonstrating your skills, you must prove yourself as a leader who can be trusted. -
Don't Be Self-Centric
Instead of saying, "My proposal will benefit the company," say, "This proposal will benefit the company." -
Know Your Audience
Your presentations and exchanges will have more impact if you do the research required to convey genuine empathy for your audience's challenges. -
Don't Under-Communicate
When you under-communicate, you may end up having to deal with project-defeating confusion, inertia and failure. -
Relish Change
You're unlikely to be promoted to management based on your love of the status quo. You need to thrive in an environment of rapid technology and market shifts. -
Smile
A friendly smile may be all you need to defuse what could otherwise become an acrimonious interaction with staff, peers or managers.
Have you always considered yourself management material, but are still waiting for that elusive promotion? It's a universal challenge for employees: Many professionals want to move into management, but there are obviously only so many of those positions available. And organizations need to be circumspect when it comes to making such promotions, especially when you consider the fact that four out of five people who become managers turn out to be wrong for the position, according to industry research. Clearly, if you do get that promotion, you want to be ready for the job. So you may want to read Becoming the Boss: New Rules for the Next Generation of Leaders (HarperCollins/available in September). This book provides concrete, actionable guidelines to help you attain a management position—and excel at it. Author Lindsey Pollak positions the book for Gen Y readers, but her advice on presentations, social media, project leadership and professional presence applies to a broad range of demographics. What's key is to understand that to be considered for career advancement, you have to go beyond simply doing your job well. You also have to inspire others to perform better at their jobs. The following nine takeaways were adapted from Pollak's book. She is a speaker and consultant who specializes in career topics for Millennials.