Get Ahead, Get Promoted
Taking Charge of Your Career and Your Future
Do you want to progress and build your career? Getting to the top of the corporate pyramid is tough and it is not for everyone. Some get filtered out, some get stuck behind, some get distracted. Some are happy where they are. Only a few will climb higher - it is a pyramid after all. Complacency, inactivity and distractions tragically kill many promising careers. Make a decision. Take charge of your career and get the recognition and career you want and deserve.
Trajectory and momentum are everything. Celebrate your successes, then focus on the next level. Keep sharpening the knife, learning, and developing. If you want to get ahead of the competition, you need to get serious - and stay serious.
Some companies have fantastic personal development programmes and consistently help you map out a career path and progress along it. Many do not. Or don't do it as well as you would like. Some focus on their short-term needs only.
Even if you work for one of the amazing companies that water, fertilise and nurture their talent, that's no reason for you to abdicate control over your career and personal development. Surely you should be an active participant in identifying and honing the skills and talents you need to fulfil your long-term career dreams?
"The reality we experience tomorrow is generally defined by the choices we make today."
Remember, your organisation's immediate and short-term talent needs may not be in sync with your long-term career needs and plans. You need to make sure that you are developing and learning and making progress towards your own career goals, not just meeting the short-term and medium-term demands of your current employer.
It's your life. Make yourself as company-independent and future-proof as possible. Technical skills will change over time. Soft-skills, people skills and leadership skills remain valuable across industries and over time.
Personal growth and development is a lifelong journey, and the benefits can be truly transformative. By investing in yourself, you lay the foundation for a more fulfilling and successful life and career.
Avoiding a Potential Career Derailment to winning a Strategic role in a FTSE 100 Company
I helped a client prepare for his dream job where he progressed and learned a lot. At first, he was impressed by the Board but the more he saw, the more disillusioned he became.
Their strategic errors were affecting his operational role, risking his career and jeopardising the future of the company.
We identified and prepared for other career opportunities within his industry. He moved from an operational role in a regional business to a more strategic role in a national one where he was valued, more strategic and able to contribute more.
He loved his new role, his remuneration rocketed and his career took off.
The company he left went into administration 18 months later.
Result. For him.
FTSE 100 Senior Exec
A
Your help was invaluable. You helped me see the bigger picture, and present and manage... and sell upwards. Strategy vs.Tactics! Thank You!
Deal-maker, Rainmaker, Business Generator, Partner, C-suite
If you are aiming at the top of the career pyramid, technical excellence isn't enough. There are many technically excellent, hard-working people at low and middle level positions. You need the people and soft skills to get ahead and stay ahead. It's crowded at the bottom and lonely at the top.
Finder, Minder, Grinder
While I first discovered this useful code working with lawyers, accountants, and consultants who want to "make Partner", this truth also applies in other businesses.
To move up the pyramid you have to be really good at two of these. I advise clients in the middle of the pyramid who want to move and those at the top of the pyramid who want stay there and succeed.
Finders
Finders are the rainmakers, the key people who find and bring in the business. No rain = no business.
They usually have shares or equity.
Their job is sales, but Partner sounds better. They are hunter-gatherers. They don't cook the food - they bring it in the house.
They are at the top of the pyramid and they focus on finding new clients and business. Their job is judgement and pipeline building.
Their KPIs are concrete numbers - meet them or your future is shaky. When they do actual work for a client, it is usually high ticket strategic or advisory work.
Your business case to become Partner must show a track record of having brought in the business.
If you keep bringing in more business than you take out - your position is secure. For as long as you keep doing that.
Minders
Minders are responsible for work delivery and client retention. Minders titles include project management, key account management, senior managers, partners, engagement managers, directors.
They keep the clients happy and on-board and oversee and present and take responsibility for all the work that is being done for the clients.
They should be technically smart and have good people skills to manage demanding clients and exhausted teams who they need to keep busy, focused and on track while delivering projects and programmes on time and in budget.
They are the project managers managing down and the customer care manager managing out. Midnight dramas and just-in-time deadlines are standard. They should be great managers, mentors and coaches. Some are.
