How to secure your next move?
I put out a poll recently asking what is important for you at work? 64% said it was “enjoying the job”.
But if you are not enjoying your job, how do you go about securing your next move?
Perhaps you like your job but it's starting to become too routine and the excitement is fading so a move is natural anyway or a jump to a senior position or manager role is next to keep you enjoying it and motivated.
The reality is you have been securing your next role long ago whether you believe that or not. Through your work and achievements, how you act and engage with people, you have been sending out waves and vibrations of how you operate and where you are heading. Signalling I’m here, I’m in and I’m a candidate------------or not.
If a role comes available in your group or neighbouring team that you would love to do plus you think the time is right, is your name already in the pot? Are they saying “I know someone perfect for this role, I should ask if they're interested in interviewing”
What about externally to your company? Are you known, do your vibrations reach that far?
But how do you know if you’re sending out the right vibrations or if they are signalling to the right people and places? Well, if you are doing the following you can bet, they are:
You own your performance
Extreme ownership as “J. Willink and L. Babin” would say. Are you fully aware that it's YOU owning your performance and ensuring your achievements meet the bar of what is expected and then some? It’s scores on the board that counts at the end of day and of course are they up to date. I use my DOCS mindset for performance to level check am I operating in a way that will drive the results I need.
1. D for Deliberate Action: always focused working towards your important goals
2. O for Organised Action: always structured and planned
3. C for Consistent Action: biased for routines, process & perseverance
4. S for Strategic Action: can see risk Vs reward, make decisions & grow out of comfort zone
Review the DOCS mindset every week and rate yourself but don’t beat yourself up if off track because you can start again at any moment. A DOCS review can easily be lost in the mix of a busy week but those who stick at it have more successful outcomes. If you want to manage a team, group or business down the line then you best have this mindset nailed before you look for the job.
You live competencies for success
We could have a raging debate on what the ideal competencies for success should be but this is my take after ongoing reflective practice. Whether you agree or not it's important to understand what competencies are important for you including the technical competencies for your role and future roles so you're successful. Whatever yours are, I’m sure they will be great and the next important step is to keep them visible and do your best to live them. My 5 are:
1. Courage – to decide, to start, especially the difficult work
2. Confidence – to back yourself, because if you don’t, others won’t either and you will self-sabotage
3. Perseverance – to keep doing the hard work long after others give up
4. Support & Relationships – knowing how to make relationships, to communicate well, have a support network to motivate and give support when you need it most
5. Self-Compassion – for belief in you and to see continuous learning for growth
Think about it for a moment, if you do these general competencies well, you no doubt be taking on difficult work because you have the confidence and with your perseverance, good communication and your support network you will achieve where others might become blocked. But when you do get stuck you have the self-compassion to give yourself a break which enables you to realise what is happening, take the feedback humbly, so you can see what needs to be learned for continued growth.
People know you and what you bring
Are you a heads down, get the work done and move onto the next task type person or do you make time to really get to know colleagues up and down the organisation? We can be too busy to really get to know folks, plus there are those who just don’t like or are comfortable socialising but as it happens the saying “better the Devil you know” still rings true and a lot of roles are hired because they know the person and what they have done. That’s why it's important to think of yourself like a business and occasionally you are doing sales, marketing, networking, promoting and operations within and externally to your company. The product is you and how well you do your work and the benefits of you to customers.
You are a team player and fit company culture
Businesses are about people and they employ a workforce to deliver products and services customers will use. So, working well with others whether one-on-one or within teams is so important and more salient now that we have a real hybrid home Vs office working culture. Are your interactions with people positive? A leader from my past gave a talk once deducing that after any interaction where you communicate in any form, you come away either with a positive or negative outlook towards brand “You”. There is no in-between because if it's not positive you're not helping yourself. You might say that's unreasonable and some folks just won’t like you, perhaps but through proper communication and willingness to be a team player your interactions can be positive even if you disagree with people. Task yourself to ensure your next interaction outcome is positive because the person within a meeting or conversation, with the most flexibility will control the outcome. Not in a manipulative way but because they communicate well, respect others’ opinions and beliefs and work to find solutions versus stalemate. Think about the leaders you know and look up to. Notice how they protect and strive for positive communication outcomes and bring flexibility so everyone moves forward together.
Your intentions are clear
Your boss, colleagues, other managers and leaders are not mind readers. If you are doing a great job, they might be thinking how wonderful it is and hoping for more of the same. But if you want something new, want a bigger challenge, then you need to tell them. I know this can be scary but if you are doing a great job why wouldn’t you continue to do so in a new role? Even if you wanted to leave the company, initially folks will be disappointed but if it's the right thing for your career, folks will be supportive especially if you’ve always done your best.
Your manager is there to help facilitate your career growth not just to ensure you complete your goals. It's as simple as saying at your next 1:1 that you have been planning your next career move and would like to talk through what you are thinking. If this is a new role, a promotion or whatever, it's important to talk about it and ask will they support this. If it's a promotion, what do they believe are the results needed to move to the next level etc. After that you’re asking the manager to speak up for you in their peer meetings and in situations where roles and performance are discussed for the team or company.
The same applies if you want to work in another company. You let your intentions be known to your contacts and start talking to folks in places where you want to grow into. You have to put the signal out there and only then will others conspire and inspire to help you.
Finally, there is specific work to do once you start the process of looking and applying for your next move and I have this work broken out into 12 areas that need deep diving depending on the situation. If you are interested in an overview of the approach let me know and I will pass a document your way.
But remember the 80:20 rule, take action as you have 100% control of that 80% everyday setting the foundation for your next move within your current role.
