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

How You can Lead Your Team to Success with Four Effective Leadership Principles

As an engineering leader, you need to manage processes and lead teams. The days when leaders thought "my people must do what I say" passed long ago. Now, leaders must think and act on this question: "How can I help my team succeed?" As a leader, you learn to operate with constraints. In an ideal world, you could provide your team with anything they need: software, highest performing multi-cored multi-threaded computers, multiple computer monitors per desk, comprehensive employee training, and much more. You can provide anything your team needs, yet you cannot provide everything at once.  When you transition from engineering into leadership, you will find the soft aspect of leadership to be difficult at time. You will find communication paramount. In this article, I provide advice on how you can lead your teams to success.

Set Clear Boundaries with your Team

You serve as an interface between your engineering team and other managers. Difficulties can arise because you and your team members might report to multiple individuals. Why does this happen? Your engineers receive directions from multiple leaders. It can seem like too many cooks stir the pots. Not all hope is lost. Clear communication removes barriers that frustrate you and your team. By setting boundaries, you define individuals' responsibilities including your own.

How do you set clear boundaries? Call a staff meeting. It doesn't matter if you are a new manager or a seasoned one. You get your team together in one room and get issues & concerns out in the open. This process requires a combination of leadership styles, as you will request their inputs. You start by defining what you need the team to accomplish: goals against the projects they support and other business related items. Use this time to make clear how often you will hold monthly staff meetings and what you will cover in those meetings. Make sure you make clear how often you expect status reports. Make it clear what format you expect them in and how much detail they should provide.

Set boundaries, so you make your expectations clear, and you understand what your team needs

Once you set your expectations, you can switch to a democratic leadership style and seek your team's feedback. This allows you to do something important: You establish how you will behave in assisting the team succeed in their roles. Do they want you to be hands off and available only when needed? How some employees need more hands-on assistance? Do they need any training, materials, and equipment to do their jobs effectively? Each team has unique needs. Listen to your team and adjust your leadership style the best you can, so you can assist each employee.

Although I write using positive outlooks, I understand situations exist that warrant difficult measures. For example, your company might be facing a tough time, and profits become nonexistent. Your team will naturally be tense and nervous. As their leader, you must communicate the situation to them clearly and honestly. You can mitigate their fears as much as you can, yet you should state that the situation could be out of your control. In other words, good leaders are willing to show their vulnerabilities, and you might need to do just that. Although you might need to layoff employees, keep them apprised of the situation as soon as it becomes a problem. Focus on ways that employees can do their jobs better, so they can return the company to profitability, and you can avoid layoffs. However, if this becomes inevitable, make sure your staff knows how many people it will effect. Meet with low performing employees early and in private, so they can prepare for their next job. No employee likes being laid off with no notice. They might ignore the signs. I should know, as it's happened to me during my career.

Boundaries can be difficult to figure out, and you will need to customize them according to your team. My belief is that boundaries should be set at the beginning of the manager / employee relationship and adjusted throughout. However, Abe Turner at Insperity argues that they should be set later in the management strategy. This allows leaders to get to know their team better and understand their individual needs. If you remember that boundaries evolve over time, you can set initial boundaries and modify them as you and your team grow.

Of course, you should make a point to meet with other employees. Figure out which employees influence your team the most and schedule meetings with them. This brings me to my next principle.

Hold Informal Meetings with your Most Influential Team Members

You need to understand what your team needs. You do this by meeting with them and asking them questions. Your team consists of engineers having multiple levels of experience. A few of these engineers shine as leaders. These are the employees who can rally the rest of the team to reach project milestones. They lead discussions. They set meeting rhythms and maintain project status. Other engineers might look up to them. Your initial emphasis might focus on the most senior members of your team. However, ability does not necessarily correlate with years of experience.

The idea that older people should be the ones in charge is not new. In the Republic, Plato argued the case that leadership must fall to the elders. I recall his argument focused on the young people's lack of wisdom. I disagree with his argument. Although more experienced employees could possess more experience in leading projects, that does not mean that managers should not trust younger employees to lead. At the least, give an employee who shows potential for leading a small potential the opportunities. Just because employee have not had opportunities to lead teams, does not mean that they want them.

