Are You Executive Level Material? Tip #10

10. Communicate effectively.

How you communicate, both verbally and in writing, can make or break your career potential. Using poor grammar, foul language, or an inappropriate tone make you appear less intelligent. Most executives are very polished when it comes to their communication skills. If your communication skills are lacking, find a resource (a class, a book, a mentor, or a coach) to help.

Get Ahead Today

Realizing your goal of attaining an executive level position is possible. You simply need to go beyond your technical or job-specific skills and add some focus to your executive presence. After all, you can’t become an executive if you don’t act or look like one. By concentrating on these ten areas and keeping your skills up to date, you’ll reach the executive suite sooner than you ever thought possible.

Visit www.jeankelley.com/our-solutions to find out how a member of our team can help you reach your career potential.

Are You Executive Level Material? Tip #4

The following is the 4th in a series of 10 tips to help you become more promotable in your job.

4. Build social capital.

Building social capital across the board is critical to your upward mobility. Not only should you build social capital with people within your department, but you should also build it with people in other departments and in other companies who might be a resource for you. Social capital simply means building connections with people. Find out some personal information about others, such as their hobbies, their birthday, and their kids’ names…and then talk about those items occasionally to build rapport. Remember this: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. When you’re on your way up the ladder, you need to treat people like people and not like objects. Get to know your peers. You never know if one day a peer will be your boss, and even if they aren’t, they can make your work life very stressful.

Are You Executive Level Material? Tip #3

The following is the third in a series of 10 tips to help you become more promotable in your job.

3. Speak up.

During meetings, always weigh in on the topics discussed. Don’t leave a meeting without having an opinion about something or you will quickly get a reputation for being “wishy-washy” or not concerned with the company’s success. If you’re in a meeting and the discussion turns to something you’re unfamiliar with or is not part of your department’s duties, look engaged anyway. Always remember that the people above you are watching you, and everything you do – or don’t do – counts.