How to decide to transition into leadership through four steps

You've been in your profession for years if not decades. You could be an engineer, computer scientist, financial analyst, or so forth. Do you stay into your current role, or do you transition into leadership? Of course, by leadership I mean taking on a role with manager as its title. I purposely wrote transition into leadership not into management for a simple reason. I believe that professionals in roles of authority should lead people, and they manage processes. Although you have a manager title, you have responsibilities towards your team. You lead them to success. You inspire them to seek continuous improvement through continuous learning. Leading implies you act as part of and for the team. Managing represents an off to the side style with a you versus them mentality. Manager is a title, and leader is a mentality or way of approaching problems that require team efforts. With this clarification, how do you decide if leadership is the right path for you?

Consider your Motivations

Why do you want a title of manager? Before you begin interviewing for management position, you must delve deep into that question. This is not just so you can convince your interviewers to hire you for that role. You must self-reflect, so you can make sure that you want to take on the added responsibilities that managers have. Grab several pieces of paper or your favorite note taking app. Make sure that you write down your thoughts, so you can review them on your own or with your mentor. You might find that you have several reasons for becoming a manager:

• Earn additional money
• Your current role no longer challenges you
• You enjoy mentoring and / or coaching others
• You like tackling the financial side of the business
• You enjoy giving others direction
• You find satisfaction in implementing technical strategies

Your list could include other items. It could omit some of the items here. What's important is that you truthfully write down why you want to become a leader who has an official management title. Some of your reasons could be valid, others not. By valid, I mean reasons that focus on taking a role for reasons that benefit you and others. For example, although it is true that managers tend to earn more money than regular employees, becoming a manager only for money could mean that you ignored the responsibilities that come with the role. You might think it's easy to tell other employees what to do, yet you would be in for a surprise when employees start coming to you with their problems.

Leadership: It's not just about you. You must foster an environment that ensures your team's success

Please do not get me wrong. I see nothing wrong with earning more money. Every person on this planet would argue they need more money. However, money cannot and should not be your only motivation for becoming a leader. Focus on doing your job well, and the money will follow. You will face challenges in a leadership role. For example, entry level members of your team might not know how to solve an engineering problem. Although you might be tempted to give them the solution, your better strategy would be to guide that junior engineer through the problem. Your goal would be to assist the employee in finding a viable solution. That engineer might know several possible solutions and might be stuck in deciding which one to follow. Your role as that engineer's leader is to be a coach. That can be a challenge because you would have solved that problem yourself in your previous role, and you must overcome that tendency for taking over. Additionally, you might not know how to clearly communicate the path forward. These things take practice, and not everyone wants to do that.

Of course, engineers who transition into leadership can face other challenges. For example, many engineers focus on finding technical solutions to problems that result in products. They might not have first hand experience in the financial aspects that drive customer need. How much is the customer willing to pay for a product? It might seem cool to you, yet the customer might not want it or know that it addresses their needs. How much does it cost to develop a product? What if develop costs overrun monies raised through sales? As a leader, you would need to estimate the answers to these problems and monitor over the lifetime of a product. It can be daunting for some, yet it can generate excitement for others. If you have not had experience in this capacity, I would highly suggest that you gain experience by proposing a project within your company, and managing the cost of the project throughout its life span.

Once you define why you want to transition into leadership, I suggest that you prioritize those reasons. I explain why below.

Prioritize Your Motivations

When you take on a new role, it might not address all of the reasons you took at that role. Another way to think about this is that your current role requires you to take on different responsibilities at different times. This is true for positions in leadership. Where am I going with this? You decide which of your reasons are most important for you. Then make sure they match with the role. Put another way, if you do not like working with other people, you will put that as a low priority. You will not enjoy a leadership role because it requires that you work closely with your team. However, if you enjoy helping people work though their issues, you will find fulfillment in this role.

Align Your Motivations to the Leadership Role: Your motivations will help you when the going gets tough.

Match your reasons for becoming a leader with the role itself. This exercise will help you learn the difference between what you perceive management roles to entail with reality of the roles. Although you can gain satisfaction from being a manager, you should understand that the roles have difficulties. You might need to lay off poor performing employees. You might need to inform the team of potential customers lost. However, you can bear good news. You can coach an employee who has been performing poorly to catch up before time for annual reviews. You can guide your team in making product improvements, so your company wins more customers. Much of this comes from your perspectives. Will your prioritize your motivations such that you avoid crucial conversations or do you embrace them?

At this stage, you might not be ready to decide. You might need more information to decide if leadership is right for you. How do you get this information?

Speak to Other Managers About their Roles

Start with your own manager. Seek out other managers you have worked with on projects. Ask them the following questions:

• Why did you decide to become a manager?
• What do you like about your role?
• What do you dislike and would like to change about it?
• What did you want to accomplish when you became a manager?
• What do you want to accomplish now?

Write down other questions that you believe are relevant to the role. This is not an interview for a position. You want to find out information. You want to learn the good and bad about the role. Ask as many people as you can. If you ask one person who became cynical, you might be convinced that management roles are not good for your career. Of course, you should consider their reasoning with a grain of salt, so you can understand constraints your company's culture would place on you. Make sure you take detailed notes!

Seek out other managers' insights because their experiences can help you decide if leadership is right for you

After you meet with managers, compare your notes with your motivations. How well does your perception of leadership roles compare to reality? If you still want to transition into leadership, reconsider your motivations. You might have missed something. It's important that you listen to what your managers have to say to you, as you might learn about reasons you never considered. Of course, your conversations with managers would serve as an indicator that you're interested in becoming a manager. This is an added benefit to your career, yet it is not your primary purpose for speaking to other managers.

