Leading Up and Moving Up
Maybe you’ve heard the saying, “Leaders aren’t born, they’re made.” It’s true, sort of …
Some people develop certain skills and gifts more naturally than others. What comes easy to you, might take more effort for me - that sort of thing. Nevertheless, creative leadership is a muscle that you can develop if you are given the right tools and work to put in the reps. The power behind knowing this truth rests in you learning how to lead yourself, your peers, and even your manager in order to move up in your organization.
When you take this reality and couple it with the fact that a surprising number of managers move up through the ranks without any leadership training or tools to help them succeed, then it’s more likely than not that you have, at some point in your career, found yourself under the leadership of someone who may lack the various components that go into leading themselves and their team or organization well.
Then there are some of you who may have excellent leaders in your organization. If that’s true, it may be intimidating for those starting out in a leadership role or those who aspire to be in leadership one day, to feel like they have what it takes to be successful.
There’s a lot to be said about how to lead up well, but if you’re looking for one practical thing to do this week to help you lead up and move up in your organization, my encouragement is to start with this:
Look for an opportunity to learn about your manager’s top priority and then make it your own.
Am I telling you to become “the teacher’s pet?” No. I’m simply telling you to care about the things your manager cares about. For example, if your manager is looking to fill a position on your team, you could also make it your priority to help spread the word by networking with people you know and posting the position on social media.
How can this help? It shows that you care about more than your own projects and to-dos. Ultimately, what it comes down to is taking initiative beyond your day-to-day in order to build something better for the future. Remember, leaders take initiative in the effort to create better outcomes for their teams. You can play a part in that even if you’re not “the leader.” Ask yourself, “How can my skills and experience come alongside my manager to help us reach our team’s goals.”
Some of it will be seen and noticed by your manager, and a lot of it won’t. But overtime, your team and colleagues will begin to notice. Your efforts will start coming up in your mid-year and annual reviews, and before you know it, you will begin to gain influence with your team, your manager, and possibly your manager’s manager. Trust me, I’ve been there and I’ve done this. It works.
Cheering you on!
-Nicole Lucas
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