6 Ways To Prove Yourself To BOSS That You Are Ready To LEAD
It isn’t surprising anymore when someone tell that they are frustrated in their job as their promotion just isn’t coming quick enough. We all reach a point in our career where we’ve become extremely good at our jobs and wonder how to take our skills to the next level — how to Manage and lead others. They believe that if someone would be able to prove yourself to boss that they are ready to lead, unfortunately the world of business just doesn’t work that way.
Over the past few weeks, there have been reports that India’s IT service companies are in the process of laying off employees on a massive scale. As the world moves to new technologies like automation, robotics, analytics and cyber security so employees will have to “re-skill or perish“. Employees need to prove yourself to boss for their capability of current requirements, role and also ready to next level responsibilities.
In order for senior management to feel good about promoting you up a level, you need to show them that you are ready to take the responsibilities. They want to feel comfortable that it isn’t going too much of a stretch for you and that you will have the best chances of succeeding. You have to put in the time, go beyond expectations and constantly show up.
Some people get chance to leadership very easily whereas, some finds it difficult because they do the mistake of thinking that they are already great leaders and are full of leadership qualities so they don’t need to improve the required traits.
Of course, the reasons some people get promoted to leadership positions will vary to a certain extent. We hear stories of supposed conspiracies — where employees believe they’re being blocked from the leadership roles for one strange reason or another. And, some of those stories might be true. However, for such scenario both employees and bosses need to be blamed for own self-perceptions. Employees often mistakenly believe they have what it takes to be great leaders, and bosses often believe they already are great leaders.
READ Too: Digitalization And Artificial Intelligence Reduces Job Opportunities In Banking Industry
If you think you’re ready to lead and prove yourself to boss, here are a few strongly suggested leadership practices to consider before raising your hand, that will show your boss that you’re ready for the next step and you will hopefully achieve the promotion faster as you thought possible.
- Be A Sponge – learn all you can do about the business and how your company operates. Select someone at higher level whom you want be like. Model the behavior that made them successful, try to get broad knowledge of your organization and your industry provides you with a more strategic view of the operation and enhances your value to the company.
- Request Bigger Project – moving up is easier when senior leaders already know who you are. By staying at the top of the right minds, your chances of being picked to lead that new team or work increase. To stay on top, you need to work on bigger projects with more visibility. If your boss doesn’t have any high visibility projects right now which are suitable for you, then ask for more responsibilities that will put you in front of important decision makers. Never miss a chance to build your rapport with influential people that your colleagues miss.
- Remove Boundaries – Often new leaders will assume that they need to create new policies, oversights and procedures to align their team on the right path. But, it’s important to realize that these often limit the potential of your team rather than set them free to create the fantastic results for which they were hired and expected to create. Streamline regular meetings with people to get back how they can do best. When the going gets rough, help the team refocus on the big picture instead of lamenting on blame game. Leave your door open so people know you’re available for questions and concerns. And, visit your team often in their workspace to see if any boundaries exist that you could help remove. Your job as leader is to remove boundaries instead of creating them.
ALSO READ: IIT Heads Worried About Quality Of India’s Engineers
- Praise Others – To prove yourself to boss that you are ready to be a leader, start recognizing the great work of other team members and update your boss about their success as well as struggle they did. Call out their effort and ideas that helped the team to move forward, this will show that you understand others work and contribution for the organization. Your boss will also think the same for you and will consider yourself to be a good leader.
- Request Feedback – Often overlooked, feedback is actually one of the best gifts your boss can give you. Asking for feedback doesn’t mean asking your boss to list your shortcomings as you fidget uncomfortably. Ask your boss what it would take to get the promotion you’re after. The goal is to nail down a plan of action that can bring you to the next level.
- Make Allies – If the position you’re seeking is in another department, find an opportunity to introduce yourself to the manager you’d like to work under. Tell them about your recent success and mention your interest in their department. This will pique their curiosity, so they will start asking about you. If you’re already on their radar, use this chance to remind them of what you can do. The relationship you build with them, the feedback you receive and the skills you master will give you ammunition you can use again and again to continue to build your career.
These are some qualities and point we have heard from employees, managers etc. who wish to lead in their organization. So if you have been waiting for next opportunity, try to work on these suggestions. As always, your comments and feedback are appreciated on AfterGraduation Forum and if you found this post “6 Ways To Prove Yourself To BOSS That You Are Ready To LEAD” helpful, please consider sharing it with your friends. Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.