Remember, you are on an information finding mission. If you decide that you want to become a manager (or not) during these talks, that's great for you. However, you might not be sure you are ready to transition into leadership. How do you make the final decision

Take on Stretch Assignments in Roles Outside Your Area

I've previously written on this subject. I mention it here because stretch (or rotational) assignments are ways for employees to decide if they want to transition into a new aspect of their careers. Think of it like renting to buy except you gain from the experience. You can take on a short (a minimum of six months up to twelve months) rotation in a role as a manager. The first few months will be the most challenging. You will need training and time to adjust to your new role. You need to focus on project goals from the beginning, yet your rotation manager will be there to help you. Remember that you must ask rotation managers questions. You learn not just be doing. You learn by allowing other managers to coach you. After all, they have more experience in this role, and they will help you succeed.

Stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. You learn new skills by being uncomfortable in situations that require success

Whatever role you take on, it is important to you do well. Few senior managers will want to hire you as a first line manager if you flounder in your rotation. That's why it's important that you ask questions, as this allows you to get continuous feedback. You will course correct as needed, and you will learn from that experience. There exists risk that you will do poorly in your new role because it forces you to learn new skills. However, you can apply the skills you have in this temporary role. I liken this to addressing fear of heights by taking on diving. You start out by diving off the one meter high board. You already know how to swim, so you will realize that you will be fine after jumping off the board. As you develop comfort on that board, start jumping off the next board. Of course, if you don't know how to swim, you will sink like a stone. Thus, you must take on a rotation in an area that allows you to develop new skills by applying skills you've previously mastered.

If you hate a rotation in leadership, you have your answer: Do not go into leadership. Otherwise, you could interview to make your rotation permanent. Alternatively, you could use the rotation as a lateral move into a different leadership position. You will find that your discomforts fade away as you gain experience in this new role. However, I advice that you periodically increase your challenge levels. This prevents you from becoming so comfortable in your role that you become complacent. After all, you want continuous feedback, so you can make sure that you are doing as well as you think you are. Part of leadership is receiving feedback not just giving it.

Summary

In this post, I discuss how you decide to transition into leadership. You can use four steps that apply whether you are in technology, finance, operations, or so forth. First, you consider your motivations for becoming a leader. Are your motivations altruistic? Do you want only the money and prestige that comes with the role? Or, go you generally want to help other people? If your motivations focus on working with other people and helping them succeed, leadership could be right for you. Second, prioritize your motivations. You will not being doing everything you think leaders do all the time. This serves as a check that what you want to get out of leadership matches what you perceive leaders doing. Of course, you might not know what leaders really do. That leads us into the next step. Third, speak to several managers about their roles. Ask them many questions to find out why they sought those roles. You want to know both the good and the bad. Managers need to make tough decisions, and you want to know that you can handle doing that. Of course, you can coach your employees to maximize their performance. How you handle the bad aspects will depend on your perspectives. Fourth, take on rotational assignments with leadership responsibilities. This will help you decide if leadership / management is right for you. You will take on roles that require you to lead others. You will need to learn quickly on the job. You will risk failure, yet your rotation manager will help you learn. You need to be brave and be willing to receive feedback. However, this will prepare you to becoming a manager. Look to your overall fulfillment in the role. If you enjoy providing technical guidance to your team and reporting status up to your managers, leadership could be right for you. I wish you best of luck in your career.

Do you want to learn more about engineering, career advancement, and leadership? Please read my prior posts on this subject:

• Why do emotions matter in our career? Give pause to your emotions using a four letter word
• How You can Lead Your Team to Success with Four Effective Leadership Principles
• Avoid the Complacency Trap Using Four Important Concepts
• Overcoming Introversion in Three Counterintuitive Steps
• How You Can Successfully Propose Your Engineering Projects using Five Principles
• Definitive Guide on Boosting Careers: How to Find Stretch Assignments
• Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 
• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Why do emotions matter in our career? Give pause to your emotions using a four letter word

As engineers, why do emotions matter? We develop cool products and get excited about awesome technologies like Deep Learning, blockchain, virtual reality. When we think about SciFi, we might think about Mr. Spock -- the emotion free Vulcan who knew how not to react. For those of us who aim to be like him, calm and logical, emotion seems like the enemy. However, we are not Vulcans, and we have emotions that we often allow to control us. Emotions can control us if we allow them to stay unchecked. It's perfectly acceptable to have emotions. You can exhibit fear, anger, frustration, happiness, joy, ecstasy, and many more. 

There will be times when you can't show fear. If you lead a company, you might need to be firm in times of uncertainty or failure. This doesn't mean you express anxiety to your team in private. However, a leader needs to stay calm and level headed, so they can decide on the best courses of action. 

You can use a four letter word to give pause to your emotions. You can say this word in public because it's not that kind of word. Remember the acronym HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired. Do not make major decisions under these circumstances. You will be tempted to throw in the towel if you're in a HALT situation. Take a deep breath and wait it through. If you're hungry, eat a meal. Get sustenance for yourself. If you're angry, meditate until you calm down, or take a deep breath. You should observe the sensations on your body. How does anger affect you? You cannot control your thoughts all of the time, yet meditation and self-reflection allow you to think before you speak. If you're lonely, talk to a family member or close friend. You can have many friends and feel lonely if you do not reach out to them in your times of need. What if you have no close relatives or friends? Join a Meetup where you live and make efforts to develop new friendships. True friends willingly listen to your concerns without judging you. If you're tired, take a nap. Nap for 20 to 25 minutes, so you can feel refreshed. Self care is important, and sleep is part of that routine.

