Management: The Epic Journey (the Definitive Guide to Getting On the Management Track)

Career Management, Job Search

Are you ready to embark on an epic journey? To stand in the shoes of the Greek hero Odysseus? Remember, the end goal of this journey is not an emotional family reunion. Instead, if all goes well, you will be ushered into the ranks of illustrious management teams.

Yes, you will be following the footsteps of the greats: Steve Jobs, Jeffrey Bezos, Donald Trump or John Chambers. As they did, you’ll face trials, uncertainty and doubt. Fear not! By journey’s end you will have developed the skills and experience to successfully land a management position.

To get there, you’ll need to prepare yourself for some significant “encounters,” we’ll call them. Navigate your way through each of these tricky work situations, and you’ll be well on your way to management.

 

Encounter 1: “We Need a Volunteer”

Take a deep breathe. Center yourself. Are you ready to do whatever it takes to get into management? If yes, then move! You’ll need to volunteer for that project before any other go-getter with eyes on your management position does.

Remember: Your manager has requested that someone accept this quest. Before accepting the quest, determine if its something that you have the skills to carry out. If you don’t, determine how much personal research it will take to carry out the task. If you can accomplish the task efficiently, and doing so won’t negatively affect your current duties, then volunteer. Attack it with enthusiasm and efficiency.

During the Quest. While a failure won’t necessarily blacklist you, it’s imperative that you set yourself up to accomplish the task.

  • Create a timeline that explains in actionable, descriptive steps what will be accomplished by certain dates.
  • Determine if your supervisor would like to meet about your progress throughout the project, and set those appointments.
  • Work ahead of schedule as much as possible, but don’t allow yourself to fall behind on your regular tasks.
  • Regularly analyze your project for potential issues.
  • Try to solve any issues yourself or with colleagues before running to your boss for a solution.

Once successfully completed, the current management will know that you’re a capable employee to keep an eye on.

Do you need to accept every opportunity that’s presented before you? Certainly not. Choose the ones that will cause you to stand out.

 

Encounter 2: Create Your Own Quest

Don’t be afraid to spearhead your own project. Propose changes or activities that will benefit the company or employees. You need to prove on a small scale that you can positively affect the overall culture, fellow employees or productivity of the company. By taking the initiative, you can demonstrate to the current management team that you have the ability to see problems, find solutions and carry out a project.

Good leaders are creative, intuitive and confident. They can:

  • See a problem or weak area in the working of a company
  • Brainstorm possible solutions
  • Speak with management about possible solutions and suggest methods to see it through

Step 1: Finding the Quest — Determine an area in the company’s structure, policies or procedure that could use some improvement. Regularly talk to coworkers about different aspects of the company. Keep an eye out for possible improvements that you could help implement. If something’s bothering you, it’s probably bothering other people, too — and there’s your open door. (Tweet this thought.)

Step 2: Pitching the Quest — Now that you’ve located your project, you must gain management approval. Don’t run to your manager the moment you get an idea. Spend some time mulling over what you would need to do to complete your project, how much time it would take and how effective the change would really be. Can you talk about each point intelligently? If so, then it’s time to talk.

The next step is to approach your manager. Ask if they have a few moments, and if not, request a meeting about an idea that you have. Be concise when you pitch the idea. Go into detail when it’s requested. Make it clear that you have the skills to either lead or be a member of the team who might run with the project.

What if the project you proposed fails? Failure is not an option! Okay, in all seriousness: don’t sweat failing. One stumble will not blacklist you in the eyes of management, as long as you’re communicating effectively with your supervisors through the process and you put your full effort into it.

Keep going to management with killer ideas. It only takes one success to fast-track you to a management position.

 

Encounter 3: Emotional Intelligence and Workplace Interactions

Good managers can take a group and guide it. Managers with a demigod status have a high emotional intelligence, also known as EI. According to University of Maryland infographic “Emotional IQ and You”, EI is a compilation of the skills used to:

  • Self-monitor emotions
  • Read the emotions of others
  • React in an empathetic manner to the actions of others
  • Choose the language that will reassure others during stressful times

Do you bumble through conversations far too often? Make comments that inadvertently give offense? Generally feel like your contributions aren’t well received? Here are a few circumstances that could be a sign of poor emotional intelligence:

  • Reacting to criticism with anger.
  • Conducting a conversation with a co-worker and not sensing their unease or irritation with the topic.
  • Inability to separate or recognize how emotions affect your professional decisions.
  • Failure to remain calm during stressful work situations.

Do any of the above sound familiar? Then you might have a low emotional intelligence. While individuals have received positions of leadership with low EI, the inability to navigate the delicate social interactions will make it harder to lead effectively. New managers can’t afford to isolate employees, react harshly when confronted with an issue or panic at the first sign of trouble. You need to be the calm leader.

Don’t give up, though. Your dream of a management position is still within reach.

Remember: EI is a skill that can be developed. Here are some steps to help improve your emotional intelligence:

  • Monitor your body language, gestures, and facial expressions.
  • Pay attention to your emotional state and how your emotions affect your actions.
  • Reduce stressors in your life.
  • Stop reacting on gut instinct. Be methodical in your speech rather than answering immediately.
  • Observe other people’s body language and tone while you interact with them.

 

Encounter 4: Saying “You Can Do This Better”

Every company will have at least a few employees who don’t have the skills and the knowledge to perform their jobs effectively. A team is only as strong as the weakest link, and you need to be aware of the weak links. Managers must be able to monitor employees for inefficient work, and then work with them to get them up to the necessary standard.

The reality is that managers don’t always have the closeness, personal insight or time to help each employee, especially with minor issues. Employees can demonstrate their leadership potential by helping up-train their team members on relevant knowledge and skills they might be lacking. When management see that you’re effective at giving constructive feedback and teaching your fellow employees, they’ll recognize your management material.

How do you talk to a coworker about an area where their own performance is lacking? Constructive criticism can enhance performance, but if not handled correctly it could cause stress, anger, tension and a temporary inability to perform tasks efficiently.

Steven Sommer and Edward Rockey, professors at Pepperdine University’s MBA program, suggest a three-step method to give constructive feedback:

  1. Do your homework. Collect data on the issue that you’ve seen. This will allow you target the issue in question rather than the employee.
  2. Ground the issue. Communicate the possible consequences the issue has on your fellow employees, assigned projects and company as a whole.
  3. Identify solutions. Suggest ways to solve the issue. You can come prepared with some solutions, but you should also be ready to discuss various solutions with the individual.

By adopting this method, you’re bolstering your workplace, sending out major management vibes and increasing your ability to communicate with and guide your coworkers.

Remember: You don’t need to be a manager to start giving effective feedback. As long as the feedback is meant to improve the efficiency of the company as a whole, your management team will appreciate you taking the initiative. Just to avoid stepping on any toes, you may want to discuss any issue with your management first and then offer your plan to address the problem yourself.

 

In the End

The beginning of your journey to a management position can be intimidating. There may be times that you feel you’ll never arrive at your destination. Don’t give up hope, though. It took Odysseus twenty years to return home. By building your skills and proactively seeking opportunities at work, you should get there in significantly less time.

What have been some of your hardest road blocks as you work toward a management position? Share them in the comments!

Image: Flickr

 

About The Author