Hello everyone, welcome to another episode of Maximize Your Career. I'm your host, Stacey Mayer, and super excited, as always, to be here with you again this week. So, it is fall in Northern California, and basically that means that we're starting to get a little bit of rain and cooler weather. I always find it very depressing that we don't have the change of seasons out here in California, but I don't mind it so much because I get California. Anyway, I think that's actually really cool to feel the cool breezes and to feel the rain and to start to see life come back to our very dry summer that we've had out here. But that also means that we're nearing the end of the year. And so, in today's episode, I'm going to be talking about what you can really do to maximize your career over these last couple of months of the year. 

But before I do that, I want to talk about a trend that I'm noticing inside of my Executive Ahead of Time group coaching intensive. This is my signature program that I created to get powerhouse corporate women promoted into senior executive leadership positions. Essentially, I am changing the way we do business as corporations - by bringing more diversity to the leadership table - getting you promoted into those senior level executive positions and really exceeding expectations once you get there. So, we are nearing the end of our current group of Executive Ahead of Time. 

And by the way, we are also enrolling for the next group. So, make sure you go to ExecutiveAheadOfTime.com because this is the last time that we are enrolling in 2021. So, you want to make sure that you get inside there right away so that you can begin to implement everything that I teach on this podcast and really get yourself that promotion. Get yourself those dollars. I want you to have the title and the compensation to match your fantastic qualifications as an executive leader so that you can start making that impact that you really want to be making at your organization right now - not in five years, not during the next promotion cycle - today. So go to ExecutiveAheadOfTime.com and register or hop on the call with me if you're not sure if the program is right for you. Either way, I want to make sure that you get the recognition that you deserve. 

So, the trend that I'm noticing inside of this current group of Executive Ahead of Time participants is that they have options. They have so many options. Now I know that my program is set up to give you options, so that not all of your eggs are in one basket. And I know that the tools that I teach really work and can get you promoted quickly. This is why my graduates receive not one, but two promotions in a six-month cycle. 

But the thing that I'm saying that is new and unique to this time that we live in is that these amazing powerhouse corporate women have more options than I have ever seen before. Two episodes ago, I talked about the great resignation and how this is the perfect opportunity for you to pull yourself out of the weeds. And essentially, what I'm talking about in that episode is that you must pull yourself out of the weeds. You must use this opportunity to get yourself out of the weeds to really be seen as that visionary leader because there are so many opportunities available to us right now. So, this is what's happening inside of Executive Ahead of Time. I teach an approach called the 'AND' approach, which is 'always be interviewing'. As executive leaders, we want to make sure that we have options that we're putting ourselves out there, that we're not looking for opportunities when we hit rock bottom, which is really by far the worst time to interview for an executive position; but to interview for positions when we're on top, when we don't need that job, when we can push the envelope a little bit and we can really go for bigger opportunities and stop making these lateral moves, but really get paid more, get a higher salary. And while we're doing that, we're also advocating for promotion internally. 

So, we're having higher level conversations. We're scheduling those 15-minute ally meetings. We're 3X-ing our vision and communicating that vision with executive leadership. So, they're doing both of these things at the same time. And what is happening is they are having multiple options; multiple offers being given to them at the same time. So, they're finally getting those promotion opportunities internally. They've been interviewing externally, so they're being offered 25K more, 50K more - up to two hundred K more - in salary and total compensation; and higher-level executive positions with higher titles and more impact in doing work that they really, really care about. And they're being offered opportunities internally. And why is that? It's because of the world that we live in. There are two key factors at play right now. And again, go back and listen to the Great Resignation episode - we'll link to that in the show notes. But basically, what's happening is people are leaving your organization, so your value is even more apparent. They want to keep you. They need to keep you. Other organizations are looking for powerhouse corporate women just like you. 

And the other factor that's at play is that organizations are really prioritizing diversity and leadership. And we know that this is a slow, slow, slow-moving train. But they realize it needs to move a bit faster because, not only are organizations prioritizing diversity and leadership, employees are prioritizing this as well. So even if you're a white male, you're starting to see the value of having more diversity at the leadership table. You're understanding your own unique diversity and what you can bring to the leadership table, and you want that for your organization. And you want to work for an organization that cares about it, that has that in their core values. And so going back to the great resignation, they want to keep you. And so, one of the ways that they're going to keep you is by bringing a more inclusive environment, by not doing the same old, same old way that they used to be doing business. 