Learn to recognize and understand your feelings, so you prevent them from driving your career into the ground

Whatever you do, do not make important decisions under these circumstances. Postpone them. Reconsider taking action. Reframe your viewpoint. You always have options. It might not seem like it at the time, yet I've learned over the years that other choices existed when I thought I could only make one. For example, I tried a side hustle a couple decades ago where I would sell a third-party's product. It was a MLM that sold real, physical products. I bought samples myself, and the material seemed good to me. However, I lacked the will to sell something I had no hand in creating. Instead of dropping it, I continued pushing through because I was angry at myself for not having the will to sell these products. Instead of different ways to market these products, I could have accepted my anger as a natural sign that this line of business was not for me. I could have saved a great deal of time, money, and efforts. (This was before Social Media existed. However, that would not have helped because I would have used another channel to waste my time and money.) Perhaps I could have done something else like invest in a meaningful hobby -- like writing -- or learning a different technical skill that I could have used to create my own products.

I have an important point: humans have emotions. A stoic can have emotions. Even Vulcans have emotions. A key difference between a stoic and others is that the stoic does not allow emotions to make their decisions. Remain calm and level headed in stressful situations. Do not say things you would later regret. Do not take actions that will haunt you. Your ability to separate emotions from actions represents a good stretch of the mind. This represents one's ability to accept emotions as they are, and one can formulate possible outcomes should they choose to act on those emotions.

Often, people choose to react without considering the consequences. Ray Dalio notes that one should consider the second and third order effects. For example, suppose you get angry at your manager for giving you a poor review. The first order action would be to yell at your leader: "You treated me unfairly!" or "You have no idea what efforts I put into that project!" or "I worked really hard, and you can't respect me enough to give me credit for my work!" The first order effect might be the good feeling you get for telling you manager off. However, you didn't consider the second and third order effects: a poor performance review, and loss of a promotion that your manager was considering for you.

Would this kind of reaction be worth it? If you consider only the first order reaction, you get instant gratification. Of course, the better answer would be to consider why your manager choose to give you critical feedback. On one hand, perhaps you consistently perform poorly, and you needed a strong reprimand. In that case, you should listen to your leader because you would seize an opportunity to improve your career. On the other hand, you might have an area that needs improvement, and your manager sees that. Instead of letting it slide, she decides to point it out to you. After all, you need to improve that skill because you will need it in that promotion she has in mind for you.

Of course, clashes exist between those who control their emotions and those who don't. Stay focused on thought and reason in these situations, so you do not get dragged down into emotional abyss. Listen to the argument for understanding not reaction. Allow not one's temptation to react for the sake of defense. It will waste energy and frustrate everyone involved in the discussion discussion. Personally, I do not understand the importance of allowing one's emotions to get the better of them. What do you obtain by pouting and discounting other's viewpoints? Focus on others not yourself. To do otherwise feels narcissistic to me. Each person has their own struggles. It does little to complain about your own battles. 

Think of this differently. Each person wants solutions to their problems, as they want to make themselves feel better. Is this true of all people? No. This is a generalization, as some people prioritize others' well being above their own. Rather, my point serves as an example of how people commonly deal with their emotions. An emotionally intelligent person recognizes emotions as things neither positive or negative. They strive to operate despite their emotions. Remember, you will make mistakes, and you will act on your emotions. If this happens, recognize your error and apologize if you offended anyone during the process. You make sure that you learn from this and be more aware of your emotions in the future, so will be less likely to react in the same way. If you apologize and don't repeat the slight, you will be surprising how well people respect you. In fact, they might learn the importance of emotional awareness leading to improve their emotional intelligence.


Do you want to learn more about engineering, career advancement, and leadership? Please read my prior posts on this subject:

• How You can Lead Your Team to Success with Four Effective Leadership Principles
• Avoid the Complacency Trap Using Four Important Concepts
• Overcoming Introversion in Three Counterintuitive Steps
• How You Can Successfully Propose Your Engineering Projects using Five Principles
• Definitive Guide on Boosting Careers: How to Find Stretch Assignments
• Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 
• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Avoid the Complacency Trap Using Four Important Concepts

As an individual contributor, you must not become complacent in your role. This applies whether you're an engineer, a manager, a scientist, or a financial specialist. You must stay vigilant during your job, so you do not become lax in completing your tasks. This becomes more important as you gain more responsibilities in your career. I share four concepts on how you stay active in your current role, and you can apply my advice throughout your life.

Keep a Daily Journal and Review it

I remember reading that Ashton Kutcher keeps a daily journal. He writes in it first thing in the morning before he opens his email. This allows him to focus on what he needs to get done before others' requests distract him. Why does this apply to steering clear of complacency? When you write your first thoughts, focus on how you truly feel today followed by the first three things you must get done today. Aside from increasing your productivity through increased focus, you can gauge your mindset. Ask yourself questions like

• Do I feel bored in my job? Not just at this moment, but in general.
• Have I completed all my major tasks?
• Do I feel uncomfortable speaking with my peers? With my managers?
• Would I rather be doing something else? Be somewhere else?

We all have bad days. Days when we have little to do, or we would rather be at the beach, the park, home, and so forth. This drives an important point about keeping journals: You must review your past notes regularly. How else would you know if your behavior becomes regular if you do not review your notes. Perhaps you are bored with little to do every now and then. However, what if this situation drags on for a week? A month? Longer? This becomes complacency at its core, and it could be dangerous for your career. Suppose your company performs poorly. The company leadership will look to trim its staff, and they will look towards people who either perform poorly, contribute little to the corporate strategy, or both. If you do not correct your lack of work, your manager might show up in your cubicle with this feared speech: "I need to speak with you. Please come to my office." You might not like what he has to say, as it could be an introduction to your layoff.

Look, your career prospects need not be gloomy. The purpose of writing a daily journal and reviewing it is to help you course correct. You learn patterns that could derail your current job, and you take actions to change your behavior. Behavior modification demands persistence and daily due-diligence. It sounds daunting and difficult, yet you are not alone. This brings us to my second concept below.

