The First-Time Manager

HAVING A POSITIVE OPINION OF YOUR own ability is not an ego problem if it’s a realistic assessment.

People can get awfully mixed up in dealing with this ego thing. There are always people who want you to feel guilty if you have a healthy opinion of yourself. But as the old saying goes, “love your neighbor as yourself.” This implies that your capacity to love your neighbor is determined by your capacity to love yourself. This principle applies to management, too.

Many excellent books have been written on the subject of self-image, and they have important concepts in them for the manager. Here are a few basics that will help you in your managerial career.

The fact is, we fall or rise by our self-image. If we have a low opinion of ourselves and believe we’re going to fail, our subconscious will try to deliver that result. Conversely, if we have a high opinion of ourselves and think we’re going to succeed, our chances for success are greatly increased. That is an oversimplification, but it conveys the thought. If you think success, if you look successful, if you’re confident of being successful, you greatly increase your chances of being successful. It’s primarily a matter of attitude. If you believe you are a failure that is what you’re likely to be.

Closely related to this is the concept of the self-fulfilling prophecy. Basically, the prophecy states that we treat people the way we are told they behave or the way we think they will behave.

To reinforce a successful attitude, you need some success along the way. Now that you’ve moved into your first managerial position, every success you have will serve as a building block to further achievements.

It should be obvious that you can’t substitute feelings of success for actual accomplishments. You can’t have the appearance without any substance. That would be a sham. You’ll soon be found out, and to your disadvantage.

AN IMPRESSION OF ARROGANCE

One of the most serious problems observed in newly appointed young managers is the impression they can give of arrogance. Be careful that you don’t mishandle your feelings of success so that you are seen as being arrogant. A manager can feel pride in having been elevated into the managerial ranks without appearing cocky. Rather, the impression conveyed should be one of quiet confidence.

Do you suspect there are people in your organization who don’t believe you were the right selection and who’d delight in your failure? That is not only possible; it’s likely. An attitude that can be construed as arrogant is going to make these people more likely to conclude that they’re correct in their assessment of you.

STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING SELF-IMAGE

Anyone can work on improving her self-image. Here are three methods that have proven successful. The first method is called visualization. You try to visualize a specific outcome that is important to you. Visualization is a tool commonly used by successful athletes. Competitive skiers are not allowed to do practice runs on a course before a competition. When they make their competitive run they will ski the course for the first time. You may have seen Olympic skiers spend hours on a course before they run it, visualizing how they want to take each turn. Lots of competitive athletes do the same, including gymnasts, kayakers, snowboarders, skydivers, and many others.

The same tool can serve you well in nonathletic pursuits. Just like a competitive athlete, you can visualize a specific outcome. It may be closing a big contract, getting a round of applause for conducting a seminar, or getting that smile of affection from a loved one for showing support. You may want to visualize getting your point across with your CEO, or disciplining an employee, or doing a presentation in front of the board of directors.

What happens in visualization, after periods of practice, is that these visual images become part of how we view our actions and ourselves. The brain records these pictures for later use. Visualization is not wishful thinking. It is programming your mind for the outcome you desire.

The next method is called win-win. In this method, you give people a lot of positive feedback and work hard to help others succeed. This makes you feel better about their work as well as your abilities as a manager. Helping others succeed is not only a way to improve your self-image; it also makes managing more fulfilling.

The last technique is positive self-talk. It is estimated that we send ourselves more than a thousand messages a day. If you want to build up your self-image, make sure that these messages are positive ones. The more you do this, the more the brain builds a positive sense of self. Examples of positive self-talk include the following:

▪ “I am improving my management skills each day.”

▪ “I can handle this.”

▪ “I made a mistake but I will do better next time.”

Positive self-talk is like having an MP3 player in your mind that sends you only positive messages.

BEING SKITTISH ABOUT MISTAKES

In carrying out your duties as a manager, you’ll make an occasional mistake. You’ll exercise bad judgment. It happens to all of us. How you view and handle these mistakes is important not only to your own development, but also in how others perceive you. Your credibility is at stake. Be completely honest with yourself and everyone you associate with. Don’t try to cover up a mistake, rationalize it or—worse—imply that it might be someone else’s fault. Many managers have trouble getting the following two statements out of their mouths: “I made a mistake” and “I’m sorry.” It’s as though the words are stuck in their throats. These statements are not signs of weakness. They are signs of confidence and an acknowledgment that you are human.

