Feeling stuck in your job? How being the ‘CEO of your career' can help you get that promotion
Question: I feel like I'm a top performer in my workplace, but I've been stuck in my current position for the past couple years. How do I get the promotion I'm looking for?
We asked Liz Samson, head of industry relations and operations at Square Canada, to tackle this one:
First and foremost, you are the CEO of your own career. My biggest advice for women for early in their careers is to own your voice, embrace adaptability and be willing to take calculated risks.
Discuss advancement opportunities directly with your manager. Be explicit about what your goals and aspirations are. Don't assume that your manager or your organization knows what you want.
Come to that conversation prepared with a list of accomplishments and their impact. It shows that you're being proactive and makes your manager's job easier. Share that list in advance to give your manager time to reflect on it. Being proactive and humble and actively asking for feedback really demonstrates a growth mindset.
I had the privilege of working with some phenomenal leaders and one of them used to say: feedback is a gift. It's not always easy, but whether you agree or disagree with it, there is always something to be learned. It can be scary – I'm over 20 years into my career and I still get nervous when I ask for feedback. Work with your manager to understand the skill and experience gaps you need to close in order to move to the next level.
Then, put a plan in place to proactively address those gaps. I've made deliberate choices in my career that have honed specific skills. When I was in consulting, I learned how to build financial models, which can be hard and overwhelming. It's something I love doing now and that skill is an essential part of my toolbox. It's important to have that balance of playing to your strengths as well as challenging yourself.
Don't shy away from jobs that you are not 100 per cent qualified for. Interesting jobs should be a stretch. They should feel scary and exciting. A former colleague of mine who is now an SVP in engineering said that early in her career, she didn't apply for a senior role. One of her mentors came up to her and said, 'Four of your equally or less qualified male colleagues applied for this role.' So, she did apply after her mentor's encouragement and ended up getting the role. Don't be afraid to take risks.
Also, advancement doesn't always mean up. There is tremendous value in lateral moves. You need to make that decision: Is it up that you want or is it over to build that strong foundation for something bigger down the road?
Lastly, find mentors to support you and give you feedback. They can be senior. They can be peers. They should be people who you trust and who can be a sounding board for you. I have leaned on my mentors quite significantly when navigating through my career. People want to help others grow and develop, and having somebody who knows you, who can help you work through challenges and decisions is really important.
Forget career goals. If you want to advance, focus on tiny experiments
Make a pact that commits you to a simple and repeatable activity that will bring you closer to achieving your ambition, advises Anne-Laure Le Cunff, a Google executive turned neuroscientist and author of the popular Ness Labs blog.
When she started her blog, she made a pact with herself to write and share 100 articles in 100 workdays. It propelled her forward, grew a following and led to many other connections and collaborations as well as the book.
Bloom Digital Media's Miriam Verburg hit her stride making video games with a purpose
'When I moved to Toronto after my master's in communications, I was lucky enough to get a job working for what's now called Sago Mini as a project manager. They make games for kids. I loved it,' says Miriam Verburg, founder of Bloom Digital Media.
'When Sago had to let me go due to hard times in the industry, I used that as an opportunity to start my own thing. Long Story, our first game, is about dating. But the secret goal was to help kids who are 14 and just getting interested in that stuff by giving them more information about how to make choices that support their growth and happiness.'
My manager ignores me. Should I address it with them or let it go?
'If your manager is unintentionally or intentionally deprioritizing you and your work, that puts your performance in jeopardy. You are also losing the visibility and influence you will need to move up in that workplace,' says Sarah Stockdale, founder and CEO, Growclass.
'You can't just ride it out, but I think it's about how you decide to approach it. Sometimes when you are feeling frustrated or resentful at work, you can place intentions onto someone that maybe aren't there, and then that discussion becomes much more fraught than it needed to be. It could be that they don't pay as much attention to you because they aren't worried about your performance.'
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