Speak to your managers about your concerns

Do not wait until your yearly review to speak to your managers. By then, they might have no clue who you are. They probably don't know what you do for the company. Instead, make regular face-to-face meetings with them. I say managers in plural for a reason: You might regularly interact with multiple managers whether they are your first line manager or program managers. I suggest that you make monthly one-on-one appointments with them. If you feel or have been told you perform poorly, schedule meetings more frequently. You must get into a regular business rhythm, so your managers can give you proper and updated feedback.

You don't feel comfortable meeting with your manager? Find a mentor and meet with them. Your mentor can give you advice on how you can approach your managers. In rare cases, your mentor can approach your manager for you. However, I would advice against asking your manager to do this. It puts them in uncomfortable positions. Besides, you must learn how to approach your managers. You will get comfortable speaking with them as you develop a regular meeting rhythm. You will build trust with your managers over time. This will help you tell them what concerns you about your career path.

Glenn Llopis at Forbes Magazine notes that "your performance at work begins to wane when your voice is not heard.  Speaking-up fuels discussion, ideation and group-think." Times exist when you should speak up, and you will need practice on what you should say. This assumes that you have not developed a habit of speaking your mind. Remember, be respectful when speaking with your managers. State your situation honestly, and offer your managers solutions to help them help you improve your job. They will respond positively to this request.

If you find your role unchallenging or lacking in things to do, your managers will gladly help you find more work. Of course, you might have other concerns outside of your job's tasks. Perhaps you feel your job has become too easy, or you you're coasting through your work. You might have issues dealing with coworkers. You might realize that your current position is not what you thought it would be. In all of these cases, speak with your managers. They can help you make the most out of your current position, so you can have an exciting and fulfilling career. Of course, they're not the only people you should speak with.

Meet with your peers / team members

Feedback can be difficult to receive and to give. Few people enjoy receiving critical feedback, and many people feel uncomfortable giving criticism. (OK, there are a few people out there who give criticism no matter what. I would like to assume these people are few, far, and in between.) I have an important point: The longer you work with a team, the better they get to know you. You shouldn't wait for your coworkers to give you feedback. You should ask them for it and make them feel comfortable. Be candid in noting your concerns, as you have a genuine interest in continuous improvement. Remember, this will help improve your career in the long run. It might hurt at first, yet you can reflect on why their feedback stings.

Why should you speak to your peers about your job concerns? For one thing, it will help build trust. Especially if you are the team lead, you develop your team's trust by speaking with them daily. A leader who retreats to a cave (office) does not lead. At first, you might feel like you're micromanaging your team. If you feel this way, and you think your team might share that opinion, you explain to them your intentions for speaking to them often. For example, you have genuine concerns that you are not doing your job to the best of your abilities, and you want to make sure that your team and you are on the same page. Remind your team, and yourself, that this is not personal. You reach out to them because you want to maximize your and your team's productivity.

By showing your vulnerabilities to your team, you show them that you're human

There exist other reasons for speaking with your coworkers regularly. For instance, Patrick Bosworth (Founder & CEO Leadership Choice) notes that clear communication in the workforce gives "Improved connection between co-workers for a more positive and satisfying work environment," and builds "better relationship with managers and leaders." By regularly and clearly communicating with your team, you show them that you care about their work. They share your company's mission. Do not retreat into shyness. Get to know them. Let them get to know you. They will let you know when you begin to slack off, and that will keep your career moving in positive direction.

Of course, you should not forget regular staff meetings. I'll discuss that avenue next.

Regularly Attend Staff Meetings

You will find it acceptable to skip all sorts of meetings throughout your career. I've been to meetings that were disorganized, off-topic, and complete waste of my time. However, I make a point to attend regularly scheduled staff meetings. Why should you attend staff meetings? Your managers provide you with information relevant to your job. Monthly staff meetings exist for managers to share with their staff project updates, opportunities within the company, staff awards, and staff promotions. Some managers ask their staff members in attendance to provide short status updates. If you skip staff meetings, you will miss out on these opportunities.

There are several types of staff meetings. I've already discussed the first line manager's meeting above, others include:

• Project / Program 
• Senior Leadership 
• Executive

Project and program meetings will focus on the current project. Senior leadership meetings focus on issues relating to that leader's team. The higher the leader's responsibility (say: Senior Manager versus Director), the more general the meeting becomes. The executive meeting focuses at the division or company level. You would want to attend these meetings, so you can get a sense of what goes on within your company. You might learn of opportunities outside of your immediate organization. This would be beneficial if you've become complacent in your career because your job no longer challenges you. Perhaps you feel the time is right for a promotion. Although you could look for jobs in the internal career website, an exciting project might pique your interest. You could focus on jobs related to that.

Remember, when you decide to speak up during staff meetings, show courtesy and respect to your managers and your coworkers. If you feel the need to offer constructive criticism, understand your organization's culture first. Although I would advice you to error on the bold side by offering your criticism, you might encounter a leader who dislikes receiving negative feedback. If that is the case, find someone you trust like a mentor, and express your concerns in private. You need not limit your career by causing an insecure leader to dislike you. After all, your goal in speaking up is to ensure you become aware of what goes on around you. You want to maximize opportunities for professional growth, so you do not grow too comfortable in your job.

Summary

I gave tips on how you can stop being complacent in your career. Complacency can derail your job because you become unaware of what goes around you where you work. The three concepts I discussed are writing a daily journal while remembering to review it, speaking to your managers regularly, reaching out to your team on a daily basis, and attending staff meetings regularly. Write down your thoughts and learn your patterns. Do not fear speaking to your managers face to face, as they want you to succeed in your job. Learn to speak to your coworkers regularly, and you will build their trust. They will tell you when you begin to slack off on the job. Although many professionals dislike meetings, you will learn about opportunities throughout your group or company, and you will learn project status. If your company's performance begins to sour, you might first learn about it during a staff meeting. Better to learn it there, so you can ask your managers detailed questions, and you can show them that you're genuinely interested in the company's performance. In closing, the danger of complacency is that you do not become aware that your job is in danger. You must aim to continually add value to your company. A side effect is that you will find your career to be more fulfilling. By following these tips, you can avoid the complacency trap of thinking that you're happy as a clam, yet you're about to get shucked and eaten alive.