New managers often have difficulty accepting responsibility for the mistakes of people who report to them. So skittish are these managers about mistakes that they avoid criticism by handling the more complex work themselves. When they do this, they create two destructive outcomes: They make themselves much less promotable and they kill themselves with extra work. These are the costs of their insecurities.

The way to solve this problem is to build your entire managerial role. You select better trainers; you become a better selector of people; you develop better internal controls that minimize mistakes and their impact. And when mistakes happen and you’re the culprit, you admit it, correct it, learn from it, and—above all—don’t agonize over it. Then you and the staff move on.

SELF-INFATUATION AND SELF-CONTRADICTION

You have to put forth your best image, but don’t be so successful at it that, like the movie star, you fall for your own publicity. Be willing to admit to yourself what your shortcomings are. You’d be surprised at how many managers can’t do that. They, of course, have shortcomings. They can’t be experts at everything. But in ascending to their position, they find that many people start catering to them. It takes an unusual manager to realize that all the honoring treatment doesn’t increase intelligence or boost knowledge. It’s easy and pleasant to sit back and accept all that bowing and scraping. The manager is soon convinced that the adoration is deserved. Perhaps the charisma you think is personal is merely created by the position you hold.

When I was at the corporate headquarters of a large technology company in Silicon Valley I heard a cautionary tale about people catering to a new manager. Soon after a new CEO was selected he was walking to a meeting with some subordinates when he commented that the hallway they were passing through would look better if it was painted light green. A few days later when he passed through the same hallway he was surprised and embarrassed to see that the hallway was now light green. He never intended for it to actually be repainted. His was just a passing comment. This experience taught him an important lesson quickly—be careful with your offhand remarks. The desire of your subordinates to please may yield unintended and undesirable results.

The infallibility syndrome becomes most noticeable at the level of chief executive officer. Between the beginning manager and the top post are varying degrees of infallibility that seem to go with the job. You have to keep an honest perspective about who you are. Yet some CEOs fall into the infallibility trap. This may explain in part why the average tenure of chief executive officers of Fortune 500 companies is just over four and a half years.

If you were named CEO, you wouldn’t automatically become smarter than you were the day before. But people would start listening to you as though you were dispensing pearls of great wisdom. You didn’t get smarter; you just gained more power. Don’t confuse the two!

Pay little attention to what executives say in this regard. Pay more attention to what they do. If an executive says, “I hire people who are smarter than I am,” think about what he does. Do all the people he hires seem to be clones of him? If an executive says, “I encourage my people to disagree with me. I don’t want to be surrounded by yes men,” remember what happened last week when the executive snapped off the head of a subordinate who expressed a different point of view. If an executive says, “My door is always open,” and then looks visibly upset when you walk in saying, “Do you have a moment?” the words ring hollow, indeed. The words are contradicted by actions and attitude.

Throughout your business life, you’ll encounter executives who espouse impressive management philosophies. The main problem is if they wield their authority using other, less desirable concepts.

SHORTCOMINGS AND PREJUDICIAL MINDSETS

You don’t need to advertise your weaknesses. That’s foolish; just be willing to admit them to yourself and do all you can to correct them. For example, the things you probably don’t do well are also the things that you don’t enjoy. That’s hardly a coincidence. Exercise some self-discipline and get the chores you don’t like out of the way. Remember that in your performance appraisal, the quality of your work will not excuse errors in the tasks you don’t like. So, even the tasks you don’t care for demand quality performance. Every job has aspects to it that you’re not going to like; get them done well, so they are out of the way and you can get to the parts you enjoy.

Be willing to admit that you may have mindsets or attitudes that are a problem. You can’t take the edge off them if you do not acknowledge them. For example, think of the manager who has a prejudice against other managers who leave the office at five. He believes that when people become managers, their work comes first and social and family obligations have to wait. He also believes that any manager who leaves so early could not possibly have gotten all her work done, or done it well. His attitude probably derives from an inability to get his own work done if he leaves the office at five.

