Are you Ready for your Next Promotion?

Are you ready for the next step in your career?

A promotion is a great way to take your career to the next level, but it requires more than just hard work. You need to be able to demonstrate a wide range of skills and qualities that will make you stand out from the competition. From communication and problem-solving skills to leadership and organizational abilities, there are many traits you need to develop in order to make sure you get the promotion you deserve. So, let's take a look at what skills are required for promotion!

From a personal point of view, I was the subject matter expert in my department in my company for years – but it wasn’t until I developed skills like executive presence, communication, maturity, and leadership that I was viewed as a leader and eventually promoted to Manager and then Director. While having deep knowledge and developing technical expertise in your industry and your position is very important and necessary, developing the soft skills needed for leadership is what will get you to the next level.

How to Develop Your Soft Skills for Career Advancement

Soft skills are the key to success in any career. Whether you are looking to move up the ladder or just want to stay ahead of the competition, having a well-developed set of soft skills is essential.

In this article, we will discuss how to develop your soft skills so that you can make the most out of your career. We will look at various tips and tricks that can help you hone your soft skills and take your career to the next level. So, let's get started!

Communication

Developing the art of communication, both written and verbal, are key components to being ready for the next step in your career. This is one area in which you must always improve – even once you reach your goal position.

• Develop the ability to “read the room” - This means to be aware of how what you are saying is landing or being heard.

-Is your audience listening?

-Are they intrigued or bored?

-Are they engaged with you or tuning you out?

• Practice speaking by recording yourself. This may be a hard thing to do – but so helpful if you are working on developing your skills. This is so easy to do today - you can record yourself on your cell phone or record yourself presenting on a Zoom call.

-When I did this I noticed I said “um” way too much. I worked on developing better speaking skills and received a promotion.

• Written communication

  • My recommendation to improve communication is to look for any classes available on writing and to join Toastmasters.

  • I also highly recommend Dale Carnegie.

Executive Presence

Executive presence is needed at all levels – not just at the executive suite level. Executive presence is about how you appear to other people and can include the following characteristics:

• Poise under pressure

• Speaking confidently while not being arrogant

• Communicating clearly and succinctly

• Competence

• Emotional Intelligence

My recommendation on a book to read to improve executive presence is a book by Sally Williamson called “Leading Executive Conversations”. It is available on Audible as well as on Amazon.

Maturity

I know this may offend some people but hear me out. Maturity is more than being a responsible adult – it’s about knowing when and how to speak up, when and how to advocate and when to be silent. Another definition is: Maturity is not a matter of age, but instead, of how you choose to respond and react to various life situations. It is essentially a level of mental development or wisdom that has a bearing on all areas of an individual's life, right from their conduct to their relationship with others.

• Maturity When Speaking Up

  • Develop discernment and learn when to speak up – not every thought needs to be stated.

  • When you do speak up, are you uplifting the company, yourself and others?

  • Ask – is what I am about to say helpful? Does it add or take away from the topic?

  • Ask what would happen if I don’t speak up?

  • Can you rephrase so it is helpful?

  • If you have an issue that you do feel needs to be addressed – can you ask it in a way that is positive?

  • For instance, someone on the team does not take ownership of a project – instead of complaining and getting irritated with the person – can you ask, “For project X – I need to do X who should I get this information to?”

• Mature Advocacy

  • Advocacy skills are an important tool to help leaders bring people together around significant issues and compel them to action. On a personal level, people can develop into leaders when they can clearly and persuasively communicate their needs and seek opportunities to take on more responsibility.

• Silence is Golden

  • As important as it is to be your own advocate and to speak up when it matters, it is also important to know when to just be silent. If you think about it, how many times have you said something and then later or right away regretted it. Maturity is knowing the difference.

Leadership

Leadership is not a title – it is a set of character traits. Leadership traits to develop are:

• Integrity – mean what you say and say what you mean. Integrity is doing what is right regardless of who is watching.

• Listening – this means paying attention to the other person, valuing and understanding their point of view, and not overtalking other people.

• Advocacy – this means knowing when to speak up and clearly stating your point of view when the time is right. Advocacy is about influence and having others understand your point of view in a calm and rational manner. It means advocating for your ideas so that they will be heard and not dismissed.

• Teaching – Great leaders are teachers. They want the people around them to be better and they accomplish this by teaching what they know. Bad leaders keep their knowledge to themselves and are not willing to share.

• Self-awareness – Everyone should take time to reflect on who they are, and what they want and at the same time realize how they come across to other people. This is also about knowing what your strengths are as well as your weaknesses.

Start Working on These Skills Today and Get Ready for the Next Promotion!

Are you ready for the next step in your career? If so, it's time to start working on the skills that will get you there. Whether you're looking to move up the ladder at your current job or want to switch careers, these skills will help you stand out and get noticed. From learning how to communicate effectively to mastering new technology, start sharpening these skills today and get ready for promotion!