Ep #21: The Secret To Building Trust in Your Ability to Lead at a Higher Level
I think it's fair to say that in order to get promoted into a higher level leadership position, you need to build trust with your boss and the leadership team. It's also a good idea to trust yourself that you can actually be successful in the role once you do receive it. But you may be stuck in how to actually get there.
In today's episode I'll show you how you can build trust with the leadership team, your boss and yourself with one simple action.
You might be afraid to create too big of a vision for your career because you're not totally sure how to get there.
You're focusing on the limitations on your time. "Will I have time to do a C-suite role?"
Or the limitations on your abilities. "Do I have what it takes to be successful?"
Or the limitations of your organization. "Sure a C-suite role would be nice but not with this company."
But none of these thoughts are going to actually get you closer to your next promotion.
This week I will show you exactly how you can 3x the vision for your career. I'll walk you through a simple process so that you never have to wonder how to build trust in your abaility to lead at a higher level again.
I'm offering a free Live webinar on "How the Biggest Career Jumps are Made During Times of Crisis." If you want to develop the skills I teach you on my podcast so that you can finally get the recognition you deserve, sign up at stacymayer.com/crisiswebinar and learn how. There are limited spots, so don't hesitate to sign up.
What You'll Learn:
- How you can be both rational and aspirational with setting goals
- The reason you are more likely to only set goals that feel obtainable
- Why 3xing the vision for your career actually builds trust with the leadership team
- Why this also speeds up the process in reaching your short term goals
- The real reason you are so hesitant to own your bigger career aspirations
Listen to the Full Episode:
Featured on the Show:
Full Transcript:
| hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of "Maximize Your Career" with Stacy Mayer. I'm super excited to be here with you guys again this evening. As I'm recording this podcast, yes, I've had to switch to recording in the evenings when my children are asleep, otherwise you would hear all kinds of fancy things in the background [laughter]. I'm sure this is what's going on for you as well as we're all still in the middle of shelter-in-place and working from home and all of the amazing challenges that this crisis is bringing into our lives. Before I get into the meat of the today's episode, I'd like to give a special thank you to one of my podcast listeners who gave us a five-star review on iTunes. Little Astra said, "A game changer in career advice. Stacy's advice really hits the needle in so many ways. Her latest podcast about how to focus on one thing at a time made me think about ways to improve the way I work and plan. Love the way she puts everything together with concrete steps to achieve results." Thank you, Stacy, for this amazing podcast. It is a game changer. Thank you, Little Astra, for your awesome five-star review. And I encourage you, if you've been listening to this podcast several weeks, and it's really helping you to maximize your career, to prioritize, and to figure out what you want to do next and how you're actually going to get there, then I encourage you to also leave a review on iTunes. Just go to iTunes when you're listening to the podcast, scroll down to the bottom, and click "Submit a review." It's super easy. And this is a time where it's really important for you to share with other people what is actually working for you. What is motivating you, and what is keeping you focused during this crazy time in our lives of what really is most important? So this is an excellent opportunity for you to share the value that you're getting out of this podcast,/ and to help me spread the word to more managers so that they can, finally, get the right recognition that they deserve. So I can't think you enough in advance. |
| Now, today's episode is going to show you exactly why it is so important to 3x the vision of your career. Now, you are a high performer. You're a high-achieving individual. You probably have to set goals for your team all the time. You know how to measure these goals. You have, probably, pretty good ideas for your career as well. That's nothing new. But the challenge that I see a lot of managers facing, especially when they're noticing that they're not actually getting the results that they want, and, generally, that result is actually getting the recognition that they deserve. They're not making the impact that they want. They're not being invited to the leadership team meetings. They're being passed over for promotions. It's usually because they haven't thought big enough. So I'm going to break this down a little bit for you, but I just want to challenge you to start thinking about what would my vision look like if I stepped it up three notches. Now, the interesting thing is is that it's, probably, difficult to do, and the reason for that is because you're thinking about goals in the wrong way. And here's what I mean: You are thinking about a goal as something that you understand exactly exactly how you're going to achieve it. I'll repeat that again. You're thinking about your goals as something that is