Your team leads have valuable inputs. Listen to what they have to say.

Why should you meet with the most influential team members? Why informally? It's simple: They have the eyes and ears of the team. You should set regular meeting rhythms with the entire team, say once a month. However, if you want to understand what the team needs, you seek out feedback from the few people who interact with the rest. I suggest you hold informal meetings in the sense that you allow the team leads free speaking reign. This encourages candor, honestly, and open feedback. You make them feel comfortable in the process.

When you have these meetings, you start asking three general questions:

1. Continue: What does the team (I) do well?
2. Stop: What does (do) the team (I) need to stop doing?
3. Start: What does (do) the team (I) need to start doing?

In some ways, you can see these as six questions. I wrote them compactly because the first pair of three focus on the team, and the last three questions focus on you. For effective feedback, it should flow in both directions. You can ask individuals questions. However, they might feel hesitant to approach you because you are new to the team, they are shy, etc. Seeking candid feedback from the team leads allows you to understand your performance. Remember, you want to help your team succeed. You cannot do this if they feel uncomfortable to approach you with criticism.

Remember, the purpose of these meetings is for you to help the team. You give guidance not orders. You can tell employees what to do provided your instructions align with project schedules, task assignments, and so forth. This is where the boundaries you set help.

I've discussed how you will meet with low performing employees with the goal of helping them improve their performance. At some point, you will need to meet with all of your employees individually, as each person will need assistance during their careers.You will coach them individually. I discuss this in the following section.

Coach Team Members Individually

One of my managers noted that good managers must be willing to mentor and / or coach employees individually. Each person has their own needs, and you must take time to address them. Good leaders listen intently and offer their team members advice. You will not know all of the answers, nor do your employees expect that of you. However, you seek out answers and get back to the employees because your have responsibilities to provide that information.

Coaching and mentoring are alike in some regards. You provide advice to your employees. You listen to what they have to say. However, the focus of coaching is to make sure your team succeed. (You can be both mentor and coach to individuals, but it does not make sense for you to mentor the team.) You should coach all of your employees, and you adjust your style per person. Some people are shy, so you need to proactively ask them questions. Others might provide too much, so you ask them to summarize. You might not agree with what your employees say, or you might be tempted to do the work for them. On these points, I have two statements

1. Show your employees respect. You can provide constructive feedback, yet you must not belittle them. It will damage your relationship
2. Providing your employees guidance does not mean that you do their work. You might need to hold junior employees' hands to get them started. However, you do the employee, yourself, and your company disservice if you do not allow them to solve their challenges.

My second point can be tricky to implement. You have experience, and you've probably been through what your junior employees go through now. For the sake of the business, you might feel tempting to do the work for them. Do not succumb to that temptation. The best way your junior employees can gain experience is for them to be challenged. You can still help them. With an engineering problem, you can have them work through the mathematics behind the problem. Ask them questions during each step, such as

• Why did you choose that solution?
• What do you think the next steps could be?
• What happens if you did something different at step C before you reached step D?

When you use the question style of problem solving, you do not do your employee's work. Instead, you guide them through the problem to reach a potential solution. Often, the issue is not that the employee doesn't know the answer. The issue is that the employee knows several possible answer and is unsure which one is the best. They could psych themselves out by feeling overwhelmed. In engineering undergraduate programs, the solutions to problems often follow a recipe. This is not so apparent in real life. It is your job as a manager to help your employees build their skills as they become more senior.

Of course, not all employees perform well. You should communicate with your team that you will meet with low performing employees on a regular basis. Susan Heathfield at The Balance Careers notes that "the goal of coaching is to work with the employee to solve performance problems and to improve the work of the employee, the team, and the department." You use these coaching sessions to find out what's going on with these employees, and you will help them in any way you can. As an effective leader, you would want to layoff zero employees. In the real world, however, your goal should be to layoff or fire only those employees who do not improve despite your attempts to help them succeed. By meeting with these employees, it should come as no shock when you give them notice if their performance does not improve.