And so, organizations are looking for you. Opportunities are more available to you. So, there is money on the table. There are titles on the table for your taking. These opportunities are right in front of you and my client - my graduates of Executive Ahead of Time - are getting these opportunities right and left. We have a Voxer chat group where we all communicate throughout the week in between our group coaching calls and these Voxer chats are blowing up of people getting second, third round offers trying to figure out, 'Okay, how do I tell this person no or tell this person may be or keep this person on hold? Or how do I go back to my organization and counteroffer because I really want to stay at my organization, and I would prefer to move up there.'

But now you have opportunities - your eggs are no longer all in one basket. And why is that? It's because you're becoming the executive ahead of time. So, it's this beautiful, perfect storm, this trend that's happening in the world right now, which is that you have the tools to be seen as an executive leader. That's what you're learning inside of my programs. And on the flip side, the world is asking for you. They're looking for you to step up to the plate. So, I really want to encourage you that if you're ready to get these tools, if you're ready to understand how to become the executive ahead of time - that you run, do not walk - to ExecutiveAheadOfTime.com and join us inside of this program. 

This is the beginning of your executive leadership path. This is your opportunity to really step into the executive leader, the corporate badass that you already are. So, I really encourage you to just take that leap to say, 'OK, I'm ready. I'm ready to get these tools', because quite frankly, everybody else is ready for you to step up. And so, I couldn't be more thrilled to give you these tools and to really set you apart from the rest. So that's what's happening over in Executive Ahead of Time world. I am super excited, and I can't wait to welcome - we've already got many, many new women in the new group that we're going to be doing in November and December, and I would love to have you there.

So, today's episode, I'm talking about the final two months of the year - how you can really set yourself up and create a promotion blueprint for yourself so that you have a plan. I think that that is actually the missing piece for a lot of women - when they're head down, doing their work every single day is that they forget to create a promotion plan. Sure, you have your professional development plan that you created with your boss or HR, but that's very different than your own unique promotion blueprint. And so, in today's episode, I'm giving you even more behind the scenes of what I actually teach inside of Executive Ahead of Time. And so, if you're not convinced by the end of today's episode that you need to join us, well, then it means you're not ready. But that's okay. That's cool. Maybe you'll be ready in the future, but I welcome you if you're ready. If you're listening to this, you're like, 'Oh my God, this is exactly what I need.' So, I'm opening up the curtain. I'm giving you the step-by-step process that I teach inside of Module 5, which is called Holding Ourselves Accountable. 

Now it's really imperative that I don't just hold your hand throughout this process because I'm not going to be there with you a year from now, two years. I mean, maybe I will. I have a lot of graduates of Executive Ahead of Time that stay with me for many, many years as they continue to exceed expectations and get promoted over and over again into the C-suite. But if you're wanting to just come in and get all of these tools and really learn how to continue holding yourself accountable, it's all right there for you in Module 5. So, I'm going to walk you through my promotion blueprint that I teach, and I also want to invite you to download a copy of this blueprint for yourself.

So go to StacyMayer.com/blueprint and download it. You could even pause this episode, go download it, come back to the episode, and fill out this document with me as I'm talking, in today's episode. I'm going to give you each of the steps so that you know exactly how to complete this document for yourself. And this is essentially going to become your accountability document to get promoted over and over and over again. And you're going to be checking back in with this document looking at it, reviewing it - it's such a simple one-page document that lays out everything that you need to get promoted to whatever next level you're at. So, if you've recently gotten promoted and you're thinking about what's next and maybe it's not a promotion, but you want to take on a different project. Or you want to build bigger relationships with the executive team. All of that is laid out for you inside of this document. So go to StacyMayer.com/blueprint. And I'll also link to that in the show notes. 

So, what is this document? It's called Career Vision Strategy, and many of the graduates of Executive Ahead of Time have this printed out on their desk or pasted on the wall behind them, or somewhere handy that they can review it, saved in their Google Drive, whatever that is, so that they can review it once a month. That's my recommendation that you create this document for yourself and then you check back in with it just once a month - it's 15 minutes a month, quite frankly. It's not a lot of time, but the impact is enormous, enormous. So, I really want to encourage you to take advantage of this podcast episode and do this work for yourself right now. 