practical. That it's something that you actually know exactly how you were going to achieve. So that's usually why we set our goals very small. So we might be willing to say, "Oh, it would be nice to be that next level up." And then we're able to set a really big goal far out in the future like, "I want to be a CFO someday." But we're not able to really own that goal because it feels so far ahead of us. Now, what I want to do is, I want to flip that, and I want you to start to think about goals as more of a vision, a direction to head. A thing to measure every single action that you take in your life upon. So does this get me-- does this thing that I'm doing today, get me closer to my long term vision? And that's going to start to show you how to prioritize. How to focus on what's most important in the moment. How to be more productive. |
| Because I've talked about this a few episodes ago, and I'll link to it in the show notes, about how the crisis is turning managers into high-performance leaders. But this crisis is actually teaching you how to focus on the simplest, most important thing that's going to give you the biggest return on your investment. So when you know your long term goals, and you are stretching yourself , and you're pushing yourself, and you're actually going for something that's basically impossible, then you are challenging yourself in a way that gets you out of the practical, gets you out of your head. And oftentimes when we're stuck in our head and we're stuck in, okay, how is this actually going to play out? Then we're not actually able to achieve our goals. |
| So, as you know, my goal is to get a thousand managers promoted into leadership positions each and every year. Now, this is a long term goal. In 2019, I think I actually impacted around 35 managers that I personally coached to get promoted into higher-level leadership positions. Now, that's a pretty great number, but my goal is to get a thousand talented managers promoted into leadership positions. And sometimes when I think about actually how that's going to happen, I get a little bit overwhelmed. I'm like, "Oh my gosh, how can I impact that many people's lives? How can I create content for them in such a way that really pushes the needle, that challenges them to do more, that gets them in a position where they're actually getting the recognition that they deserve?" But on the other hand, this goal is really real. It's completely aligned with what I'm capable of doing. It's exactly something that I could achieve. I just don't know exactly how I'm going to do it yet. But the more I keep thinking about it and the more I focus on it, the clearer and clearer it becomes. Another example of this is a client of mine who, when we first started working together, she was the director of finance. And she knew that she wanted to be a vice president. That was her next level up. And really, what she wanted was to be CFO. And I remember asking her, "Do you want to be CFO?" And she was like, "Oh, yeah [laughter]!" Something like that, right? And then I challenged her, and I said, "Okay. Well, what if it doesn't happen in five years? What if it happened in three years?" And she's like, "Oh my gosh! Wow! Well, I have to change a lot of things if I wanted to become CFO in three years." And then we started talking about what are all of those things that she would need to change if she wanted to become CFO in three years instead of five years. So that's what I mean by [3Xing?] your vision for your career. She took it up a notch. And it got her super focused on how to actually become vice president, which is still the next stop, the next rung on the ladder. She has to become vice president before she can become CFO. But now, the vice president position seems totally obtainable because really, she's shooting to become CFO. So you're starting to see, I hope, how this works a little bit. Now, I want to tell you the magic of the story. So Diana is her name, and I'm super-duper proud of her. So we got to work on this vision. She made some really big decisions in her career. She got out of the weeds. She got really focused on what that higher level leadership position would look like, how she would have to manage and prioritize her time so that she could still spend time with her family and really, how to focus on the most important thing so that she wasn't just working herself into a hole. So we got focused on all of those things. We changed that in real time. And then they announced layoffs in her department. And so this was before the coronavirus. This is last year. And she knew she was going to be laid off. But because she was so clear, and she was already acting at the vice president level, she went out, and she found a job within just three weeks. And when she interviewed for that job, she told them, "I want to be a CFO." She was super clear. So it was a no-brainer for them to hire her as vice president because they wanted her to become CFO as well. It just wasn't her time to become CFO yet. But within 10 months of having that job, she became CFO. So that is the power of [3Xing?] your vision. It can happen quickly, and it can happen in your favor. But you have to actually make it happen. So this is why it's so important to think bigger. Now, you've probably heard the thing, "Shoot for the moon, and you'll reach the stars [laughter]." So that's like a great example of this, or