Tips to Take the Lead: Moving up the Executive Ladder

Written by Valentine Fabre

Planning your career progression may be overwhelming at first, yet it is an essential part of your professional development — particularly if you are looking to move up from a junior position to management or executive levels. Strategising your next steps is therefore imperative, and requires preparation from researching available opportunities to adopting the right mindset.

Below are a few tips to help position yourself for a successful climb up the ladder.

Create a Short and Long Term Strategy 

Seeking more senior and executive roles entails a great deal of preparation, requiring you to establish a “blueprint” of long- and short-term goals. Break those down into a plan of small and measurable steps that will help you define a clear path towards your career goals. 

While ambition is a must, consider what is realistic for you to achieve at present time, and how those interim goals can feed into your five, or ten year plan. Patience will be your greatest asset throughout this process.

Put the Blueprint into Action 

Once you have determined your goals and the path to obtain them, look at what you can learn from the trajectories of your peers and role models, as well as their skill sets. Remaining a student is a key denominator of successful executives.

In addition, utilise other resources to grow your understanding of the industry, such as finding a mentor. The right person will not only allow you to develop a more extensive understanding of what leadership roles entail, from increased responsibilities to the necessary soft skills, but they will also guide you on how to get there.

 Another useful avenue is t short courses, which are an excellent way to gain expertise in specific topics and propel your personal and professional growth. If you sign up for evening courses, you can even balance them with full time work.

Adopt a Leadership Mindset

As you actively pave the path towards your next role, remember it may not be linear, and unforeseen challenges and hindrances are bound to arise. Check in with yourself often to avoid frustration, as such feelings will affect your focus later down the line. Think of setbacks as learning opportunities, where you have the chance to finesse your strategy.

Another element of good leadership is demonstrating patience and supporting your team. To develop a sense of authority without asserting dominance, employ soft skills such as being a team player and an active listener to foster trust and engage your direct reports. Teams who work collectively are insurmountably more efficient and drive far more innovation.

Executive roles can be for everybody who seeks them, however, they require a great deal of preparation to be secure properly. Alongside those tips, explore our career advice and courses directly at the Glowth Academy.  

Written by Valentine Fabre