So, the first thing listed on top of this document is your vision. That is basically the 3X'd vision for your career. And I talk about that a lot on my podcast. It's one of the tools that I teach very in-depth inside of Executive Ahead of Time. But the short answer is - where do you want to be three promotions from now. So, think about your next promotion, the next promotion, and the next promotion. So, do you want to be in the C-suite someday? What type of impact do you want to be making at your organization? What does your day look like? Who are your allies? All of those pieces of your long-term vision - three, five years, ten years from now - where do you want to be in your career? What does it look like for you? So that's going to be the first piece of this document - is really writing out that vision, spending some time to think about it. 

The other thing that I want to note for you guys is that this vision doesn't really change because it's a long-term vision, because it's a forward thinking - you're looking forward to the future, then you're not really going to change that very much. And I think this is important to note because if it's constantly changing for you, it means it's too short. It's too-short-term of a vision. But this is a long-term vision - really paint that picture for yourself. It can involve salary, it can involve title, it can involve impact, it can involve relationships, it can involve industries. Whatever pieces of that that really motivate you and paint that picture of your future vision for yourself. So that's the first piece of this document - is you're going to really write down your vision. 

The second thing is understanding your core values, and there are a lot of different ways to get to your core values - to really know what those are. But recently I heard a talk by Simon Sinek, and he is the author of Start With Why, and he shared something that was just so simplistic. And I was like, 'Oh, this is actually really great'. He said, 'Okay, think about those things at your company that drive you crazy, that you wish that you could fix, the things that you feel passionate about, you feel motivated about - the conversations that you want to be having. Think about all of those things and then ask yourself, 'Okay, what are those things - and then what is it that drives me about that?' That's your core values. Essentially, those are your core values. So, if your core value is inclusion, that might be a core value. Your core value might be trust. Your core value could be achievement. Your core value could be compassion. Anything that really drives you, that motivates you, that is one of your core values. And you'll hear me talk about this a lot on the podcast because I think that core values get overlooked and they're incredibly, incredibly important. 

If you're a person who loves Brené Brown and her work on vulnerability, another thing that core values do for us as a leader is - once we understand ourselves and our own internal core values, then we can start to open up the conversation to understand the rest of our team. And I don't think Bernie Brown really talks about core values and vulnerability, but I see the connection so clearly. So, if you want to be a more vulnerable, more authentic leader for your team, have open conversations about core values with them. Understand  - this is so important. It's so much more meaningful and impactful than finding out your team's strengths or team's Myers-Briggs or any of those types of assessments. Having a really raw conversation about what matters to people - what people really care about - those are the core values. The core values get you fired up, they get you pumped, they get you excited, you feel passionate. They also get you really pissed off. Those are core values. They trigger you. And when you can really identify for yourself and then share those with other people and then open up the conversation, that's how you start to become a more vulnerable and authentic leader for your team. 

So, you're going to identify the top five core values and place them into the second piece. So that's your - those are your core values - and those are really important because also they don't change. And same way with your vision, this is why this document - can you see how it becomes easier and easier to maintain? You spend a little bit of time up front figuring out what you want to put into those places and then they really don't change. But you're looking at them. You're reconnecting with them. You're asking yourself, 'Am I living according to my core values? Am I moving closer to my 3X vision - or am I staying stuck, am I staying exactly where I am?'. 

The other three pieces of this document are measures, obstacles, and methods. And I'm going to start with the measurements first. And what that means is 'how will I know if I have achieved my goals?' And now by these goals, you are going to set some short-term goals, like three months, six months. What needs to happen in the next three to six months that's going to tell me that I'm moving closer to my 3X vision - the bigger vision at the top. So, you're going to start to identify ‘what are those things’? One of those things could be - I get promoted. One of those things could be - I have an actual promotion plan. It's a little bit more specific, 'I have a boss who's telling me I'm going to get promoted in February.' So, there's an actual step-by-step concrete - it's happening - process. Not just what most of us do, which is -  have false promises. So, we have an actual plan - that could be a good measurement that you're moving in the right direction. 

Another measurement could be that your network is expanding, that you're brought into conversations at the leadership table, that you're taking on higher level projects, that you have more exposure to leadership, that you have updated your resume and you have an executive storytelling process. Who am I as the executive? I've identified my leadership traits. I know my leadership style; I know my value. I know what I bring to the table. Another measurement could be I'm less emotional. I feel less - and by less emotional I mean, that sort of spinning out part that's not so useful - the worry, the anxiety, the frustration that takes up so much of our day. Another measurement could be that you've pulled yourself out of the weeds that you have more time to process to think strategically. There are so many different options here, depending on where you're at, but the important thing is to really identify what is that for you. Write down five measurements of success that are going to tell you that you're headed in the right direction.