dress for the job that you want versus the job that you have. So part of this is you're building trust with the leadership team. You're building trust in yourself. Now, how does that work when you're [3Xing?] your vision and you're thinking two, or three, steps beyond the role, the next role that you actually want, you start to take on the next level role because you're thinking much further ahead. So you start essentially acting like the vice president now before you've actually been given the title. Now, if you're somebody who has been passed over for promotion in the past, this is by far the secret to it. It is so much it's so much stays in just words when you're like, "Oh. Of course, they should have known that I wanted to become vice president," as opposed to actually acting like the vice president, which allows them to trust that you can actually do the job when you get there. So there are all these different ways, and I talk about them in my podcast, I work on them with my one on one coaching clients, that I teach people how to actually and what's required of them at that senior leadership level. But for now I just want you to start thinking in your mind, just start brain storming what are the things, what are the behaviors that I would actually need to do now if I was going to be one level up? And then think about what are the behaviors that I would need to do now? How can I start "dressing" like the job that I want versus the job that I have? |
| One of the other reasons - so I already gave you one reason why it's easy to forget that you need to three X this vision for your career - is, is that you think that goals should actually be obtainable. And I want to add to that a little bit in I think goals should be totally smart. They need to be specific, measurable, actionable, results oriented, and time bound. I get that. Right? I don't teach that a lot but that's basically truth. Right? We need to have goals that we can obtain. But the way that I think about goals is that our vision is a longer vision, and then we break it down into the methods. How are we actually going to get to that vision? And that's when the practicality comes in. That's when it can become short term. So you can say, "Okay. I want to become CFO some day. And what I'm actually going to do to get there is to start acting like the vice president. And so what are the ways that I can start acting like the vice president?" Because if I want to become CFO, I have to understand what the role of a vice president would be first. Right? But always keeping in mind what that longer vision for your career. |
| Another reason that we're very hesitant to three X the vision for our career is because we don't understand what that actual career path would entail. So we have really crappy role models a lot of times unfortunately. And this is part of the reason that my mission is to get a thousand managers promoted into senior leadership positions each year is because we need better leaders at the top. And so we might not have the best role models at the top of our organization. So having not the best role models could be having somebody who works their selves to the bone. Right? They spend no time with their family. They're angry all of the time. They micromanage their teams. They're really making harsh, fast, quick decisions that seem not beneficial to anyone. They seem like they're always worried about their job security and stressed out all the time. So that's not a really great role model to have. And when we have somebody like that who is above us it's really easy to not want their job. You don't want to be like that. And what I say to that is, don't. Don't be like them. You don't have to be like them. And the way that you don't have to be like them is to start thinking more strategically now. At this either senior manager or director level position that you're at now and start thinking more bigger picture and start thinking long-term and start getting out of the weeds and start grooming your successor. Another quality of a lot of C-suite executives is that they have this vast and wide network of people and so go out, get the mentors, and make sure you know who your sponsors are and figure out your communication challenges. And these are all of the things that are going to help you be successful once you actually make it into that senior-level leadership position. And you need to do them now so that when you do get the job, you're ready for it. And so not only does the leadership team have to trust that you can do the job, you also have to trust that you can do the job as well. And so that's just something that I wanted to point out is that don't be afraid just because the people who are above you are crappy role models that you're going to be that type of leader too. And there are ways to get support and one of those ways is through coaching so that you have really strong mentors, coaches and guides to help you along the way and to make sure that you're not running yourself into the ground and that you're watching out for all the pitfalls along the way. And so just be open to that possibility and it's going to help you strive for more. |