Do you want to learn more about engineering, career advancement, and leadership? Please read my prior posts on this subject:

• Overcoming Introversion in Three Counterintuitive Steps
• How You Can Successfully Propose Your Engineering Projects using Five Principles
• Definitive Guide on Boosting Careers: How to Find Stretch Assignments
• Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 
• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Definitive Guide on Boosting Careers: How to Find Stretch Assignments

Previously, I discussed why you should pursue stretch assignments to boost your career. Today, I discuss how you find stretch assignments to maximize your career boost. A recap: One takes on stretch assignments to learn new skills. Should you pursue any assignment for your career? Of course not. You take on rotations that allow you to drive your career towards a desirable direction. If you want to become a manager, take on rotations in engineering leadership, program management, or in first line management. If you enjoy developing cutting edge technology, take rotations in the Science, Technology Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) fields. One you have a general idea where you want to move your career, how do you find the best stretch assignments? I'll explain below.

You must develop a reputation for outstanding work

It's simple: Why would anyone want you in your organization if your reputation stinks? You must complete your current tasks to the best of your abilities. Even if you dislike your job, and job dissatisfaction represents a valid reason for career changes, you must put your best efforts forward. Whether you work for a small or large company, people talk. If your peers and management know you for excellent work, people will want you on their teams. To market yourself effectively, you need to let your managers know when you do outstanding work. This can be in person or via email. I suggest an email first to keep written records of your achievements. You should follow-up with your manager in person to make sure he or she received your email.

Tip: Work in your current position for at least three years first

Unless you find yourself regretting a move into your current position, you should stay in that position for a minimum of three years. This will give you sufficient time to get used to your role and work on at least one project. Remember, your reputation matters, and reputations take time to develop in business. No one will know you if you get in a company, and you want to switch roles immediately after starting at the company.

Does this rule apply to everyone? No. Some companies have entry-level Leadership Development Programs (LDPs), and new employees can apply for these programs within the first year of employment. If you truly find yourself unhappy in your career, you can speak to your manager about a position change. However, you should first address the reasons for your dissatisfaction in your current role. Have honest discussions with your manager first, and you consider rotation assignments as a final option.

Update your resume

 This sounds counter-intuitive at first. Because stretch assignments are temporary, you will not formally interview for them. Formally represents the key word here, as you will speak with managers and project leads about potential assignments. Your resume is your calling card and your introduction. You will use it, along with an introductory email, to introduce yourself to these people. Even if they know you personally, they do not know your accomplishments. Sell yourself by keeping your resume up to date. You can brag about your accomplishments, yet you should never lie.

Keep your resume accomplishments relevant to the positions for that you will inquire. You can add personality by listing hobbies provided they relate. If you seek assignments in leadership, you can list volunteer activities if you hold a formal position, and you've held that position for a year or more. If you use a chronological resume, make sure you list your most recent accomplishments first.

Make sure you have someone review your resume! People often forget this step. Do your accomplishments make sense? For each accomplishment, do you show the relationship between your situation and / or task at hand, the actions you took, and the results you achieved? Do you quantify your results whenever possible? You might think that you've answered these questions positively, yet it might not be so clear when someone else reviews your resume. My advice to you: Have a coworker or manager you trust review your resume for anything that sounds unclear, and edit your resume following their advice. Of course, it is acceptable for you to make your accomplishments shine bright. Just remember to never lie about what you've done. You will be found out during the interview process whether formal or not.

Develop your short-term, mid-term, and long-term career plan

If you don't know your destination, how can you get there? You must create figure out your career goals and determine your strengths and weaknesses before you can find the best stretch assignments. Your career plan will consist of the following sections:

• Short Term: 1 - 5 years
• Mid Term: 6 - 10 years
• Long Term: 10 years and beyond

Your career plan represents where you see yourself in those time frames. Is your plan set is stone? Of course not. You should revise your career plan once a year. However, once you calibrate your path, you should assess your strengths and weaknesses. Perform a gap analysis to learn what skills you need to develop, so you can achieve your goals. If you find your soft leadership skills lacking, consider leadership positions that force you to develop your skills. If you want to become a software developer, and you find you know little about configuration management, pursue positions in software development. My point is this: You cannot select stretch assignments that take you outside your comfort zone if you do not know your boundaries.

Discuss your career plan with your manager

You cannot pursue stretch assignments in a vacuum. Your manager can assist in developing your career. Of course, this assumes that your organization's culture encourages professional growth, and I will not discuss what to do in these cases here. It behooves managers to help people develop their careers and get promoted, as that reflects positively on them. That said, you should arrange a face-to-face meeting with your manager, and discuss how you see your career flowing in the coming years. Speak to your interests and what makes you uncomfortable. You want assignments that challenge you and push you to your limits. That is how you grow professionally and personally. You will not achieve lofty goals without taking risks. Yes, you might fail, yet you should see those as career paths that you should reconsider for your long-term plans.

Your manager is your coach. He or she can offer suggestions on what rotations best fit your goals, and what positions will challenge you. They should know what managers have positions that need to be filled for the next 9 to 12 months. Take advantage of these openings: Write down names and descriptions of the positions. If your manager suggests that you review internal job boards, follow-up on that suggestion. However, they should have established a network within your company's management structure, so your manager should know who has openings.