Now let's go into methods. So, methods are the actual action items that you're going to take to get towards the measurements of success. So, what are you going to need to do if you want to be promoted and you want to have an actual yes and you're going to get that February plan - one of the things you might need to do is have a promotion conversation with your boss. Have conversations with HR; really have conversations with other executives who are going to create that role for you, whatever that might be - so your specific thing. If you're going to be better and managing your emotions, what process do you have in place to start to recognize those emotional triggers - whatever that might be for you - do you have a process in place? Do you have a process in place to get yourself out of the weeds? One of your action items could be to join Executive Ahead of Time. Do you have a community of powerhouse corporate women that you're connecting with, that you're learning that you're growing with? So those are action items that are going to get you closer to your long-term goals. 

And then the last piece are obstacles. And this is a great trait as an executive leader - no matter what - is really understanding and identifying and articulating those obstacles that are in our way. It could be your own mindset, that you find yourself continuously going back into negative thinking and back into the weeds and back in your day to day. It could be that you just lost five team members and you really are in the weeds and there's a lot of stress. It could be limitations to your career path like headquarters might be in another country and you're not willing or interested in moving to that other country. Whatever those obstacles might be for you, start to write them down and really understand, and just kind of look at them like, 'Oh yep, that's what's in my way. And what are the measurements and the methods that I can start to do to address those obstacles?'. 

So that is your complete promotion blueprint. This is a complete process. It's right in front of you. This entire document should only take up one page. This is important. Because you want to be able to see it. You want to be able to act on it. If you find that some of your steps are 10, 12, 20, you've got too many steps - you're not really maximizing your effectiveness. And then in those cases, what you're going to do is you're going to say, 'what is the one thing that I can start to do right now - today - that's really going to take and catapult this entire process forward. And really break that down and all the nuances of what are the action steps I would have to take, to say, build a better relationship with my senior vice president who has already told me that he wants to create a role for me. And then just create an entire promotion blueprint around that. What are all the steps that I'm going to need to take to really make that happen? And so, I think this is such a better process than smart goals. 

I think smart goals get lost and confusing. They're not specific enough, even though that's actually one of the things in that is 'specific'. I think that we don't do them as often and we don't reconnect with them. And one of the reasons is not just because it's complicated, but also because it doesn't have that long term vision and those core values right at the top. Every single time that you're going back to this document, you are looking at those core values and that long term vision and reminding yourself - where are you headed? 

Now here is a bonus to today's episode. So, you can take this document and use it for your team. You can use it at work. You can start sharing it. You can become an executive leader that uses this type of document. It's not just for Career Vision Strategy, it's also for everything, everything that you do. I have used this document for home - to get through COVID. My husband and I actually created a document for ourselves using this process to go through everything that we want. What was our vision by the end of COVID like? What did we actually want to create? And the interesting thing is, I'll share with you is that health - health and safety of our family - was at the top. And I don't know about you, but that gets forgotten a lot during these last couple of years. I forget - because we have the day-to-day stressors, and we just want to get on that plane or just be with our family or forget about it. But then we had to reconnect. What is really the most important thing is that we all stay healthy. And it was super, super helpful to really stay connected to what our priorities were and what we were going to do to also stay mentally healthy. And I know that's what a lot of you guys are dealing with over these last couple of years. So, I want to encourage you to really use this document, to print it out, to put it on your desk, to look at it and say, 'okay, what are the missing pieces? What am I going to need to do? Where do I need more information and clarification on what that actually means?' And join us inside of Executive Ahead of Time because I walk you through all of your measurements, all of your methods. We're getting those measurements, which is really - what are the outcomes that I would need to see in order to get closer to my 3X vision. So fricking quickly, we have to create a whole new set of measurements just in the six-week program for each and every one of these women. Because they're happening, we're getting results so quickly. 

So, when you create this document, bring that into Executive Ahead of Time, you'll already be off to a fantastic start for the program and then we'll really be able to get to work. I encourage you, if you haven't already, go to StacyMayer.com/blueprint to download your version of this document so you can walk through this entire episode and follow along. And also join us inside of Executive Ahead of Time - ExecutiveAheadOfTime.com - so that I can personally walk you through step by step. You can start to take action and really begin to get the recognition that you deserve, because your organization needs you in a higher executive leadership position. And this program - and myself -gives you all of the tools to get there. All right, I can't wait to see you guys inside and have a fantastic week - Bye.