I was visiting with a 94 year old friend about the the traits people need to develop in their career and lives in order to get promoted and succeed. There was one she called ‘a noble trait’.
It reminded me of a couple coworkers in their 20’s who asked me how I got to be where I am today as the CEO. Initially, the question caught me off guard because I had never really thought about it in terms of a road map as ‘how’ I got here.
I summed it up in three traits you need to develop in order to advance: learn as much as you can, do more than is expected, and take the next right opportunity.
Learn as much as you can
Some jobs are more difficult or technical than others and require a lot of knowledge including continuing education. That’s a basic requirement for many positions, especially if you have a certification or license to maintain.
That’s just a basic requirement though. Everyone should always be learning more about their job, their industry, the impact your job has on your coworkers and the business. Learning should never stop.
Just because you ended formal schooling, that’s not a reason to stop learning. Actually, it is just the beginning and should create a habit of learning.
In a Forbes article by Matt Griffel, founder-CEO of One Month, an online learning platform, he said:
“Learning should be a lifelong endeavor, not something that stops at age 18 or age 22. People who continually upgrade their skills are not only better employees, but happier and more fulfilled people in general.
If you’re not learning, you’re stagnating. If you want to capture the attention of your boss or higher ups, learn as much as you can about your job, industry, competitors, regulations or standards. Become the go-to person.
Do more than is expected
My senior friend called this the “Noble Trait”. I can’t tell you how many times I hear employees in many settings say, “It’s not my job!” My response? So what?
If you want to advance in your career, I believe it boils down to your attitude about your job. When you agreed to take the job being offered to you for the rate of pay offered, you became a part of that team. And team mates do whatever it takes to help their team succeed.
Your job is the ultimate success of the team, job, or business. It’s the same whether you are the new hire or the CEO.
To be a teammate that wants to help the team succeed, do more than is expected. You will enjoy being a part of the success. That will make you stand out from the crowd.
“Instead of just meeting expectations, you can make it your goal to exceed them. That’s where the joy is. And it’s where lasting impact can be found.
When you do more than is expected, you’ll get promoted or you’ll get a better job.
Take the next right opportunity
In order to advance in your career whether you want a new or better job or you want to be CEO, make the first two traits a constant part of your life. With that as your operating base, you will eventually be presented with new opportunities for advancement.
Don’t just jump. Take some time to evaluate whether it is right for you and where you have planned your future. Oh, that means you have a plan for your future. But that’s a topic for another article.
Some opportunities may seem wonderful or too good to be true (you know what that means), but they may not be good for your future or your family.
Be cautious and diligently evaluate each opportunity and don’t rush. The right opportunity will show up when you are ready for it and all the skills and knowledge you have developed along the way will help you shine.
If you’d like to improve your career path, contact me and let’s talk.