Written by: Steven Crane, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Are you looking for ways to advance your career but don’t know where to start? Check out these eight tips! They will help you get on the right track and achieve your goals. Whether you want to get promoted or move up in your field, following these tips can help make it happen. Keep reading to learn more!
CareerPoint Coaching is completely changing the game for career advancement coaching! Many people know about career coaching, which helps people transition from various careers and helps them find the job they love; however, fewer people know about career advancement coaching. No one does it better than CareerPoint and their one-of-a-kind eight-value drivers. Below is a list of the eight drivers that have been proven to help individuals advance their careers.
LEADERSHIP
Leadership is without a doubt vital to an individual’s career success, but many people have opinions on what it means. In short, leadership is your ability to influence those around you positively. If you have influence over someone, including yourself, then you are a leader.
How to know if you need help:
Lack of self-confidence.
Lack of assertiveness.
Not demonstrating an understanding of your company’s strategic goals and business environment.
Not taking responsibility for outcomes.
Not showing a willingness to make decisions.
WORK ETHIC
Work ethic is something that can quickly turn toxic, which is why it is so important to monitor this with your coach carefully. Work ethic is all about your hustle and grind, and those that develop this ability tend to have a great career trajectory.
How to know if you need help:
Distractions, of any kind.
A gap between the Coachee’s expectations/perceptions with respect to punctuality and overtime and those of management.
Misalignment in mission and/or values.
Under-estimation of the importance of punctuality and overtime as signals of commitment, ambition, and reliability.
Poor time management and organization.
Poor email and communication practices.
Distractions from co-workers and social media.
Too much time spent in unproductive conversation.
RELATIONSHIPS
Relationships at work will either make or break your career. The saying, it is not whom you know, but who knows you, is 100% still relevant. Those who invest in building relationships are typically given more opportunities and chances to excel at work.
How to know if you need help:
Self-absorption—being so invested in your own interests that you forget to focus on others.
Lack of emotional intelligence.
Lack of self-confidence.
Lack of practice in asking questions and creating conversation.
Not developing or practicing the art of genuine curiosity.
Not developing or practicing the art of empathy.
IMPACT ON MORALE
Your impact on morale is worth WAY more than you think. You could be the best person on the team, but if you have a negative impact on the morale, chances are you will find yourself without a job very soon. However, if you work on being a positive ray of sunshine, you will find yourself with more opportunities than you know what to do because everyone likes to be around someone who is fun and optimistic.
How to know if you need help:
Often people, who feel perfectly happy, seem unhappy to others. Morale is about how others
perceive you, not the way you feel.
It goes without saying but avoids unnecessary conflict. “Choose your battles” as they say. The more often you disagree, the more people will avoid asking your opinion, and the more your disagreement will lose its power.
Unnecessary conflict and drama.
Complaints.
Criticism.
Pessimism.
Gossip.
POSITIONING
Positioning can be a tricky thing for employees to understand fully, but in short, it is all about the office politics you encounter on a daily basis. Knowing who pulls the strings, who the decision-makers are, and how to get involved with various opportunities at work. If you are not sure how to advance in your company, you need some assistance in this area.
How to know if you need help:
Dramatization: Acting as if something is a huge problem rather than assuring everyone that it can be fixed and taking the steps to fix it. Some see this as a form of self-aggrandizement. (Look how much work I am doing! Look how much I have to suffer!) In fact, the opposite is true. Suffering in silence builds respect; suffering loudly does not.
Belittling others. I.e., “This was a huge problem and it was all your fault. Look how badly you screwed up!” Do not minimize the problem but focus on the facts and the solutions, not the problem of the conflict.
Focusing on rehashing problems. Instead, focus on the plan to fix it and spend energy reassuring people it will be put right, rather than measuring the size of the problem and assigning blame.
Indulging in the drama created by others. Instead, remain calm and ratchet it down. (This is a prized skill.)
EXPERTISE
Expertise is thankfully straightforward and simply revolves around your competence at work. Do you have the right education, training, mentorship, etc., to do your job to the best of your ability, and do people consider you the subject matter expert.
How to know if you need help:
Pride.
Over-estimating your ability (Dunning Kruger Effect).
Not being willing to ask for help.
Fear of looking weak.
INNOVATION
Innovation and creativity often get confused, but innovation is one’s ability to take creative ideas, translate them into a strategy, and ultimately execute it to deliver value to the organization. Creativity is your ability to generate new and exciting ideas or think outside of the box, but it has nothing to do with your ability to execute.
How to know if you need help:
Being afraid to offer solutions, believing that it’s not your place/role to solve problems.
Presenting them in the wrong way or not knowing who to present them to.
Sometimes employees contribute ideas that are rejected and then just stop contributing ideas, wrongly believing that they don’t have good ideas or that their ideas are never well-received.
Actively blocking innovation (because the employee is risk-averse by nature or because they prefer familiarity).
Not working to build the muscle of innovation by engaging in other right-brain activities.
Defending the way the company currently does things in the face of customer complaints, frustration, or feedback.
BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT
Knowing your business environment is possibly the most important on this entire list. Most people refer to this as “business acumen” because it is all about your knowledge of business, corporate culture, company processes, market conditions, etc. In short, are you able to see the bigger picture of the organization and how various aspects interrelate with each other?
How to know if you need help:
Lack of industry knowledge
New to industry
Impatience
Lack of understanding of how/when opportunities for advancement arise
Lack of understanding of the “landscape of opportunities” (I.e., all the options open to you to advance within the company)
So, what are the eight drivers? They are Leadership, Work Ethic, Relationships, Impact on Morale, Positioning, Expertise, Innovation, and Business Environment. We’ve talked a lot about how each of these values affects your career in different ways. Which value driver particularly jumped out to you, and why? Let me know in the comments section below!
If you or someone you know is interested in personal career advancement coaching from a certified career advancement coach, please be sure to check out https://careerpoint.com/
Be sure to ask for Steven Crane, and I would love to help you advance your current career!
Steven Crane, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
"Steven Crane is a dynamic USMC Veteran, Serial Entrepreneur, Speaker, Best Selling Author, and Coach known for providing high-performance coaching to support individuals in identifying their key strengths and achieving set career goals. As a veteran who experienced the stereotypical homeless military transition, Steven has a proven track record of successfully building and running various companies focused on supporting individuals in advancing their professional careers and freeing their minds from negativity while overcoming limiting beliefs and stepping into a world of possibilities!
Throughout his career, Steven has displayed deep expertise in guiding individuals in identifying and overcoming their limits and thriving in current roles by offering 1-on-1 sessions. Moreover, he is skilled in counseling clients through career changes to achieve their personal and professional goals. Steven has also been commended for devising and implementing innovative coaching programs and leading global teams to pinpoint and explore new opportunities to inspire powerful personal transformation."
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