How To Advance Your Career Regardless Of Who Your Boss Is

Maybe this picture is a great reflection of how you feel about your current boss. You are not alone! According to the research from Gallup managers are responsible for more than 70% of the variance in employee engagement. When we work for a bad manager, it can make our lives painful and pretty intolerable since we spend the majority of our waking hours working (depressing I know). If you don’t have the ideal manager it can also make it very challenging to ascend within the organization that you work. This blog will cover various steps you can take to improve your chances of getting ahead regardless of who your boss is. Let me be honest up front, the best decision is, in some cases to look for a new job in another company and that is a decision you may need to make but in the majority of cases you can either learn to work with or discreetly around the manager in a savvy way so that you can, not only continue to learn and grow but even to advance to the next level in your career. You can check out my YouTube video related to this post below.


ARE YOU THE PROBLEM?

First things first. As a coach, I need to have that tough conversation and help you develop a level of self-awareness. Let’s make sure you’re not the problem, i.e. that you are not the one getting in your own way of ascending. In any relationship it takes two people for it to either work or for the relationship to be a disaster, and the manager-employee relationship is no exception. Here are 3 things that you should audit yourself to assess whether or not you should be doing something different to make your relationship more effective.

  1. Never complain about your boss. Yes, I know it is hard but honestly no one likes to be around a complainer or a negative person. It is literally exhausting and draining and if you complain about your manager to others in your organization you never win, they could either not trust you (your character) for being a gossip or they could go back and tell your manager what you said. Trust me, this is a no win situation. Journal about your misery, call up your friends and family when you get home but keep your complaints to yourself in the office. (This rule obviously doesn’t apply to situations where you are being harassed, threatened or feel unsafe in anyway).

    **more helpful content! Extra tips available, click here to download an actionable checklist “10 Ways To Get Your Boss To Support Your Career Even If Your Personalities Do Not Click!”

  2. Do your job. Consistently deliver results, and do it on time. If you are not delivering consistently it could be a major reason for the breakdown in the relationship and it will be very unlikely that you will get support in the broader organization beyond your manager. If you have competency gaps then find a mentor who can help you come up the learning curve or invest in training and education. The biggest way to crush any opposition or argument is to deliver. If you are not delivering, then there is no conversation.

  3. Have a good attitude. This is very closely related to point number one. Attitude gets you a long way and most work environments are very stressful due to execution expectations and perhaps strained relationships. Having a good attitude makes you someone that most people would want to be around including your boss.

SUCCESS STEPS

Now that we have taken action around ensuring that you are not to blame for the flailing relationship with your manager. Here are 4 things you can do succeed regardless of whether they are unwilling or unable to help you achieve your career aspirations.

  1. Invest in yourself

    If you are with an organization that prioritizes your learning and development, great. Take advantage of the offered programs from online to live trainings. However, always look for additional ways you can grow your expertise so that you can distinguish yourself from the rest. If you need to improve your speaking skills for example, join Toastmasters. Seek out and create opportunities to invest in your professional development and do not rely on your boss to do that, it is your career so take the driver’s seat. If you have to pay for it yourself, then do that, you are your best investment. If you are not willing to spend money to invest in yourself why should anyone else prioritize that? There are programs available for all budgets that you can participate in. When we invest in ourselves, it moves our development beyond dependency on the organization that we are currently with or the boss that we are working for knowing that we will take all of ourselves, including these new skills wherever we go next!

  2. Take on cross functional projects or extra curricular activities

    Exposure is of critical importance if we want to advance in our careers. Regardless of whether or not we have a fabulous relationship with our managers, other people need to know about our abilities. A great manager would be able to give us the opportunities to expand our visibility but we should never depend solely on our managers to do that. Again, it is our career so we need to be in the driver’s seat. Seek out opportunities to work on projects beyond your team or join extra curricular activities where you can contribute and improve your leadership skills. These activities could include employee resource groups or being on a volunteer team. This focus on exposure will allow you to naturally connect with others who could mentor, coach or be your advocates through sponsorship. Check out this blog for more information on the role of mentors, coaches and sponsors for your career advancement.

  3. Solve an organizational or departmental need

    Business is about solving problems and the people who can solve problems on a consistent basis will experience a satisfying and successful career. Be proactive. Listen out for themes in your organization that come up consistently where a problem needs to be resolved and get working on a plan to solve it. If the area is one you have expertise in, perfect. If it is an area you are passionate about, even better. If you are passionate about the topic but don’t have the expertise, commit to researching, learning or getting training around it and volunteer to work on it anyway. If the area is a skill that others don’t have especially one that your manager doesn’t have, you will be seen as invaluable as you build up the expertise to dominate the area!

  4. Expand your network

    Finally, your career advancement should never ever depend on just one person, even if you had a stellar relationship with your manager. Your manager could resign and what would you do? Expand your network through some of the strategies already listed, particularly taking on cross functional projects or working on extra curricular activities. Go to networking events, or even volunteer to reverse mentor leaders who may not have a skillset/perspective that you already have. In business you don’t work your way to the top, you network your way to the top so let’s make sure our network is broad enough to support our aspirations.


Download an actionable checklist 10 Ways To Get Your Boss To Support Your Career Even If Your Personalities Do Not Click!

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Kisha Wynter