That’s his prejudice; it’s his mindset. It’s not provable; it’s an emotional feeling he has. In dealing with managers who have a life outside of work, this type of manager must be aware of his mindset and make every effort to overcome it—but without overcompensating for it. It’s a tough situation, but we must first be willing to admit a fault or a strongly held belief before we can deal with it.

An ability to identify and acknowledge any deeply held beliefs or biases is a core element of emotional maturity. You do not have to set them aside, only understand how they impact your perception of, and dealings with, others. You do not want to be like the person you have almost certainly experienced who overwhelms the room with her excessively stated beliefs. This might be fine when the person is spending social time with like-minded friends, but it does not work in a business setting.

Most people’s inclination when confronted by such a person is to minimize their connection and the sharing of information for fear of not aligning with his mindset. The person who chooses to “wear his beliefs on his sleeve” suffers for that style.

YOUR OBJECTIVITY

Through the years we have all come across managers who tell us they’re looking at a problem objectively, and then proceed to explain their attitudes or solutions in a clearly subjective way. When a manager starts off by claiming to be completely objective, you must wonder why she says this. When you hear such a statement it is wise to be extra aware of exactly the opposite—a lack of objectivity.

It’s unlikely that you will ever be able to be completely objective. We are the sum of all our experiences. We like some of our staff better than others, and may not even be able to explain why; it could be personal chemistry. As long as you recognize this, you can compensate by dealing fairly with those who are less liked.

It seems better for the manager not to bring up the subject of objectivity or subjectivity. How about being as honest as you can be in your dealings with people, and not get into all the shadings of objectivity and subjectivity? The recognition of how difficult it is to be completely objective is a good place to begin.

When your manager asks you, “Are you being objective?” your answer ought to be, “I try to be.” No one can guarantee that he is completely objective, but an effort in that direction is admirable.

QUIET CONFIDENCE

Develop quiet confidence in your decisionmaking ability. As you make more and more decisions, you will get better at it. Most management decisions do not require extraordinary wisdom; they require your ability to acquire the facts and know when you have enough information to make the decision.

Don’t make emotional decisions and rationalize them afterward. When you do, you will find yourself defending a decision that you wish you hadn’t made. A bad decision is not worth defending, even if you’re the person who made it. Once you rationalize a bad decision, you’re trapped.

Too many new managers believe that they have to be fast decisionmakers in order to be successful. This creates an image of shooting from the hip, which is not a desirable image to foster. The other extreme is taking a great deal of time to make decisions.

Balance and moderation are the keys. You don’t want to make decisions so quickly that they are poor decisions, or take forever to make decisions. Assemble the information you need knowing that you will often not have complete or perfect information, assess the situation, and decide. Don’t be rash but also do not set unachievable requirements for information. If you do, the opportunity will likely have passed you by before you decide.

DECISIONMAKING

It is important for your confidence to be able to use a variety of decisionmaking methods. There are four: solo, participative, delegated, and elevated.

• Solo decisionmaking is when you make the decision yourself. This is the method you will likely use when you are the expert, time is short, or involving members of your team would not be appropriate because of the nature of the decision. A personnel decision is an example of a matter you may need to handle without involving members of your team. This does not mean you shouldn’t seek advice from people whom you do not supervise. You may be well-served to seek input from colleagues outside your organization, your supervisor, or even people who are not with your company before making a solo decision.

• Participative decisionmaking involves getting input from your staff members and making them a part of the process. The participative method can assist you with getting buy-in on the decision, help you make a better decision by getting those who will be a part of implementing the decision involved, and also may have some training value. Involving team members in making a decision can help them better understand the process and allow them to improve their skills.

• A delegated decision is one you allow the team to make for you. You would use this decisionmaking method when the team is more knowledgeable than you are or you are comfortable with any of the possible outcomes. As with the participative method, delegating the decision has training value and sends a clear message to the team members involved that you trust their judgment.

• An elevated decision is one you decide should be made by someone above you in the organization. This could be because you are not qualified to make the decision. A decision that will impact people beyond your team may also be appropriate for you to elevate. Elevate decisions reluctantly. You do not want to be seen as someone who is not willing or able to make decisions, but there may be times when you should legitimately remove yourself from the process.

