One of the key detriments to climbing the corporate ladder is when you become, for all intents and purposes, stagnant. You’ve grown comfortable with your job and there seems to be no incentive to grow beyond your personal achievements. However, the day comes when the worker at the next desk is promoted while you remain at the same desk, on the same tasks as you have been at for several years.
Growth Beyond Leading a Team
You may have even risen to team leader but your earlier ambitions were to be made floor supervisor or even departmental head. You may have the academic and industrial qualifications to give you that rise in status. Why is it that you were passed by for promotion time and again? It could be job performance but usually, it’s an inability to avail yourself of the tools that will help you excel as a leader.
Using Technology for Personal and Corporate Growth
If you want to be competitive in today’s corporate environment, you need to draw from the benefits of technology. Not only will this give you a sense of accomplishment when keeping abreast of recent advances, but it will also give you a working knowledge of technology your company hasn’t yet employed. Project management tools, for example, can help you on both a personal as well as a business level. Whether setting goals for yourself or setting goals for your team, project management tools can help you draft a plan and stick to it consistently as you’ve mapped it out. Many of today’s entrepreneurs use this type of business tool to foster personal growth.
There are other tools worth learning, such as coding or accounting.
Study for an MBA
Education is an important empowerment tool for ambitious people. The more educated you are, the wider your world view. Education is costly at times, but it can dramatically improve your career prospects, especially in more competitive industries.
Many ambitious managers opt to study for an MBA, so they can learn all the skills they need to move up the career ladder in their organization. An executive MBA, for example, is perfect for aspirational executives at all levels. It can teach you valuable skills, such as:
- Leadership
- Financial expertise
- Location analytics
- Marketing
- General business tools all senior managers need
You can even study online, which has a number of advantages.
- Work full-time and study in the evenings
- Save money on tuition fees
- Study from anywhere, including on your daily commute
Many employers will even fund your MBA, as it benefits them. It’s definitely worth speaking to your manager or HR to see if that is an option. But even if your employer can’t provide any financial assistance, they might still let you take some personal study time.
Learning from Those Who Have Gone Before
If you want to see just how much personal growth can help you rise up the rungs of the corporate ladder, just take a look at those highly successful businessmen and women who are now among the wealthiest in the world. Look at Warren Buffet, for example. He began washing cars and working in his father’s grocery store before rising to unprecedented heights. He strove toward personal growth as a means to corporate growth and his vision is, and will be, remembered for time immemorial.
Find a Mentor
Consider asking someone more experienced to mentor you. Mentor programs are an important tool for an aspirational manager looking for a way to boost their career. A mentor will provide guidance and support when you have tough decisions to make. They can also boost your confidence levels by acting as your very own personal cheerleader.
When all is said and done, it is imperative to avoid complacency at all costs. Just because you have risen to team leader, doesn’t automatically qualify you for floor supervisor or department head. Rising on the corporate ladder takes a great deal of focus and continual work on finding and achieving goals. Once you have learned to manage your time and resources well, you will make an impression on those who can give you the promotions you deserve. By empowering yourself on a personal level, you are empowering yourself in the corporate environment—and that is what it takes to succeed in this highly competitive world.
Leave a Reply