[quote style=”boxed”]”I want to move to the next level in my career, find a better opportunity, earning more money! I am good enough to compete and lead in my industry, leveraging my expertise.” [/quote]
Because deep down you know, there’s a leadership opportunity with your name written all over it and are ready to take on a more challenging role and raise your rank in your field.
Who you are
You are smart, motivated, have demonstrated leadership ability at some point in your career (if even on a small scale) and have now set your mind to landing a more challenging role with a much better salary that pays what you’re worth now, (because your current salary range is based on what you were worth then before all your experiece now). You have the openness, faith and “no-excuses” attitude to stepping up your game, into a position you can own, now.
It’s time to start high-fiving yourself because deep down you know, you have what it takes to step into a role that offers higher-level, decision-making opportunities with a better income where you will have way more visibility, attracting management to you, giving you so much more credibility because you have worked hard and are ready (yes, even if you are NOT at the 100% ready mark).
What your issues tend to be
You feel like you have become too complacent and are in a rut at work, too comfortable in your current position at your company (no real big surprises can come up). You feel stuck, unsure if you’re good enough and 100% qualified to take the leap into something with more responsibility. You struggle with self-sabotaging thoughts such as your belief that your communication skills are poor. You want to advance in your career into a new level, but don’t always feel confident and effective at delivering your ideas when speaking in front of others and if your e-mails and written documents are professional enough. You have self-doubt about whether you are taken seriously by colleagues and whether your personality really fits into the company culture enough to be promoted, even if you are well-liked by peers. You have no “inside” mentor to help you have difficult conversations at work, asking for what you want and how best to navigate the organization to advance.
What you need most right now
You need a support system to get you to a more challenging role leveraging your knowledge, experience, lessons learned and leadership legacy even if you haven’t held an official manager title yet. You are not STUCK. You just need to make a mindset shift first and wrap your head around how you see yourself in your career. Your primary focus needs to be on recognizing all of your bench strengths and value-adds that you uniquely bring to the table. It’s all about high-fiving yourself everywhere your feet land and practicing self-promotion techniques which will attract management to promote YOU to a role which will challenge, empower and (yes even inspire) you to feel fulfilled, offering more money compared to the salary level you are at now, because you are bringing so much more in the leadership shoes.
Then it’s all about having a tactical toolkit in your hip pocket when working with others, maintaining an authentic internal and external dialogue asking for what you need, pitching and communicating your ideas assertively with your unique feminine flair, not with aggression but with your natural M-O. You need to pull yourself out of “worker bee” mode and show them that you’re a big picture thinker and can see how things should be run in your departmental area the right way. You need to grow a professional network which will serve as a pipeline to new opportunities and a tribe you can continually rely on for support. Then it’s all about creating the focus and accountability you need to consistently move into higher-level roles, remaining empowered once you get there, slipping into new career shoes which make you feel excited and nervous at the same time!