During this entire article, I've written on how you help your team succeed. Of course, you are human, and you need assistance from time to time. You will need help, and you can get that help through coaching and mentorship. You get that by meeting with your own manager (i.e., the senior manager). I discuss that next.

Hold One-One-One Meetings with Your Manager

As an engineer, you might have held monthly face-to-face meeting with your manager. Now that you are a leader, you need to hold one-on-one meetings with your Senior Manager. These meetings serve several purposes:

• Flow down business strategies (technical, financial, etc.) and directives from Executive Leaders
• Get updates on the business: financials, status on products / projects, etc.
• Allow you to give summarized project status
• Discuss employee promotions
• Address staffing needs
• Give you growth opportunities

This list clearly does not contain every discussion topic, and some of these topics are self explanatory. (If you need to hire additional staff, you'll tell your senior manager and get go ahead to open an HR requisition.) However, the ones I list represent information that your staff and your manager need for success. For instance, how can you expect your team to succeed if they do not know their priorities? One of your roles is to flow down the technical strategy to your team, as they will implement it. Additionally, your team would be interested in product / project status because that will give them the big picture. It allows them to understand how their contributions affect the business.

When you meet with your Senior Manager, you give them project updates. Although you will formally do this in manager meetings, you can give your manager summaries of your team's accomplishment during face to face meetings. After all, it behooves you and your team members when you display their accomplishments. It shows that you care about their contributions, as recognition ultimately comes with rewards. This rings true if some of your employees deserve promotions. You will point out employees who show leadership potential and are ready to become team leads or managers. To be promoted, employees often prove that they're capable of doing work at a level above their current pay grade. Your manager will request that you put together a promotion package for your employee. The requirements for promotion will depend on your organization. However, you will want to substantiate each requirement with employee accomplishments. 

In the previous section, I mentioned that there will come times when you need coaching and mentoring. Let's say you just became a manager. You might not know what you're doing, or you might feel uncomfortable in your new role. Ask your new manager for advice, as all Senior Managers held first level manager positions. They struggled to lead their team effectively, and they want you to succeed. Ask them for help, and ask the following questions:

• What were the challenges you faced when you first became a manager? How did you overcome them?
• What gaps in skills do I lack or need improvement? How can I fill those gaps?
• What advice do you have on coaching poor performing employees?
• How can I get my employees to be more open in discussing problems they face?
• Is there anything in the strategy I am missing?
• What should I start, stop, continue doing?

You will find that effective leadership requires you to be self reflective and willing to continually learn. Sometimes you need to ask tough questions and have crucial conversations. These conversations will be difficult, and your manager can coach you in handling them better. You might need to take additional training, and it will take practice. However, by keeping a growth mindset, you will learn how to guide employees despite their backgrounds.

Summary

In this article, I discuss four effective leadership principles you can use to lead your team to success. First, you set clear boundaries with your team. They need to understand what to expect from you as their manager, and you need to understand what makes them tick. You can get there by meeting with your team. Use those meetings to set expectations both ways. Make sure that your team feels comfortable approaching you with their problems, and you should be willing to coach them. 

Second, you meet with the most influential members of your team. These employees have lead project roles, and they understand what other members of your team are doing. Chances are, these employees display the most outspoken natures. They achieved their leadership positions by showing willingness to take charge. You can take advantage of that to find out what they and the remainder of your team need. Third, you coach your team members individually. These meetings can be periodic, or you can hold them on an as needed basis. You guide your employees by addressing any problems they might have. You should take more time with junior employees, as they might feel unsure in their new roles fresh out of college. Coaching can be difficult at times, yet you will get better at it with practice.

