I have watched many talented people struggle to advance beyond middle management and through the glass ceiling. Women have particular trouble making the leap: while women hold over half of the professional jobs in the U.S., they only make up 34% of middle managers, 14% of executive officers, and a mere 4% of CEOs.
Here are five key things to do if you want to break through the glass ceiling and go to the next level:
1) Learn to See the Big Picture
In middle management and below, the job is all about execution: delivering on the ideas and strategies that others have created. In the C-Suite, the job is about determining what work needs to be done, and then leading a team to make that work happen.
These require very different skill sets. Doing well at execution requires specialization and focus. Doing well at the executive level requires a global understanding of the business environment and the tasks at hand.
So if you want to make the transition to the executive level, you have to first start thinking beyond specialization and your immediate workload. Be open to developmental opportunities that may be unrelated to your current job, but that will give you wider knowledge and insights. Develop great relationships with individuals outside your department and company. Read books, blogs, and newspapers to stay current on what's happening not only in your industry, but in the business community at large. That way, when leadership opportunities arise, you'll already have an informed, strategic view of what needs to happen. Then you can...
2) Take the Initiative
To show you have what it takes to be in charge, you have to be willing to take charge. Too many times I've seen people sit back and wait for someone to tell them what to do. If you want to be in the top jobs, don't wait to be asked. Figure out what needs to be done and then make it happen.
3) Find Mentors and Sponsors - and Know the Difference Between the Two
Mentors are people who can coach you in areas where you don't have deep knowledge. They provide professional and personal support as you develop your career (and you, in turn, should seek to provide similar support to them and others). They can be, but usually aren't, people in senior levels of management, as those individuals may not have the time or specific knowledge to mentor you effectively.
That's why sponsors are different from mentors, and in some ways even more critical to moving up the ladder. A sponsor is a senior-level leader, that is, someone who sits at the decision-making table, who is willing to advocate on your behalf. This is vital, since most of the decisions about the top jobs are made by a senior team. If you do not have at least one cheerleader among this group, you are not going to get the top jobs.
4) Be Willing to Risk, and Risk Often
We all love to stay in our comfort zone. Stepping outside that zone brings the risk of failure. But it is new experiences that provide the most opportunity for personal and professional growth, and those looking to reach the next level must push themselves to take risks and be uncomfortable on a regular basis.
To make risk-taking easier, you have to adjust your attitude towards failure. Failure happens all the time and it should not scare us. It teaches us what doesn't work so we can be more successful on the next try. We can gain a certain amount of knowledge from books, but nothing replaces on the job experience for getting you ready for the next career stage. And yet too many people, myself included, have avoided wonderful opportunities because the fear of failure was too great.
To counteract the fear of failure, continuously nurture your abilities and self-confidence. The more confidence and expertise you have, the more you become like a bird that 'trusts not the branch, but its own wings.' Also be sure to take the time to develop your personal networks, so that if you do stumble, you'll have plenty of backers to help you get back up on your feet.
Finally, if you want to lead, you must have strong emotional intelligence. That's because the higher up the corporate ladder you climb, the less the job is about you, and the more it is about who you surround yourself with and your ability to lead and motivate others. No one can know it all, so having others who think differently and possess skills you may not have become critical to being successful in senior management.
Executive-level leaders must have self-awareness and an ability to keep their emotions in check. They must listen before reacting. As Stephen Covey recommends, 'seek first to understand and then to be understood.' Above all, executives must be ethical and behave in a way that inspires trust and respect in those who work with them. People want to work for someone with integrity, who cares about and invests in others.
Becky Blalock is the author of the coming book, 'Dare: Straight Talk on Confidence, Courage, and Career for Women in Charge, ' which will be published in October.