Dear friend,
Are you currently working at a company that inspires you?
Would you like to keep contributing to its success and move forward in a role that would stretch you up?
Do you have a vision of maximizing the value you can bring to your employer and the value you receive in return?
Have you a clear view about what that next step is?
If the answer to those 4 questions was YES, then congratulations, you’re in a environment conducive for your development and growth.
But there is one more question to answer: Do you clearly communicate what your next step is around you?
As I prepare for a workshop I am running in Madrid this week, I would love to share with you some of the juicy points I will be discussing and working on with the participants. The workshop is called “How Women Rise” and is based on a book recently published by my mentor Marshall Goldsmith with his business partner, Sally Helgesen. The book discusses 12 habits that hold women back and get on their way when wanting to develop their careers. Those 12 habits appear statistically more often and stronger in women than in men.
The second habit we discuss is “Expecting Others to Spontaneously Notice and Reward Your Contributions”. If you are like me, you may think that “great work should speak for itself”, or “If I do an outstanding job, people should notice”. It appears these are very convenient believes that serve as an excuse to not claim your achievements. When advocating for yourself feels awkward inside, developing such thinking structure helps your mind remain at calm and feel “off the hook”. However, this is not changing the reality: that others claiming more openly their achievements and expressing their ambitions will get their way before you do!
This is a natural thing, as the leadership will require someone to sponsor you for the promotion you are looking for. If your boss is not a great leader, and feels you’re doing an outstanding job, (s)he will be more than willing to keep you in the team, maximizing your contribution where you are now. This is not good for you, as it refrains your development, neither for your company, as it will miss to benefit from your full potential. The result of such a situation is that it can end up with a less qualified but (in appearance at least) more motivated person getting the position you were made for.
In the same way that companies create products and use marketing to generate demand for them, you have to do the same when wanting to develop your career. The superior quality of a product doesn’t just speak for itself. Companies that strive to bring to market quality products also spend a substantial deal of their resources in marketing. So should you. What is the marketing you need to put in place? It can start with your elevator speech.
Creating a quick description (less than a minute), that explains what you do today, what you want to do next and why you’re the right person for the new role, is a powerful weapon to have in your arsenal (or “tool to have in your belt” if you prefer a less belligerent image 😊).
An effective elevator speech delivery will contain the following elements:
Who you are and what you do now
What would you like to do next
What can you bring into that future role
Hand over your business card
Silence
This strategy shows 3 things to the person receiving your speech, which could turn him/her into your sponsor:
You are motivated
You know where you want to go and you align yourself with the company’s strategy
Your are capable of being concise, which is highly appreciated by executives
In addition, the process of creating your elevator speech will force you to think about your strengths and abilities, what you have developed so far, what you can bring to the new job. But also about your areas to develop, so you can target roles that will help you develop in the right direction. This will provide you with a filter to take decisions when offered with opportunities to contribute.
So my challenge for you this week is that: create your elevator speech and test it!
Let me know how it goes. And don't hesitate to forward this message to anyone around you who may need it. They are very much welcome in our community! To join us, they will just have to subscribe below to receiving the "Monday Morning Thought and Challenge".
Create an awesome week for you and those around you!
Ezequiel
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