Fourth, you will meet with your manager (i.e., the Senior Manager) on a regular basis to provide them with status updates and to get strategic directives. You might need coaching, so your manager can assist you in becoming a better manager. Do not be shy. Your manager has a breadth of knowledge that can you can gain, and it will help you understand several things: How to coach employees, how to address problems within the team, and so forth. To be an effective leader, you must have a growth mindset. This means you must challenge your perceptions and be willing to continually learn new skills. You can transfer those skills to your employees and help them grow in their careers. After all, some day you will become a Senior Manager. The ability to train your replacement shows you have effective leadership habits. It shows you add value to your company, and the employees you train to become managers will pass on what you taught them. They will become effective leaders who guide their teams to success.

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

• 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

Overcoming Introversion in Three Counterintuitive Steps

We live in a society that rewards outgoing people. In her TED Talk "The Power of Introverts," Susan Cain notes this was not always the case, as the drive towards rewarding extroverts began in the twentieth century with the rise of big business. Outgoing people, namely extroverts, get rewarded for their actions. Our society looks for people who are willing to take charge. To paraphrase Cain, even though introverts can solve difficult problems, teachers and counselors encourage extroversion, and introverts can be viewed as problem children. For introverts, this can be a difficult pill to swallow. I should know: I consider myself an introvert. Yes, I can become extroverted in some situations, and people exhibit qualities of both introverts and extroverts. Like many self-proclaimed introverts, however, I can feel drained after going through situations that require me to act like an extrovert. I know leaders who identify as introverts, and this post offers guidelines to help you thrive despite your introversion.

Self-realization: There are times and places for introversion 

After all, introversion is a personality trait, not a disorder or disease. I'll note just like Cain that introversion can be viewed as a disease. I've made this observation out of frustration when I'm unable to get out of my own shell. One should not view introversion as a disease or weakness that should be removed from the body. Rather, the first step an introverted leader takes means that the leader realizes there are times and places for introversion. This is no easy task, as many introverts note that they wish they could control when they must act instead of ruminate on the situation. Look, I go through this myself. Whenever I write an article, I prefer to write in solitude because I can focus my attention on transforming my thoughts onto the screen. Unfortunately, life demands that we address other people's needs, and there exist times when we must put aside the task we feel most important now. Anyone with a family can attest to such situations. For example, I often get home before my wife, so I'm the one who cooks dinner. "I'll wait for dinner to cook," said no hungry person ever, so my priority shifts from writing to cooking when I know my wife is coming home.

Self-reflection: Figure what drives one's introversion.

Ironically, a second step of sorts is to think about why you feel comfortable as an introvert. It could have arisen from a situation you encountered during childhood. For example, when I was in elementary school, my parents owned a time share in Del Mar, California. I met a boy about my age, and I started hanging out with him. I enjoyed spending time with this young man -- almost to the point where I would follow him. Unfortunately, I overheard him talking to his mom about this kid who was clingy and wanted to go wherever he went. I heard what he said, and thought "that sounds just like me, so it must be me." Instead of confronting him and figuring something out, I chose to close myself off and not speak to him again. Not because I felt angry at what he had to say, but because I felt embarrassed for being too close. Thus, introversion became a defense mechanism that I used to shield myself from rejection. Through reflection, you can figure out why you choose introversion, and you must confront your fears even if you fear you will falter. You will face pain and rejection at times. To receive recognition for your leadership skills, you must risk shattering your perceptions that you hold dear. Figuratively speaking, you might feel like you're putting yourself in danger.

Growth-mindset: Be bold through uncomfortable situations

Actions follow reflection. This brings me to a question: once you realize the situation calls for appropriate social behaviors, how do you prepare yourself? Practice, practice, practice! I'm serious. If you feel uncomfortable in situations that demand you shift towards extroversion, you must put yourself in situations that force you to do this.  You can do this in one of many ways, I list a few below:

• Take on stretch assignments in areas outside your current job
• Find a mentor in a position of leadership whose background differs greatly
• Socialize as often as you can.
• Write down your thoughts before attending meetings

