Focal points for career advancement

In practically all companies, professionals out to make their career receive quite a few advices and counsels related to general performance and meeting targets, etc. Such feedbacks are based on everyday mentions by your seniors, colleagues and subordinates, besides straight reports. There is also the annual exercise of performance review. The truth however, is that such feedbacks offer only marginal benefit to people because they are invariably pertinent to your performance in your current role.

In order to boost your career advancement, it is necessary that you reflect on certain pertinent issues because   clarifications related to them are generally elusive in most companies. First and foremost, you should have a clear idea about various elements and dynamics that regulate the rise of people to the senior level. In the context of such factors, what is the general perception about you? It is also essential that you should know specific capabilities and capacities that are required to be exhibited by you to facilitate your move up. And last but not the least, what is the modus operandi required to be adopted to move through the company’s intractable coppice to have things done at higher levels?

To be able to evoke suitable remarks vis-à-vis the above, you must get to know the reasons why such issues are not talked about candidly in companies. In addition, the persons who should be approached for them and the methodology of following whatever is told are other issues that you ought to focus on knowing. It is not that organisations do nothing about these. Quite a few companies do notify competency models in some form or the other like external perceptions, client specific attention, group effort and camaraderie. While their benefits are not discounted, their applicability is to varying management planes. Their very believability is lost when people who lack spelt-out skills get promoted.

In the light of the above, you ought to interact with decision-makers to discern the influences matter when promotions are to be affected. You can do so with the acquiescence of your boss and interact with as many people as possible, preferably senior functionaries who may have a role to play in your promotion whenever it falls due. You should endeavour to find out what specific skills were crucial in helping them to move up. Amongst various things, you will surely be told about the ability to bring out improvement to working procedures or the need to plan for team achievements. Your aim in such an exercise should be to watch out for initiatives associated with such capabilities like dealing with uncertainties or poising against opposition. The common premises that you get to hear should be registered but also make a note of aspects that are not spoken about as they often happen to be unconventional skills that also matter, directly or indirectly.

The next step is the toughest. You need to be proactive in soliciting feedback on your standing vis-à-vis the benchmarks for promotion to senior positions. You may ask questions alright, but the answers could be unpleasant and you should be prepared for such eventualities. Most people, including the senior lot are ill at ease offering such advice. This is largely because they are apprehensive of demotivating anybody who is aspiring and unwilling to go down. Therefore, you must have an open mind while asking questions, soliciting reactions and accepting whatever is told. An outlook that stands for learning how to go about to advance in your career should be made visible, rather than a desire to get it straightaway.

The most important of all feedback should be sought at the end. And that pertains to actions that should be taken by you to inspire trust in your capabilities to acquit well in higher responsibilities. If in case the concerned person has been candid, he would be able to dwell upon the capabilities that you need without fail to demonstrate your suitability to your seniors.

You need to dispel all apprehensions that promotions are also a part of company politics. What you should be clear about is how decisions related to them are taken and who all really calls the shots. Having good relationships with them will matter in you getting endorsed. Such aspects will never be discussed in open forums, however, if you enjoy an association of trust with a senior appointment holder, he or she can definitely enlighten you on the subject. You must remember that a senior will never appreciate getting quoted and hence you must maintain utmost confidentiality about the advice that you receive.

There is no point running away from the truth that as people rise in an organisation, the number of prospects for further promotions get reduced. But if you are clear about various factors and qualities that lead to promotions at higher levels, how you are pitched apropos them and the best method to go about, you will stand out from the crowd. And once that happens, the road ahead will be clear.