My work with employees throughout the years has been exceptionally rewarding to me for one primary reason. It has allowed me to participate in a small but measured way, to guide people to higher levels of personal growth and satisfaction, while helping them to discover and reconnect  with their natural skills, talents, interests and abilities.

I am usually  involved in helping them with their thinking, to improve clarity, while giving them guidance on how to move along and progress in their chosen fields with specific goals and objectives.

What I have found over time, is that most people do not progress or move along on their objectives for two basic reasons:

1.    Lack of a strategy or plan.

2.    Lack of specific skills

To the extent that I can provide this universe of people a process, either through career coaching or business mentorship, to begin to get unstuck and unglued from their previous experiences, then we begin down the road to progress. Witnessing people move forward then that allows me, through regular feedback sessions, to “check in” with them, and to be of on-going service and benefit to them.

This to me is very important, for it is the beginning of creating and re-enforcing the success, beliefs thinking and self-esteem of the student.   Few decision makers in Corporate America or in the entrepreneurial marketplace is going to tap you on the shoulder, select you and appoint you to a level of higher responsibility without a proven successful track record of achievement, and subsequent followership from those around you.

As a society, we are still very much a meritocracy. This means that the candidate must stand out from the sea of other employees and entrepreneurs by being the most unique and best prepared of the crowd candidates. Raise your hand and take a position or make a recommendation, however unpopular it may be, because this behavior helps to demonstrate your interest in leadership, problem resolution and a higher level of engagement in the business or organization.

Your comments must be well researched, fully explored, and reasonable, within the context of the current business model of the company or organization. Remember that you are NOT trying to initiate a “palace revolt.”   Another  lesson worth paying attention to  is to connect and attach yourself to a rising star in the organization or a rising entrepreneur; somebody who is working in your space that knows more than you do, and is viewed by others as someone of significance and importance to the organization.

It is important that you find and attach yourself to someone who  knows more than you do, or has greater responsibility than you do, or is currently doing the job that you aspire to achieve. Then through the use of a great personality, personal charm, and genuineness, approach this person for help  and personal mentorship. You must also consider that your selected mentor may not have the time, experience, or desire to serve in this role at the moment, so you have to be patient and prepared for a delay in moving forward with this person.

Find others in the organization that may be appropriate mentors for you. Do not limit your search.   I will cover several more relevant and important aspects of “How To Get Promoted” within two weeks.

The ability to get hired and promoted in today’s economy requires a significant boost in the individual skill sets of the candidates and the hiring organization in order to attract and appeal to the very best candidates available. I believe that it is executive/senior management’s responsibility for growing the next level of organizational leaders, at all times, not just in tough times. This is an important philosophy distinction to recognize if you are in the new hire interview stages with a company, since it will help to define the culture and philosophy of the company, as it relates to the internal development of employees, and the company’s’  promotion from within orientation.

At certain levels of responsibility, a company may have to go to the outside to hire the appropriate talent and skills necessary for the expected growth of the company, because the talent/experience is not available internally, and has never been “home” grown or nurtured. Many companies would like to grow and promote their people from within to support loyalty and  growth opportunities for their employees. It is important that during the interview process, a candidate explore the following through a series of questions:

1. What is the internal management/leadership development process within the company?

2. How can I get on the long and short list of candidates of future promotability?

3. Is there a program for  internal development or external programs supported by the company?

4. Is there a program that you would suggest that I could take outside the company, perhaps under a tuition aid program that would be recognized by the company as a good developmental process?

These are some of the interview questions that I would encourage people who are looking for a long-term career to engage in, once inside the company.   In terms of personal developmental responsibility, employees should take the initiative to invest in themselves and take as many workshops, seminars, home study audios, and personal mentorship from people outside the company as necessary to help them along their personal development path.

I firmly believe that tomorrow we’re going to be exactly the same people we are today except for these four things:

1. The people you meet.
2. The audios, CDs” or MP3′s that you listen to.
3. The books that you read.
4. The workshops and seminars that you attend.

When you take action in any one of those four, you will move forward in the area of self-development and not have to look outside of yourself for your own self-development.    I think that  self-development is  key in today’s environment and economy. We need to acquire as many skills as possible. We really need to become an expert, and demonstrate mastery through achievement and accomplishment of goals.

I think you need to have multi-level mastery in the following 12 Critical Skill Areas:

• Leadership
• Interpersonal Competence
• Perception and Analysis Skills
• Use of proper Judgment
• Ability to Staff properly
• Your Energy Level
• Communications Skills
• Decision-Making Skill
• Organization and Planning Skills
• Control and Follow-Up
• Managing Stress And Pressure
• Ethical responsibility.

If you do your own critical assessment in each of these critical skills, you will begin to make progress at identifying your performance gaps, and this will start you on you journey to filling these gaps through appropriate mentors, programs, and workshops. I will cover each of these 12 critical skills in my subsequent discussions. Until then, make it a great day!

In today’s business climate, it is important to be viewed as a significant contributor to the success of any project, program, or organization. An extremely important skill to demonstrate in Leadership. I would define the act of taking leadership this way- when there is a void or absence of progress or of results in a specific area of endeavor, who is proposing and contributing the most in advancing progress towards the goal. Whether it’s in education, business or in government, the person who raises their hand, stands up and has a proposal that makes sense to the bulk of the people is demonstrating leadership through action. You do not need to have authority, given to you by anyone for you to exhibit leadership. You are not granted leadership you assume and demonstrate leadership.  Leadership is something that is done very professionally.

To illustrate this point, you will all recall the TV ad “When E. F. Hutton talks, people listen” This TV ad placed E.F. Hutton  squarely in a position of influence and leadership, because it created followers by virtue of the company’s performance track record and credibility in the financial markets..Followers will not want to follow people or organizations that they do not like, know and trust.

A key aspect of professional growth and development is Mentoring. I believe that is essential to accelerated growth and progress, is absolutely essential. There is a great little book which is excellent on this subject.  The book costs under $10 and is titled, Mentoring 101, by John Maxwell. I have no association or affiliation with author, but this a great book/primer on mentoring.

Mentoring is important for several reasons. Firstly, you have to select the right mentor and you have to have the right mindset. You have to have a student’s/beginners mindset, not an expert’s mindset. Once you find someone that you want attached to you as a mentor, because they are smarter than you, due to life experience’s and training/expertise. These may be people in your company, outside the company, in your friend and family, then you approach them to solicit thee help in mentoring you.

How do you search for a Mentor? This morning I did a Google Search for mentors, coaches, trainers etc. It took Google about 31 seconds to find 58 million coaches and business mentors. Wow. Now 58 million, is a lot of people. How do you select the right one person? You’ve to have a  list of criteria, and begins with an in person or telephone interview. What are your looking for: qualifications.

1. What have you done?
2. When did you do it?
3. What industry or business did they do it in?
4. How many people have they coached in the past?
5. have them provide a list of references and testimonials.
6. What’s their track record of performance in the area of expertise that you are seeking?

I will cover more ideas for improving your results in your quest for promotability within the next two weeks.