Don’t be the type of manager who uses only one method of making decisions. Be flexible in your approach. When you are able to select the correct decision method for the situation, your confidence and self-image will soar.

AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP

No doubt you have been advised to lead by example. It’s excellent advice. There is, however, another level beyond leading by example—authentic leadership. Authentic leadership is about gaining the regard of your team by being real and genuine. There are two inseparable elements of authentic leadership—exhibiting the behavior you seek and matching your actions with your statements.

Your team members observe you closely. They give you some regard and even deference because you are the boss. When you lead authentically, you will receive the genuine regard and respect of your team by choice instead of by necessity. That is true leadership.

Because you’re the boss, your people will likely be responsive and respectful enough not to create problems for themselves. When you are an authentic leader, the dynamic changes; your people will move from being responsive out of necessity to being inspired and engaged. It’s powerful.

If you exhibit high personal standards, you will inspire the same in your team members. If you are thoughtful and ethical in your decisionmaking, you will inspire the same. If you are respectful of your colleagues even when you disagree with them, you will inspire respectful behavior. If you conduct yourself with class, you will set a higher standard for your team.

So be honest with yourself; recognize who you are and the example you want to set. Then do it. It will make you both an inspiring leader and a better person.

OFFICE POLITICS: PLAYING THE GAME

As we already mentioned, you’re judged by the performance of your area of responsibility. The people who report to you are as important to your future as are the people to whom you report. That leads directly to the matter of office politics. It exists everywhere. People recoil at the idea of office politics, and that is because not all people hold politics and politicians in high regard. The reality is that whenever more than two people are involved, there will be an element of politics.

Consider this rather positive definition of politics: the total complex of relations between people in society. From this perspective, you can see that politics are present in all settings that involve people. The game of office politics exists, and nearly everyone plays it. You’re either a participant or a spectator. Most managers are participants.

Some people are viewed as “cold turkeys” by those who report to them but as “warm, generous human beings” by their superiors. This may be because these people are really playing the game, but in the long run they’re working against themselves. However much they may succeed in fulfilling their ambitions at the office, they’ll fail as human beings.

If getting promoted is more important to you than your integrity, than being your own person, then you’d better skip the rest of this chapter because you won’t like much of what it says.

Almost anyone can succeed temporarily by being an opportunist, but consider the price paid in getting there. Granted, many of the decisions made about promotions will not seem fair to you, and they won’t all be made on the basis of ability. Life is not fair, so don’t expect it to be.

Often, individuals feel that many promotions are made on the basis of something other than fairness and ability. But even though most companies try to make these decisions fairly, it doesn’t always come off that way. Besides, a decision that seems perfectly rational to the executive who is making it may not seem rational to you, especially if you thought you were the likely candidate for the promotion.

In spite of that, you still have to prepare yourself if you want to get promoted. If you depend on luck or serendipity, your chances are greatly diminished. You have everything to gain and nothing to lose by being prepared. Who knows, your opportunity for promotion may come from outside your company. You want to be prepared for that possibility, too.

PREPARING YOUR UNDERSTUDY

As soon as you’ve mastered your job, you must start looking for an understudy. The reason for this is clear. Decisionmakers are going to be less likely to promote you if doing so will create an operational void. By having an understudy who is prepared to take your position, you make yourself a better candidate for promotion.

Finding the appropriate understudy can be a delicate matter. You should not select your potential replacement too early. If the candidate doesn’t develop properly and fails to demonstrate the skills needed to move into your job, you could have a serious problem. Changing your mind about a successor you’ve already selected is likely to create all sorts of problems.

How you go about preparing for your own replacement is of critical importance. If you already have a team member who is perfectly capable in the job, it’s merely a matter of helping that person develop as thoroughly and as rapidly as possible.

Give the candidate bits and pieces of your job to perform. Under no circumstance should you delegate your entire job to the person and then sit back and read newspapers and business magazines. The company obviously didn’t put you in the position for that purpose.

Allow your understudy to do more and more aspects of your job until he has learned most of it. Make sure the understudy does each section of the job frequently enough that it won’t be forgotten. Occasionally, invite the understudy to participate in the interviewing process when you’re hiring new employees.

