Huff Post: “Marooned in Middle Management…”
By Kurt Schmidt In Blog On April 17, 2014
Sara Canaday’s recent article, “Marooned in Middle Management? Something is Missing” provides a lot of good tips for evaluating the impact of your job – especially if you’ve been there a while and feel stuck. She describes passed over “Perpetual Doers” as people who get everything done, are detail oriented and deadline aware but never quite make it into leadership positions. She cites things like emotional intelligence, situational awareness and political savvy as components of a “mysterious x factor” that differentiates “executives” from “Perpetual Doers.”
In order to bridge the gaps and develop some of the “executive presence” required to get to the next level, Sara suggests four clear strategies:
First: “Take ownership of your career trajectory” – visualize where you want to go, seek mentor and peer advice, understand the requirements for the jobs you want and set goals.
Second: “Seek input and guidance” – from people who have the jobs you want and model their actions against your own in order to grow.
Third: “Redefine your value” – understand the impact you make in your own organization and rate yourself against your peers.
Fourth: “Seek additional opportunities” – basically, never stop learning, keep your eyes open for chances to contribute more and make an impact.
These are all good ideas, not only internally, as Sara suggests, but also in the context of a job search. Employment is risky and smart employees are always keeping their eyes open for new opportunities. Jobs come and go and the threat of being caught up in a reduction or layoff is very real. Following her advice while you have a job is good preparation in case a job search becomes a future necessity. Of course, having a good job search strategy will also come in handy.
