I recently received this question from an Executive Director of Marketing named Kenneth.

He wanted to know how to go about establishing himself as an even more senior executive within his organization.

Kenneth has been with his company for the better part of twenty four years, and is currently leading important projects, working with the executive team, and is happy and being recognized appropriately for his work.

Here’s the problem:

Kenneth recently turned 50 and he is looking for that next big leap. He would love to land a senior executive role that will give him more independence.

Here’s the short version of my advice to Kenneth: actively go out and start establishing yourself as that senior executive leader now.

How?

By following these three steps:

Step #1:

Ask yourself: ‘why is it important to me to be a more senior executive?’

Think beyond the corporate ladder and really consider: ‘Why does it matter if I make it to a senior executive leadership position?’

If your answer is ‘I don’t know’, then you need to figure this out.

Why ARE you uniquely qualified to fill your bosses role?’

Take action: Look around at the other executives in your organization and think through what ideas you could be bringing to the table.

Step #2

Ask yourself: ‘what do I value in terms of leadership?’

Later on in his email, Kenneth mentions that he is known as somewhat of a worker bee.

He is already valued for his expertise. But…Doing more of what you are already good at WON’T get you into a senior executive leadership position.

Kenneth has to actually understand what he values in terms of leadership AND how he can bring those qualities to his work.

Take action: Think through your answers to the following questions. What am I good at in terms of leadership and how can I start implementing that in my job? How can I inspire others to do their best work? How can I motivate other people? How can I truly lead a team? How can I lead the CEO of my organization?

Step #3

Ask yourself: ‘what can I do to be seen as a more senior leader by the executive team?’

Kenneth already works with the executive team, and even though he has an Executive Director title, it’s still more of a support role. So, he needs to transition them from seeing him as a technical expert, to seeing him as an executive leader.

Go back to your leadership values from step #2. How can you demonstrate these values to the executive team? How can you leverage the relationships you already have in order to change the organization’s perception of you?

If you want to take this three-step process deeper, then I invite you to apply for a free career strategy session with me.

This is a 50-minute call where you and I will get super clear on what is actually holding you back from that next level of leadership AND put together a plan to get you your next big promotion.

Simply go to StacyMayer.com/Apply, fill out the application, and we’ll go from there.

All the best, Stacy