Grinders
Grinders do the work. The Grind. Typically, smart, young and hard-working, these ambitious "bright young things" do all the grunt work, earn the least and provide the margins for the business model.
Their job is execution.
They are essential but the easiest to replace as they are often anonymous to the client and seldom seen.
They are also seldom seen at home, as their hours are insane - but their focus is getting to the top of the pyramid so this is part of the price they pay.
They have huge opportunities, mature and learn fast (or burn out) and can quadruple or more their value and their earnings in as many years.
If they become Partner.
When they have the opportunity to get in front of clients, they need to shine.
They are being tested and it's a huge opportunity that isn't offered often.
Growth Areas
Personal development helps you understand you - your strengths, weaknesses, values, and beliefs.
Self-awareness is key to making smart decisions, setting goals that work for you, and living a fulfilling life.
We either decay or we grow. There is no pause, no standing still.
Personal development is just corporate jargon for learning new things and skills. Learn more, become more valuable, earn more. Simples.
As you focus and develop new skills, acquire knowledge, and overcome challenges, your confidence naturally grows.
You become confident in stepping out of your comfort zone, taking risks, achieving.
Learning isn't linear. Neither will be your progress. Sometimes you will fail. But that's because you're doing and learning new things. You will pick yourself up, continue, become more resilient.
Investing in personal development often includes improving your communication skills, emotional intelligence, and empathy.
This builds and enhances stronger relationships with others.
Personal development helps you develop critical thinking skills, sound judgment, and the ability to analyse situations from multiple perspectives.
This improved decision-making capability empowers you to make informed choices that align with your values and goals.
Personal development emphasizes self-care, stress management, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
By investing in your personal development, you prioritize your physical, mental, and emotional well-being, leading to improved health and a greater overall sense of happiness.
Personal development helps you identify what you give a damn about, your WHY - your passions, values, and your purpose in life.
It enables you to set meaningful goals aligned with your aspirations and work towards them.
This pursuit of personal fulfilment and purpose brings a sense of joy, satisfaction, and meaning to your life.
When you invest in personal development, you learn valuable time management, goal-setting, and prioritization techniques.
These skills can significantly boost your productivity, enabling you to accomplish more in less time while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Personal development fosters flexibility and adaptability, allowing you to embrace change and thrive in dynamic environments.
By developing a growth mindset, you become more open to new ideas, challenges, and opportunities, making you better equipped to navigate the ever-changing world.
Modules You Can Include
leadership
Leadership vs. Management; Leadership vs Coaching; Finding your Leadership Style
Managing meetings
Managing Virtual Meetings; Maximising and Minimising Meetings
presenting
Presenting Online; How Not to Choke on Stage; Maximising your Online Presence
mentoring vs coaching
Managing introverts - introverts vs. extroverts; Managing a Virtual or WFH+Hybrid Workforce; Keeping your Team Engaged, Happy and Productive
telling truths to power
Resilience and Drive; Integrity Under Pressure; Self Awareness; Emotional Intelligence
FAILURE, feedback and learning attitude
Learning to Love Feedback and Make it your Best Friend
strategy vs tactics
Various scenarios: presentations, goal-setting, persuasion, team dynamics etc
the virtual room
Reading, Leading and Owning a Virtual Room
imposter syndrome
Learning on the job; "Fake it until you Make it"; Stretch Promotions; Stretching upwards
social awareness
Self Awareness; Authenticity; Team-Creation; Team-working
Book Career Advisory - Elite Personal Development
You are investing in Personal Development Advisory that will help you keep you current role, flourish in it and prepare for promotion.
This is an investment in you and your career. The ROI is obvious.
Plus... homework review, advice and counsel in-between sessions.
You have a personal development budget or you may be investing in your own personal development.
We will review your last annual review and we may source and consider other people's perspectives to help us focus.
You can choose modules and themes from those listed above. Everything is tailored to your current situation, skills and knowledge and focused on filling in your gaps and maximising your strengths.