The challenges that women face making it to the c-suite are frequently reported but less is reported about differences between women and men at middle and senior management. In order to make it to the c-suite, women need to be making it to senior management first. But with a reported 60% of junior managers being women and this figure declining to 20% at senior management level, women can also help themselves by ensuring they are in the best possible position to get promoted. (Original statistic published in 2014: http://www.wisecampaign.org.uk/files/useruploads/files/resources/tackling_the_talent_pipeline.pdf)
To help with this, here are 10 tips that will help prepare you to get that senior management position.
1. Believe you can achieve
Believe that you can do it. If you are constantly thinking that you are not good enough or that you will never make it, that is what you will believe and that will become your reality.
Start to believe that you can do it. You may need to do some personal development work on yourself, you may need to get some experience or even do some training. Rather than having a flat out belief of ‘I can’t do this’, try thinking ‘with the right preparation and development, I can do this’.
2. Create your vision
Observe successful leaders in your organisation, what is it about them that makes them so successful? What skills do you see them displaying? What are the criteria for their role? How does what you want to be as a leader compare?
Create a vision in your mind of the kind of leader you want to be. What will you be doing? How will you conduct yourself? How will you interact with people?
Now look at where you are at now. Get some feedback from colleagues, managers, people you manage as to how they perceive you as a leader. What are the gaps between where you are now and where you want to be? Develop a plan to close that gap and get necessary support if you need to.
3. Think bigger picture
How does what you and your team do fit into the wider organisation? What impact does your team have on the wider organisation? Don’t be solely focused on what is going on in your immediate team and only concerned with issues your team are facing. Understand how your team fits in to the wider organisation and the impact of how what your team does has on other departments and the end users.
Be aware of what is going on in the wider organisation, the strategic direction it is going in, any changes that lie ahead and be able to articulate this.
As a senior manager you will need to operate strategically so start developing your strategic thinking now.
4. Develop your network
Build your network within the wider organisation so that more people know you, know your strengths and abilities and know just how good you are. This will help you build your profile within the organisation and get people talking about you when opportunities arise.
Attend networking events and get to know more about other areas in the organisation and the people that work there. This will also help you be more aware of what is going on in the wider organisation.
5. Be innovative
Be innovative in what you do. Identify innovative solutions that will improve the work of your team or department. Don’t become a victim, always complaining about what is not working or how things used to be, change is constant. Be solution focused rather than problem focused. Not only will this help your work get noticed at a more senior level, you will have good examples of your ability to think innovatively to use when applying for promotion.
6. Keep a success book
When it comes to applying for promotion, it is easy to forget exactly what you have done over the years, making it difficult to recall specific examples that demonstrate that you meet the criteria or show that you have the required competencies.
Keep a success book or folder and record your successes, ones where you have made a positive difference. This means you will have a handy record to refer to that will quickly jolt your memory.
7. Get experience
Take every opportunity you can to get experience at a senior level, whether this is standing in for your manager when they are on leave or representing them at meetings they cannot attend.
Do some job shadowing or apply for a short term secondments if they are available.
If you are unable to identify opportunities within work, develop your leadership outside work through volunteering, such as on the board of a local charity.
8. Be yourself
Don’t try and be someone that you are not, be your authentic self. Being your authentic self can sometimes be challenging if you are working in an environment where particular traits are encouraged. However, if you are not yourself, it will take its toll on you and in fact can be quite stressful.
However, whilst being yourself, be aware of the impact you have on others and adapt accordingly. The feedback at tip number 1 will help with this. For example if you have a tendency to rub people up the wrong way, look at why this is happening and how you can adapt your behaviour. Or if you are the kind of person who is easily upset, look at how you can choose to not let hurtful remarks upset you.
Be authentic but be assertive.
9. Continuously work on your self development
Continuous self development is important not just when you are working towards getting promotion, it is important whether you are a leader or not. It enables you to keep yourself marketable, keep your skills up to date and stops you getting stuck in a rut. It makes it easier for you to embrace change and it also helps to keep you innovative and creative.
Get a coach and/or mentor to help you with your personal development. Enlist in a sponsor, someone senior within your organisation who will advocate on your behalf for promotion opportunities.
10. Enjoy the journey
Don’t become so focused on getting that promotion that you forget to enjoy the journey. The journey to senior management will give you many valuable experiences and lessons that can help shape you as a leader. Sometimes we are so focused on the destination or the goal that we want to achieve that we forget to be in the moment. We constantly wait for things to 'get better' that we sometimes forget to enjoy the present, time that we will never get back.
Enjoy every experience you encounter, even the knock backs and challenges you go through will give you valuable lessons to shape your leadership experience.
What has your journey to senior management been like? What challenges are you facing getting promoted?
Originally published on LinkedIn.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com
