Have you been working in the same job for too long and are feeling stagnated? Career growth can be challenging to achieve if you’re in a role where your talents aren’t being utilized to their full extent.
Figuring out what you do best and devoting time to improving it can be an exciting step towards career growth. Whether you’re thinking about shifting careers or staying within the same one, you can leverage your strengths to grow according to your career goals.
Business is about people, so success involves being good at building relationships and connecting with others. The better your interpersonal communication skills, the better you will treat other people and develop career opportunities.
1. Be a Leader Not a Manager
What Is a Leader?
Have you ever been in a meeting where you’re trying to come up with ideas, and one person just comes out with the most amazing thing and everyone stops?
That’s a leader.
In fact, when we were writing our latest article on how to be a great leader, we asked our friends what they thought a leader was. One of them said, “I think of leaders as people who are willing to put themselves out there and say what other people might be thinking.”
And it’s true: if you can do that, you’ll be seen as a leader.
We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Persuasive. A leader is someone who can persuade others to follow their ideas. The best leaders have the ability to get people excited about an idea, and convince them to work toward a common goal.
Authentic. Authenticity is key to building trust and gaining respect—and this is especially important if you’re aiming to be a leader. Are you being true to yourself? If so, then odds are people will see this quality in you and admire it. If not, they’ll probably sense your dishonesty and feel like your whole persona is a performance—and no one likes that kind of thing. People want someone who’s real and relatable—someone who can be trusted with their secrets or called on for help in a pinch.
Inspiring. Being inspiring isn’t about the speeches or the confidence or even being an extrovert (though these things certainly help). It’s really about having a vision and being passionate about it—the rest follows.
What can you do FOR people. Leadership is not something you do to other people, because you cannot force anyone to follow you; leadership is something you do for other people, so that they choose to follow you. As a leader, your primary job is to create more leaders within your organization – not followers.
What Is a Manager?
Managers play a vital role in supporting your career. They’re the people you see every day, who know what you’re great at and where you need help, and who can advocate for you when it comes to making decisions about your professional growth.
A manager is someone who has the ability to make decisions that will directly affect the direction of your career in some way. Sometimes there are multiple people with this ability, but by and large, they should be the first person you think of when you think of who’s in charge of managing your career path.
A manager is any person who is responsible for achieving goals in a group setting. A manager’s role may be to oversee people and processes, or a combination of the two. This broad definition can encompass everything from the CEO of a global corporation to the owner of a small business to the head of a department within an organization. Managers are typically responsible for setting goals for both themselves and their teams, and then providing the resources and support needed to accomplish those tasks.
What Is The Difference Between a Leader And a Manager?
The difference between a leader and a manager may not be immediately obvious, but it’s definitely there—and it can make a huge difference in the success of your career. Generally speaking, a leader is someone who works with others to accomplish common goals; they are “people people” who are able to connect with others and build meaningful relationships. A manager, on the other hand, oversees processes and projects; they tend to be more task-oriented. The most successful leaders develop their skills as managers as well, since both types of skills are valuable for achieving success in any setting.
For example, let’s say you’re working with a team of people on a project that will require an extended period of time to complete. A good leader will be able to have conversations with his or her team members that build trust and ensure everyone is on the same page regarding the main goal of the project and their individual responsibilities. A good manager will set up processes that ensure that the project stays on track and account for possible roadblocks before they occur.
The bottom line: while these two terms are often used interchangeably, there is definitely a distinction between the two roles—and it’s important to recognize them if you want to succeed in your job or business.
2. Find a Mentor
Learn from the experiences of others, and don’t make the same mistakes that they made. A great mentor is someone who has been in your shoes, and will share their wisdom with you. There are several ways that you can find a mentor:
- Talk to your boss, and ask them if they have time to chat with you about your career goals
- If you have a job that offers it, join an employee resource group (ERGs)
- Look for mentors at conferences or events in your industry
- Go to LinkedIn, and reach out to people who have similar careers as yours. You may be surprised by how many people are willing to help out!
Improve Interpersonal Communication Skills
One of the easiest ways to grow your career is by improving your interpersonal communication skills. By this, I mean being able to communicate effectively with others. This includes listening as well as speaking.
You can do this by:
- Learning how to listen effectively, which means hearing what someone says and understanding it, not just waiting for your turn to talk.
- Practicing active listening techniques such as paraphrasing, clarifying, summarizing and restating in order to show that you understand what someone said.
- Being aware of body language and how it affects other people’s perception of you. Practice good body language so that you come across as confident, assertive and professional.
- Being willing to ask questions when you don’t understand something instead of making assumptions about what someone means without asking for clarification first.
Don’t Be Afraid To Shift Careers
You don’t have to be stuck in a career or job that you hate. The world has changed, and if you want to switch careers, you can—and you should. Not only that, but it’s likely that you won’t have to start over from scratch when you do switch careers. Your experience is valuable, and it will pay off in the new career path you choose.
Just like there are no rules for when it’s time to find a new job, there are no hard and fast rules for when it’s time to shift careers. But if your work is contributing nothing to your overall happiness and you’re not satisfied with what you do on a daily basis, then maybe it’s time to look elsewhere.
Many people feel stuck in their current positions because they are afraid of not being able to find a job outside of the field they’ve been working in. But you shouldn’t be afraid to take a chance. If you’re not happy in your current career and want to shift into something new, then go for it! You’ll never know if you don’t try, and sometimes taking a leap of faith is all you need to get out of your rut.
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