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You envision yourself having a seat in the “suite” one day. You want to be in the decision room, influencing important decisions that impact the entire organization. But where do you start and how do you know when you are ready?
Turns out, there are three basic achievements you can set for yourself that will cultivate and groom you into the leader who creates a following and makes an impact.
1. Target what you need to know and focus your skills accordingly.
All great leaders have one common thread: continuous learning. Identify your arena then master your area of expertise, whether that’s marketing, human resources or information technology. Pretty simple right?
Focus on practical learning that keeps you current and up-to-date, while supplementing your historical knowledge and years of experience. In addition to real-life experiences, build expertise by attending conferences, taking online classes and obtaining those certifications relevant to your current job and the next one or two steps up the ladder.
Equally important, avoid tunnel vision. Far too often people think it’s enough to become dense with knowledge within their specific area. What companies really need are leaders who understand how their work ripples throughout the organization. For example, a Human Resources professional can become an expert in pay equity and market analysis then make recommendations based on this. However, if they do not understand the financial impact to the EBITA of the company, their recommendations may not be realistic or impactful. Taking the time to expand their learning into this area of finance will propel them further.
By understanding how your department impacts others (and the organization’s bottom line), you have the opportunity to bring more value to the whole operation. That’s the kind of next-level expertise that brings visibility to higher-ups and gets you noticed and eventually promoted.
2. Get experience outside the office.
Put yourself out there! Volunteer work, joining professional committees, and mentoring affords opportunities to see inside the inner workings of another organization. Yes, these activities usually mean you freely give your time and expertise, but in return you also build relationships and gain diversified skills from an outside perspective which you can then leverage within your company.
People might not consider you for a project team or include you in communications because of their interpretation of your skills. Volunteering shows initiative and forces your managers and coworkers see you in a new light. For instance, your manager may believe you do not have the experience to move into a role directed toward leadership. Once she finds out you regularly lead construction crews for Habitat for Humanity, she might reconsider her assessment or inquire to what other abilities you have obtained outside of work.
Along a similar vein, don’t be afraid to volunteer for special projects at work. This will demonstrate your value and desire to seize opportunities to learn new things proprietary to your company. The best way to advance is to take action! Sign up to take on work that scares you bit, and then challenge yourself to push past what you thought were your limits. This will take a bit of commitment and self-assurance on your part, but you are capable, and you can do this!
3. Learn to listen.
Do you hear your mother’s voice right about now, telling you “You have two ears and only one mouth for a reason”? Seriously though, far from being a passive activity, listening gives you the ability to gain a deeper, more accurate understanding of the people and situations around you. It also affords the opportunity to ask mindful and educated questions which will get you noticed. I cannot stress this enough: It is equally important to exercise this skill with those above, equal to, and below you in the corporate hierarchy.
Listening requires you turn off your ego long enough to hear what people are revealing by what they choose to say and what they hold back. This empowers you to learn from others, whether you’re the CEO, a line supervisor, or an applicant being interviewed to join your company.
That’s it. Focus in on your expertise, broaden your perspective and listen. These three tips, blended together, will enable you to identify and fix problems, spark innovation and support those around you – all hallmarks that leaders seek in the executives of tomorrow.
Kara Jones is the Global Vice President, Human Resources at Flash Global, which designs and implements service supply chain strategies for rapidly expanding companies. Kara holds multiple professional certifications, including Senior Professional Human Resources, Certified Project Manager, and Certified Human Resource Development Professional.
Kara has focused her human resources career in the areas of M&A, Risk Mitigation, and HR Infrastructure. “In Human Resources we are afforded a grand opportunity to change the lives of the staff as well as the identity and potential growth and stability of an organization. With that responsibility comes an incredible accomplishment when you have a hand in the improvement of both.”
Kara is a graduate of Carlow College, where she majored in developmental psychology. She then furthered her education at Slippery Rock University, where she majored in business administration with a dual concentration in industrial organizational psychology and human resource management.
In her spare time, she is also an avid philanthropist, dedicating her time and expertise to volunteer organizations such as W Girls, the American Cancer Society, and Domestic Violence Safe-Havens.
June 06, 2017 at 05:08AM
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