Tip: Join a Leadership Development Program (LDP)

If you want to spend the next two or three years in your career in stretch assignments, I would advise that you join a LDP. I briefly mentioned LDPs aimed at entry-level professionals. There exist LDPs for mid-career individuals who want to boost their careers in different directions. These LDPs often aim to place people into leadership positions. However, if leadership roles do not interest you, you do not need to place yourself into a management spot. I would take advantage of these programs anyway, as all professionals can benefit from developing leadership skills. Even if you decide not to become a manager, you could find yourself leading teams. Why not develop your leadership skills? You can boost your career by showing management that you successfully lead teams to success.

Of course, LDPs often require employees to have excellent yearly reviews. If you focus on performing with excellence, this should not be a problem. You will shine, and the LDP Manager will want to bring you into the program. Once you are in a LDP, meet with the LDP manager and get their advice on possible rotations. This manager will get to know you through one-on-one meetings, and they have contacts within your company who will show interest in you. Take detailed notes during your meetings, and make sure to follow-up. LDP managers will want to make sure that you find a good rotation.

Meet with Rotation Managers

Now that you have contacts, reach out to them with your resume! Write short emails that do the following:

• Tell the manager who you are
• Explain a few key skills that match their position
• Tell them why you are interested in joining their group
• Request a 30 to 60 minute meeting with them

Do not forget to include your resume. Recall, it is your career summary, and the managers will need it to understand you as an individual. Sometimes managers do not respond immediately. Wait one to two weeks to follow-up, and follow-up gracefully. Remind them of your interest in the position. Suggest a date and time, and ask if that works.

Once you schedule meetings, make sure you are on time for those meetings. Always bring a copy of your resume, and dress professionally. You do not need to dress formally, as this is an informal interview. However, I advice that you do not wear casual Friday clothing. When you meet, you should be prepared to tell the manager about yourself. Make sure you have a thirty second elevator pitch. Explain why you want to do a rotational assignment in that manager's group. You should be confident in yourself. It is OK for you to be nervous, yet remember that you are interviewing for a temporary position within your group.

Quite often, people forget to have questions for the rotation manager. This is an area where you can steer yourself off course. You should ask the manager the following types of questions:

• Why is the position open?
• What do you expect from an employee in this role?
• What is your management style?
• What skills would you need to develop during the training phase?
• What is your team like to work with? How would you describe your group's micro-culture?
• Optional: Do you plan on retiring in the upcoming year?
• Optional: Does this position require travel? If so, how much?

You can ask other questions. Just make sure to give the manager time to explain the position to you. The last two questions are optional. If the manager is far in their career, you should know if they will be there to support you throughout your rotation. If they leave the company, will they have an alternate who can guide you? If the position requires traveling, you will need to know especially if you have a family. You might be unwilling to sacrifice time and relationships if you will be on the road most of the time.

Summary

You must take responsibility on finding the best rotations for your career. When making your decisions, make sure to follow your gut. If something seems off, do not take the rotation. I've done this myself, and I found myself having to find another one. It was painful. Yes, I found a rotation that suited my career better. However, I would have found that rotation sooner had I followed my intuition that said something was wrong with the rotation.

Remember, you need to follow up with the managers. Thank them via email for their time. If you decide not to take a rotation in their group, politely let them know. Of course, you need to let your manager know of your decision. (This applies to your LDP manager if you are in a LDP.) Remember, the rotation is not permanent, so you will need to decide at the end of the rotation if you will go back into your original assignment, or if you will make that rotation permanent. Communication is key throughout the entire process. It will help you boost your career because you will find stretch assignments that guide you along the career path that you want.

You can achieve your career goals in business through a combination of knowledge, support, experience, potential, and expert assistance.

Do you want to learn more about career advancement and leadership? Please read my prior posts on this subject:

• Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 
• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

Accelerate your career through stretch assignments 2019

Do you feel stuck in your career?  You can accelerate by taking on stretch assignments. Take on roles that challenge you. Look for career opportunities requiring skills you want to develop. The point is to get out of your comfort zone. If you have strong technical skills, look for opportunities that challenge you to develop soft leadership skills. You can think of these assignments as lateral career moves. Instead of moving up the ladder, you move across in a different role that forces you to learn new skills. You can move up by applying these freshly minted experiences.

What do companies consider as stretch assignments? Employees take temporary assignments in different areas within their field. A hardware engineer might take on a 12 month assignment as a systems engineer or as a software developer. A financial analyst could rotate into accountant roles. A software engineer can stretch into an engineering program management position. These positions can be temporary, or they can evolve into more permanent positions. They must challenge the employee.

When you stretch, you will feel comfortable. You will find difficulties in your new role. You could feel like you'll fail miserably. You might wonder why you bothered. If you find yourself feeling this way, you must persevere especially if seek promotions into management. Stretch assignments will test your tenacity. They will make you question your abilities. A key note: good stretch assignments push you outside of your comfort zone, so you can learn and apply new skills.

I can attest this personally. I'm in a leadership development program (LDP) where I work. I've been through it twice. First, I rotated out of systems engineering into software engineering. Although I have a minor in computer science, it had been years since I programmed in C++. I forget many constructs related to object oriented software development. However, my team helped me, as I quickly learned a non-technical skill. You can ask others for help. In fact, you always need support from your team. They know their craft, and they want you to succeed. I recalled software engineering tenets including unit testing, configuration management, and test driven development. When I felt unsure, my team members pointed me to materials to hone my software engineering skills.

Not every skill you learn focuses on technology such as software development. If you intend to become a leader, you develop soft skills. Communication, time management, people management. Think of them as are forms instead of science. You will make mistakes. What ever you do, you must not become complacent in your role. Your team and program management depend on you to see your project through its next milestone. In leadership roles, you must learn how to manage your team, and you must communicate their concerns up to program management. Keep track of tasks and responsibilities, as your reputation will precede you. You should develop a reputation as a leader who can get through challenges. Your team and project management must rely on you.