Assuming the understudy is performing satisfactorily, start your political campaign for your prospective replacement. Make sure your boss knows how well the person is developing. On performance appraisals, use terms and phrases such as “promotable” and “is developing into an outstanding management prospect.” Of course, never say these things if they’re untrue; that would probably work to the disadvantage of both you and your understudy. But if the understudy is developing well, communicate it up to the next level without being blatant about it.

You run the risk that the understudy might get promoted out from under you. It’s still a risk worth taking. Even if this happens to you several times, you’ll get the reputation of being an outstanding developer of people. That will add to your own promotability. Besides, you’ll find that developing employees can be a highly satisfying experience. And while you’re worrying about preparing your people for promotion, perhaps your own boss is just as concerned about you and your future.

USING MULTIPLE CHOICES

If you don’t have an understudy already in place, you should assign parts of your job to several people and see how they run with the added responsibility and the new opportunity. This is indeed to your advantage, since training several replacements at once makes it unlikely that all the candidates will be promoted out from under you. This in-depth backstopping will serve you well in emergencies.

Don’t be in too big a hurry to move a single candidate into the position of understudy. The moment you name a person as your deputy, others stop striving for the job. That is the trouble with any promotion. Those who don’t get it may stop aspiring to it, which usually has an adverse effect on their performance, even though it may be temporary.

The following management concept may be of value to you: Always hold something out for your team members to aspire to. If you get to the point where you have to select a single team member as your heir apparent, then let the other candidates know that opportunities still exist for them in other departments, and that you’ll help them toward their goals of promotion.

As long as you continue to have several prospects vying for the position, however, you must treat them as equals. Rotate the assignments among them. Make sure that all of them are exposed to all aspects of your job. If you’re gone from the office occasionally, take turns putting each of them in charge of the operation. Give them all a chance at managing the personnel aspects of the job, too.

On a regular basis, meet with all the candidates at once and discuss your job with them. Don’t say, “Let’s discuss my job.” Rather, talk about some specific problems they’ve encountered. All of them will benefit from the discussion. If one of them had to face an unusual management problem in your absence, why shouldn’t all of them profit from the experience?

AVOIDING THE PERILS OF INDISPENSABILITY

Once again, it is important not to allow yourself to become indispensable. Some managers trap themselves into this kind of situation. In their effort to ensure the quality of work, they request that all difficult questions and decisions be referred to them. It doesn’t take long for employees to figure out that anything out of the ordinary will soon be going to the boss. The time taken from your day is not the only problem. The more fundamental trouble is that your people soon stop trying to work out more complex problems by themselves.

It’s important that your people be encouraged to find answers on their own. They’ll be better employees for it. There are limits, of course, to the areas of responsibility that can be delegated to them. It’s good management to allow staff members some responsibility while still assuring them that the executive is accountable for their performance.

You’ve heard people worrying about whether the company would get along without them while they’re on vacation. They have it backward: Their real worry is that the company will get along just fine without them. The manager who is doing the right kind of job in developing employees and backup management can leave with the assurance that the department will function smoothly in her absence. The truly efficient and dedicated executive, indeed, has progressed to the point where she can even be gone permanently—to a promotion or to another company. There are managers who, in a misguided view of what their job requires, make themselves indispensable and spend the rest of their business careers proving it—by never being moved from that position.

The main problem with such people is that they don’t understand what the job of management is about. Management isn’t doing—it’s seeing that it gets done.

FOLLOWING YOUR PREDECESSOR

It helps a great deal if your predecessor in the job was a real disaster who left the place in a shambles. Unless you’re a complete loser, you’ll look like a champion by comparison. Sadly, that is preferable to stepping into a smooth-running operation. Following a company hero who is retiring or was promoted to a higher level position at another organization is difficult because no matter how well you perform, it’s tough to be compared with a hero and the legend that time bestows upon him.

So if you ever have a choice between moving into an area of chaos or assuming a nice, clean operation, go with the disaster. It could be a great opportunity to establish a reputation that will stay with you your entire career. You’ll not regret it and you will likely learn more from the experience.

CONTINUING YOUR EDUCATION

In preparing yourself for promotion, consider expanding your knowledge of the business you’re in. It’s not enough to become expert in just your area of responsibility. You must understand more about your company’s entire operation.

