She looked to be in her early thirties and is running a successful company. She had our full attention at the AFB Leadership Conference, that’s for sure.
Most interesting to me were Erika Arbogast’s, CEO of Blind and Vision Rehab Services of Pittsburgh, tips for young leaders. She communicated principles enabling her to quickly advance in her career. The principles resonated with me, and a few left me challenged. I wondered if they’d do the same for you.
Principle 1: You want to move up the career ladder? Talk with your supervisor.
While you clearly won’t say, “I want your job” or “One day I hope you’re working for me”, you can say you’re very interested in preparing for a leadership role. You can also ask for your supervisor’s mentorship and suggestions for advancement.
Principle 2: Have a positive attitude. Always.
I know you’ll occasionally feel tempted to let frustration or resentment overcome you. However, a bad attitude is the quickest way for you to be overlooked for career advancement. Management doesn’t want to give you more stress if you’re demonstrating you can’t handle the stress of your current job.
Principle 3: Accept opportunities for growth.
Maybe you’re offered a work responsibility that will stretch you or your manager asks your team for a volunteer to tackle a substantial task; consider accepting the opportunity if you’re willing to learn and be committed to success. You’ll develop skills and your supervisor will learn you’re flexible, hard-working, and you rise to the occasion.
Principle 4: Meet people.
We talk a lot about networking and there’s a good reason. Whether you’re quiet or animated, you can get to know others and treat them kindly. When management is looking for leaders or when an outside agency is looking to hire, you have met others and therefore may come to mind as one to promote or hire.
Now you know Ms. Arbogast’s four principles for career advancement, but do you know the principles within CareerConnect’s free, accessible, and virtual Maintaining Employment and Advancing Your Career course? Diving into the course is definitely worth the investment of your time.
I know many of you are exceptionally skilled leaders and employees who have successfully maintained employment; please do share your guiding principles for myself and our community of readers. Thank you.