How do stretch assignments accelerate your career? You volunteer for challenging assignments, and you lead them to success. You learn new skills that you transfer into promotions. I've been told that receiving a promotion is a matter of having the right skills at the right time. You must develop broad skills that you can transfer into higher levels. If course, you retain your central expertise whether in engineering, business development, or finance. Challenging stretch assignments broaden your skills because you lack skills you need for new roles. You develop new skills through on the job learning.

I give you my second personal example. I'm currently in a product engineer role. I own a software product my team develops. Ownership exists in a figurative sense. I own the software configuration management, software problems database, and the documents pertaining to the software package. Where do the challenges exist? First, I quickly learned the product: how to maintain it, compile it, install it, and test it while keeping track of customer delivery deadlines. Second, I must communicate status to program management while leading my team of software developers on an Agile schedule. This requires communication and commitment to keeping track of software problems and the software development solutions. Software products inherently exhibit complexities. Communication can lack quickly, so I must keep the problem database maintained at all times. I must communicate customer needs through project management down to the team. All this while keeping to the schedule.

Are stretch assignments worth your time? Absolutely! They can feel daunting, as you take on responsibilities in new fields. However, you will push through the difficulties. You will develop a reputation for excellence. You will learn new skills and master them. By broadening your skills, you will be ready for opportunities whenever they arise. You will accelerate your career because you learn more in short periods of time by taking risks. You take risks by taking on assignments outside your core area of knowledge. You develop new skills because you do not want to fail in your new endeavor. In the long run, you prove yourself worthy of promotions. You do this faster than peers who chose their comfort zones over trying new things. If you have an opportunity to take a stretch assignment, go for it. You will learn much about yourself and where you want to point your career.

Grow your career through challenging stretch assignments

Want to learn more about career advancement and leadership? Please read my prior posts on the subject:

• How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions
• How to Evolve Your Stagnant Career towards Exciting Fields in STEM
• How to Turn Cynicism into Positive Action
• Sometimes leadership means cleaning up the mess you created
• Learn from your mistakes to build on your experiences

How to Market Yourself for Larger Paychecks and Promotions

Engineering students often learn all the technical details behind the engineering jobs we begin after graduation. Unfortunately, they rarely learn business aspects behind their roles in companies including marketing and sales. One aspect that students rarely learn is the importance of marketing oneself. The underlying key means understanding that companies exist to make money. Some companies make money for their investors. Others make money to support local communities. In order to earn larger raises and promotions, you need to prove your value to your manager. In this post, I will give on advice on how you can do that.

To many engineers and technologists, the concept of marketing oneself feels foreign and uncomfortable. Many of us exist as introverts: We enjoy spending time alone or among other nerds who share our common likes. (Think about the last time you hung out with fellow engineers to watch The Big Bang Theory or the latest Marvel movie. Did you hang out with any managers?) The idea of bragging to managers scares introverts because they might fear judgement or rejection. At this, I once felt this way. A good manager is a leader who wants their team to succeed. An excellent employee wants to see their manager succeed by showing them positive results. They help the manager move up in the company. Senior Managers look for managers whose teams win contracts, sell products, and make their customers happy. When you show your achievements regularly, you make your manager look good in their managers' eyes. This will reflect positively on you.

Here are several ways you can market your achievements to your manager:

• Regular status reports
• Monthly One-on-One Meetings with your manager
• Communication with Program and Other Managers
• Achievement Emails
• Yearly Reviews

Regular Status Reports

These are often known as Items of Interest or IOIs. Most managers request monthly status reports, and others request them bi-weekly. If you intend on marketing your achievements, you must take your IOIs seriously. Yes, status reports can be a major pain in the butt. However, you must complete them sufficiently if you want your manager to consider your for higher raises and promotions. You might want to give weekly status reports to stay on your manager's radar. According to Veli-Johan Veromann at WeekDone, "weekly reports are an efficient way to communicate all projects, tasks and progresses during a week." They note that reports must be accurate and brief to keep your manager's attention. You could communicate the following topics:

• Major customer presentations given
• Quantitative results including dollar cost savings or product sales
• Contract wins with dollar amounts
• Efforts to fill in any gaps you have
• Achievements that show leadership such as achieving a major team milestone

Quantify your results as much as you can especially if you can show that you brought money into your company, or you saved your company a significant amount of funds. For example, suppose you implemented a process improvement. It might take four hours for a test engineer to test Major Electronic Manufacturer High-Tech Wireless Widget, and your process improvement brings that down to an hour. Per device, this might appear as an insignificant event. However, suppose the test engineer costs the company $25 / hour in labor fees, and your company will sell one million electronic devices. By trimming three hours off the testing time, you just saved your company $75 million! You achieved an awesome achievement, and you must communicate that to your manager during your regular status report. Market yourself!

An important reminder: Keep your regular status reports brief. New employees reason that every achievement matters no matter how small. I should know, as I used to report minor achievements myself. It will take time for you to understand what you should report. If you are unsure, find a senior employee and ask them for advice. You can ask them to review your status report draft. If they agree, get their feedback and trim accordingly.

Monthly One-on-One Meetings

To market yourself, your manager must know you and your accomplishments. Although you will email your manager (a.k.a., boss) your status reports, emails can seem impersonal. You must follow them up with in person meetings. Sometimes, your manager will schedule monthly one-on-one meetings. If they do not, it is your responsibility to get regular time on their calendars. According to Bruce Tulgan, of RainmakerThinking Inc., "The fundamental goal of one-on-one meetings is communicating with your boss about the work you are doing for him. With each boss, decide what to focus on at each meeting." Tulgan suggests that you ask yourself the following questions during each meeting:

1. What problems have not been anticipated?
2. What problems need to be solved?
3. What resources do you need to complete your tasks or your manager's goals?
4. Is there anything that you do not understand? Any instructions or goals that need clarification? 
5. What things have happened since the last meeting that your manager needs to know about?
6. Do you have questions for your manager?