You can acquire this additional knowledge in several ways. For instance, you can broaden your knowledge through selected readings. Your own boss may be able to recommend reading material that fits closely into your company’s operation and philosophy. No boss is ever insulted when asked for advice. However, a word of caution: Don’t ask for advice too often, because your boss will either suspect you can’t make up your mind about too many things or figure you’re seeking a favor. Neither of these impressions will help your cause.

If your company offers education programs, sign up for them. Even if you can’t see any immediate benefit from them, they’ll serve you well over the long haul. In addition, you’re displaying an eagerness to learn. Make sure the classes and training you take are related to your current role and aspirations. You do not want to be perceived as someone who signs up for every class offered, regardless of its relevance. Also be reasonable in how much time you take away from your primary tasks for the education. The best way to increase the chances of being promoted is by doing an excellent job.

DRESSING FOR SUCCESS

Styles come and go, so what is inappropriate for business today may seem satisfactory in a couple of years, or even months, down the road. As a manager, you should not try to be a trendsetter by wearing far-out, extreme, avant-garde clothing. You might not think it fair, but you will not advance your career if some executive refers to you, in conversations, as “that kooky dresser down on the first floor.”

What is acceptable or extreme may vary by the kind of business you are in or the area of the country. For instance, what might work in a fashion magazine’s office would seem inappropriate in a tradition-bound life insurance company. What may be acceptable in the Southwest may not sit well in the East. Obviously, what you wear as a manager in a factory is altogether different from what you wear in an office. The point is that if you are going to be successful, it helps if you look successful—but not extreme. Your appearance should make a quiet statement, not shout.

The following story points out how dress can differ from company to company. Several years ago, a young man had an interview scheduled at one of the more creative departments within a motion picture studio in Hollywood. He called up his contact there and asked her what the dress was. She replied, “casual.” So, the young man arrived in slacks and a nice pressed shirt. He walked into the room and everyone was dressed in tank tops and shorts! The word casual obviously meant different things to the interviewee and to his contact. Despite being on a different wavelength, however, the young man still landed the job.

This story not only proves that companies have different ideas on style and dress; it also shows that you’ll make fewer fashion mistakes as a businessperson by being a bit overdressed than by being underdressed. If you go to an event wearing a suit and tie, and you find it’s casual when you arrive, you can always take off the jacket and tie. If you dress casually and find that everyone is in a suit and tie, you cannot easily add apparel to get in sync.

A rule of thumb is this: If you’re not sure what to wear, you’re better to go more formal than casual. A second rule of thumb is that when you are in doubt, be attentive to how the senior leaders in your organization present themselves.

TOOTING YOUR OWN HORN, BUT SOFTLY

You can be the greatest thing since sliced bread, but if you’re the only one who knows it, you won’t go anywhere with your many talents. You need to get the word to the decisionmakers in your organization in the most effective way possible.

If you’re obviously tooting your own horn, people are going to react negatively. You may come off as a blowhard—a reputation that will not serve you well. There are people with a great deal of ability who are too blatant in their self-promotion. It turns people off and has the opposite effect from the intended result.

You must be subtle. You want to be regarded as someone who is communicating effectively.

The following example shows how a situation might be handled so as not to be offensive to others and generate a negative reaction: Let’s say the local community college is offering courses that you think might help you do your job better, and thereby make you more promotable. Here are some ways to make sure your boss and the company are aware of your educational efforts. (Anything that gets the job done without overkill is the goal.)

Send a note to the human resources department, with a copy to your boss, asking that your personnel records show that you’re taking the course. That puts the information in your file, where anyone examining your record and looking at candidates for promotion will see it. Upon completing the course, again notify HR of the successful conclusion. If a certificate of completion is provided, send a copy to HR for your file.

Engage in casual conversation with your boss (if she hasn’t acknowledged the copy of the note to HR), and mention something along the lines of, “The instructor in my accounting class made an interesting point last night. . . .” The boss may ask, “What accounting class?”

Place the textbooks on your desk. Eventually you will get the desired question.

Ask your boss for clarification of a class discussion item that you did not fully understand.