As I've discussed in previous articles (why you should do stretch assignments and how you find the best stretch assignments), taking rotations outside your comfort zone force you to directly face your fears. Take on short term projects where you interact with customers or project management. You risk failure if you do not interact with other people. This can feel daunting at first. In fact, I argue that if you do not think "why did I put myself in this situation?" within the first one or two months of a rotation, you do not stretch yourself far enough outside your comfort zone. Something to remember: You lead a team, and your team wants you to succeed. Seek them out for their advice. Seek the manager you report to for advice. It is not weakness to ask for help. As Peter Bregman notes, "needing help — asking for help — is an essential part of being a leader," and the idea that leaders only help others and don't need help themselves is not true. "The reality is that leaders who don’t need help have no one to lead. People feel good when they help. They are inspired when they are needed. They don’t think less of the people they help, they feel more connected." If you want to feel closer to your team, this means you must reach out to them in your time of needs. This will build trust.

Seek your team's feedback: Build their trust while learning to feel comfortable reaching out to them

I believe in the power of mentorship. When I had my first job straight out of college, I did not have a third party to express my concerns. I felt lost in the jungle called a large company. I would wager that extroverts feel the same way when joining a large team. After all, it is human to feel uncomfortable in new situations, and every person's personality consists of a combination of introverted and extroverted traits. Find someone to mentor you even if for your first couple months. In a new situation, a seasoned employee can show you the ropes: forms you need to get processes started, training classes you need, managers who can approve documents such as parts order forms. My point here in seeking out informal mentors is that you can make lasting professional friends who can help you shift from being a new employee to an experienced one. Who knows, maybe you'll return the favor some day.

Of course, a temporary mentor can get you so far. I would suggest that you seek out a leader who can guide and maybe even coach you. This leader should be one level above your current manager. Yes, this can feel uncomfortable especially if your prospective mentor lives directly in your chain of command. However, you will need to report status to managers anyway, so why not seek their advice? Every leader is a person, and they all started somewhere. The CEO of your company, for example, was once an entry-level person who made mistakes and got less then stellar feedback from their managers. However, that CEO stuck through the tough times, learned from their mistakes, and used constructive criticism as opportunities for improvement. Do not fear making mistakes. You will take risks, and you will naturally mess things up. The important thing is for you to share your concerns with a mentor you develop trust with, so they can point out how you can best learn from those situations.

Anita Campbell at American Express notes that "it can be a good idea for you to step out of your comfort zone every now and then." You can do this by socializing with your coworkers. This can take the form of hanging out during lunch or going to happy hours together and schmoozing. Do not be afraid to share personal details about yourself. This will take practice because you might not know how much information is too much. No one wants to know about that large growth on the back of your neck, or your constant indigestion, for example. However, you can talk to them about your hobbies, your family in positive light, exciting things you did last weekend, and so forth. The point here is that you share personal information, so your team feels connected with you, and you with them.

Bonus: Prepare for your meetings by writing down your thoughts.

Before meetings, write down your thoughts. OK, you can think of this as a bonus step: Create a personal agenda of topics you want to discuss to ensure that you address them. I do this whenever I meet with my mentor or a manager. This at the least makes sure that I do not forget to address concerns I might have. When you develop a meeting rhythm with your team, you might find that you might not need to write all your thoughts down. You get into the habit of discussing issues with your team on a regular basis. However, it is a good idea to write down your thoughts before important meetings.

Remember, it is not easy for introverts to become extroverts. It will not happen overnight. Despite what other people say, it is perfectly acceptable for you to be introverted. You should remember, however, that you will need to be outgoing in many situations. I did not explicitly state reasons why you need to be less introverted when needed, as I assume you already know this. For example, you could get passed up for promotions when compared to an outgoing coworker who shows no fears of speaking their mind. If you practice these steps, you will find it easier to reach out and be active in a team. You will make mistakes: I know, I've made mistakes by going back into my comfort zone when I should have asked my program manager and team members questions each day. However, the funny thing about stepping outside of your comfort zone is that you expand it. Just don't forget to stay in that new spot. You will need to continually need to go outside, and you might reach a stage where you look forward to doing that. I wish you the best of luck!

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

• 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