| Another reason, and this kind of falls into the practical thing, is that not only can people see themselves moving into that specific vision any time soon and so they don't really see the steps that it'll take to get there. And the other reason why so many managers are hesitant to really own this bigger more aspirational vision for their career is because of their organization that they currently work for. And so let's say that you've been working for your company for 15 years and the leadership team doesn't change and it pretty much stays the same and the people who are in those in those positions have been in there a long time. Or let's say that the process at your organization is so slow that you have to be in every position for three years and so you're thinking, "Okay, I have 15 years left to work or have 20 years left in my career before I retire. And right now, I'm a senior manager, and then I have to become a director, and then I have a senior director, and then a vice president, and then a senior vice." And so a CFO position is so far out that you're like, "I don't even know if I'll get there in time." And so you're using the limitations of your specific organization and your specific situation to limit you from even setting the goal. But what I want to do is I want to challenge you to set the goal and figure out how you're going to get there. |
| Now, Elon Musk has this goal to travel to Mars. And the reason that he built Tesla and built the electrical vehicles is because his long-term vision is to travel to Mars and to have - I don't know - some sort of life on Mars, I guess. I don't know exactly how it's going to work out and it's so confusing and it's so impractical, right? But that vision for him is super clear and every decision he makes along the way is like, "Is it getting me closer to being able to live on Mars?" And that's what he asks himself. And so I want you to ask yourself with every decision that you're making about your career, and by decisions, I mean like how you're showing up at work every day, and how you're taking care of your body, and how you're taking care of your health, and how you're staying focused on the bigger picture. Do you have those networks? Do you have those sponsors and mentors? Are you getting the support that you need? And it's all because you're moving towards that bigger vision and you'll know which people you'll need to add to your network, and you'll know that kind of support you need at that higher level because that's where you're going, and you might get there sooner than you ever imagined. |
| And so this is my-- my challenge to you this week is to 3X the vision for your career. I want you to take it up a notch, I want you to think bigger, I want you to stop worrying about how you're going to get there and just create the vision for yourself. And make yourself laugh a little bit and remind yourself of what it was like when you were 20 years old and you basically felt like you could do or be anything before you had all this responsibility on your life and just put it out there and just say, "This is what I want. And you know why I want it? It's because I'm good at it." And I want you to write that on a post-it note and stick it on your computer and say, "I want to be CFO someday because I'm good at it." "I want to be Chief Operations Officer because I'm good at it." "I want to be the Vice President of Marketing because I'm good at it." And then go and figure out all of those reasons why you're so great at it and start doing them today. I guarantee if you start acting like the role that you want now, you're going to get it sooner, faster and you're going to be better at the job once you actually get there. |
| All right. And so now I want to make sure that you are actually able to do everything that we talked about today and more and so I've created a live webinar called "How The Biggest Career Jumps Are Made During Times of Crisis". In this webinar, I'm going to show you exactly how 3Xing the vision for your career is very likely happening to you right now. As a leader, you're being forced in this crisis to think bigger and you're being forced to take on more responsibility than you ever imagined. My clients are operating at that next level of leadership and if they wanted to become Vice President, they are becoming a Vice President through action in this crisis and their abilities to really step up and handle a different level leadership position. And so in this webinar, I'm going to give you exactly four steps how you can use this time to create this big career jump for yourself to makes sure that you never get passed over for a promotion again and to make sure that the high-performance leadership traits that you're learning right now on the job and in action are actually put to work in the future to give you the recognition that you really deserve. I'm going to break it all down in this webinar and you can register at stacymayer.com/crisiswebinar. It's S-T-A-C-Y-M-A-Y-E-R, dot com/crisiswebinar. Sign up today and I'll see you there. Thank you so much and have a wonderful week. Bye |
About Your Host
Hi, I’m Stacy Mayer, a Leadership Coach for emerging executives who are ready to take their career to the next level or seeking more fulfillment in their current organizational roles.
I help corporate managers reposition themselves to advance their careers, build confidence in their ability to solve problems in real-time, and step into their higher leadership potential so they can make a bigger impact in their organizations.
And I can help you do that too!
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