If you have a classmate meet you at the office for lunch, introduce her to your boss. “Mr. Jones, I’d like you to meet someone I met in my accounting class, Liz Smith.”

You get the idea. The subtler you are, the less likely your efforts will come off as excessive. Your boss, who knows something about self-promotion, recognizes that you are communicating about your accomplishments. If you do it well, she may even admire your style.

Being the most qualified new manager in your organization is great, but you will not be serving yourself well if no one knows it. Very few bosses will approach you and say, “Tell me—what are you doing to prepare yourself for promotion?” So you have to help them.

Some executives espouse the philosophy that if you do a great job, the promotions and raises will take care of themselves. This is a risky strategy, and you can’t afford to take such chances. If your superiors don’t know what you’re doing, how can they take your accomplishments into consideration? Develop a style of communicating the important aspects of your development, but do it with a degree of understatement so that others do not become offended or see you as too pushy.

AWARENESS THROUGH PRESENTING

One of the best ways to make your colleagues aware of your abilities is to develop your presentation skills. When you become comfortable presenting, you can pursue opportunities to illustrate your talents and knowledge. You will set yourself apart from the majority of people, who seek to avoid presenting. Most important, everyone in the audience will become more aware of you, your position, and your capabilities.

If you are like most people, you are not very excited by the thought of public speaking. Your reluctance is likely related to limited or even negative experiences. Chapter 39 will give you specific suggestions for moving past these limitations and improving your presentation skills.

BUT IS THE GAME WORTH THE PRIZE?

Being an outstanding manager and concurrently working up to the next rung on the ladder is a constant in almost every manager’s career—unless he loses interest in moving higher. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to pay the price of moving to the next level. That is healthy if it’s what you feel, because it means you’re in touch with yourself. We all may reach a point where we are no longer considered promotable. Conversely, we may still be considered promotable, but we are comfortable where we are and don’t want the aggravation that goes with the next promotion. Besides, the promotion pyramid gets much narrower the closer it gets to the top. Remember, the chair of the board of directors and CEO are no longer promotable—at least in the present company.

In earlier editions of this book, we mentioned that you have a right to know where you stand as far as promotability is concerned. We even suggested that there was nothing wrong with pressing for that information. Let’s rethink this. If you don’t care to be promoted, why ask? If you are offered a promotion, however, that’s flattering and you might even change your mind.

If you want to be promoted and you think a promotion is long overdue, why ask and have some boss say, “No, I don’t believe you are promotable,” or have your boss dodge the question and leave you dissatisfied? What if you ask, and your boss puts a note in your file that says, “Manager Jones pressed me about promotion. Told him he’s topped out.” Now, let’s say your boss leaves and goes to another company, and you’re getting along famously with the new executive. You’d rather not have that “he’s topped out” comment in your file. Why trigger that possible response—which may be faulty—and have it carved in stone?

If you desire additional promotions, it helps to keep your eye on the ball and not be distracted by some future possibility. While there is nothing wrong with letting a decisionmaker know you would welcome a new challenge, the greatest favor you can do for your career is to be outstanding at the job you hold right now. Mastering your current job is your first priority. Every other ambition must be secondary to that objective.

ACQUIRING A SPONSOR

It helps to have a boss who sings your praise at the executive level. Develop good relationships with all the executives with whom you come in contact, who know the quality of your performance, and who recognize your healthy, upbeat attitude. If the only one who thinks highly of you is your boss, and she leaves the company, you’ve lost your advocate—unless your boss offers you a great job in her new company. It helps if many executives in the organization know your name in positive terms. Being sponsored by several star executives is a great thing. Gladly accept committee assignments that put you in contact with managers and executives beyond your own department, consistent with your other commitments.

HAVING STYLE AND MERIT

Achieving the objectives discussed in this chapter requires excellent performance and self-confidence on your part. Often, the difference between a satisfactory job and a great job is image or style. Your style colors a superior’s perception of your performance, especially if the style is one to which your superior reacts positively. But a bad or offensive style is similarly critical in evoking a negative response.

Doing a great job and maximizing the mileage you get out of that is one thing; conning people into thinking you’re doing an outstanding job when you’re not is quite another and will create problems. The message and the performance must be in sync.