Clear communication is a major component of employee to manager meetings. You want to communicate your achievements, that is true. However, you must communicate any mistakes or errors you made and steps you have taken to correct them. Employees are human, and humans make mistakes. You will make mistakes. The important thing is that you learn from them and make sure you put steps in place that prevent them in the future. Managers expect their employees to screw up from time to time. What they don't expect is for employees to be proactive about their slips and falls. Catch your mistakes early and often, so they do not get repeated one million times and cost the company millions of dollars.

You can express concerns during one-on-one's with your manager. If you feel your performance slipping, meet bi-weekly. Your manager can coach you into better performance. According to Christine Zust at Kent State University, "a good coach recognizes the gem that lies beneath the surface. The coach can often see things that the protégé can’t. If you are helping your protégé to become a greater leader, then make an honest assessment up front. See where the gaps exist. Work with the protégé to create an action plan for improvement. Support the protégé’s goals and action plan." A novice employee might think that reporting bad news to a manager will poorly reflect in their yearly review. I argue that the opposite is true. You must give yourself an honest assessment, so you can communicate skill gaps to your manager, and your manager in turn can offer advice for you to close those gaps. (Click to Tweet). You want to communicate this during in-person meetings well before your yearly review. You give yourself time to improve and show how brightly you can shine in challenging situations. Otherwise, your manager will give your a poor review.

See: "The Top Complaints from Employees About Their Leaders" Published on HBR.org by Lou Solomon on June 24, 2015

In short, you must meet with your manager regularly. Not convinced yet? According to Lou Solomon at the Harvard Business Review, "data shows that the vast majority of leaders are not engaging in crucial moments that could help employees see them as trustworthy." From the graphic above, the top complaint about managers is that they are "not recognizing employee achievements." Regular face to face meetings with your manager give you opportunities to close these communication gaps. If your manager is not proactive in meeting with you, you must insist on arranging those meetings. Your career depends on it!

Communication with Program and Other Managers

What is the fifth employee complaint according to Solomon? Managers who take credit for their employees' ideas. How can you overcome this? Meet with other managers. If you work for a small company, it might be difficult for your manager to steal your ideas because ideas spread quickly in small groups. However, it becomes difficult to prove origins of ideas in larger companies if employees do not speak up. Your direct manager assigns you to work on specific projects or programs. You report to team leads, project managers, and program managers. Talk to them as much as you can! They speak among themselves, and your ideas cannot get claimed by someone else if you tell multiple people about them.

If your employer uses a stakeholder based feedback system, you might list your program manager as a stakeholder who gives feedback to your manager. You want to make your program manager happy. Establish face to face / one-on-one meetings with your program manager especially if you are a team lead. You want to ask yourself the same questions that you asked before meeting with your manager. Who knows, you might take on a position under that program manager. Although you will make mistakes, and the relationship might sour at times, you want to communicate any issues you face during the project cycle. Do not be scared of getting negative or critical feedback from your program manager. Instead, think of it as opportunities to improve yourself. Set goals to report improvements back to your program manager, so they know you heeded their warnings and advice.


Achievement Emails

Often, we receive kudos from program managers for milestone achievements. Perhaps, you led a team to a successful software delivery. You gave an important presentation to a customer or client, and you pleased them with your results. You helped the company win a multi-million dollar contract with a major customer. Whatever the achievement, forward the email notice to your manager. If possible, mention this achievement in passing when walking through the office, and make sure to include them in your regular status reports.

Your manager can list your achievements in status reports to their managers. Remember, you want to make your manager look good. Your manager wants to show positive results because they reflect positively in their yearly reviews. Help your manager succeed by showcasing your success. Do not be afraid to toot your own horn. You achieved something great, and you have the right to tell people about it. This is a key to marketing yourself.


Yearly Reviews

Few employees enjoy yearly reviews, and surprisingly few managers like giving yearly reviews. However, fewer managers show willingness to do away with them. (An alternative to yearly reviews are 360 reviews as discussed in Performance Reviews Are Dead. Here's What You Should Do Instead by Thomas Koulopoulos, Founder of Delphi Group.) Until that happens, you must summarize your yearly accomplishments during this review. Focus on major accomplishments. Go through your monthly or bi-weekly status reports. You saved them, right? Look for the biggest accomplishments in each of the areas your company's yearly review process ranks its employees. Keep it short and sweet. Do not repeat yourself because you want your major accomplishments to stand out. Remember, do not make your diamonds hard to find by hiding them in the mine. Put your diamonds on pedestals and shine bright lights on them!

If you continually meet with your managers, you will shine bright during your yearly reviews. They should be an informality, yet you must not neglect them. Many companies still use yearly reviews to rank their employees and to decide how much salary increases go to each. You will compete with your fellow employees. Many of them will be friends. This does not mean that you throw them under the bus. In fact, if you are in an engineering leadership position, it behooves you to help them succeed and showcase their success to their managers. A good leader looks for employees with potential, and you summarize yourself during the yearly review to maximize your potential for growth and value.


Summary

It will take time for you to achieve a promotion. If you are a new hire, it might take several years to achieve a promotion. However, if you communicate your achievements with your manager regularly, you do not allow them to forget you as a person and employee. You put a face to the name, so your manager sees you as someone valuable to the organization. Do not fear discussing setbacks or receiving negative feedback. If you meet with your managers regularly, you will have opportunities to correct your errors well before they become issues. You will succeed because your manager will coach you to success. You must get out of your shell and be willing to market yourself by consistently communicating your efforts and successes. You will get used to marketing yourself, and you might find yourself writing about it!