Ok fellows, so today’s post is about the reality of playing “the corporate game” and what it takes to ascend in its ladder. Big corps always try to create the false sensation that a career exists and growth depends solely on your effort and sacrifice... well, it does not. Sad reality is there are lots of other factors and most are out of your control!
Although true for both lower and upper levels of the pyramid, the reasons tend to differ. In lower levels, careers tend to be “just a reference” created by HR, where the criteria for ascending, timelines and everything else is just orientative and usually you have to beg or threaten to leave the company to be even considered. The lack of “oxygenation” doesn’t help, so people are usually not promoted unless there is a vacant.
For upper levels however careers truly dont exist. Once you reach a certain point it becomes a subjective game of politics, luck and being in the right place at the right time. Bellow we show you some ideas on how to be in that right place… but remember, it not all about “YOU”, it’s mostly about “THEM”.
Don’t kill yourself, it’s probably not your fault
Be in a leader’s “inner circle”
This is definitely one of the most successful strategies you can use in order to grow in a big corp, just make sure you select the appropriate person to place your bet… easy, right?
Sadly, foreseeing if a manager is going to be successful in the mid-long term it’s not an easy task. Lots of factors play a role and even when you *think* you selected the winning horse it can become a double edge blade quickly if they fall from grace.
Actually, you could think about the problem backwards, its easier to identify those that are losing horses, they think for themselves, say “I dont do politics”, are not in good standing with their own boss, have been stuck in the same role for years and so on. Keep a safe distance.
Get in a successful leader’s inner circle but try to diversify your bets
Be the “expert subject matter”
If you manage to achieve the status of “expert or guru” in a specific field (whatever that means, its not an objective thing) you may become valuable for the company and ascend the lower/middle part of the pyramid rather fast. Unfortunately, most of the times, you will hit a crystal ceiling quickly, so you might have to (again) threaten to leave or play other games to put some pressure in the wound.
Ascending further also depends on your ability to abandon this “expert” status and start adding more managerial and political tools to your arsenal.
Choose something resilient and broad like “digital expert” instead of niche (e.g., blockchain), it will be useful when the CEO gets bored of it
Be the constant “rule breaker”
This strategy can be very profitable in companies that tolerate some mild-to-heavy status-quo challenge, for example those that “want to become a startup” as we mentioned. Trying to be “innovators” forces top managers and CEOs to promote some kind of punk attitude in the company’s culture. This is sadly mistaken sometimes with the way your dress or talk rather than act, so you might have to do those things too.
But…careful, not all the players in the corporate game are equally tolerant with a constant rule breaking and most will want results from this “innovation”, so you have to deliver something (or move away from the bomb before it explodes).
Even if the company culture tolerates it, it’s extremely easy to cross a red line when always trying to be the rule breaker.
Be the a “job hopper”
Last but not least… another way of ascending in the pyramid is to switch the actual pyramid. Sometimes its easier to get the recognition your want in another place, leveraging the reputation that your company might have to get access to a higher position elsewhere.
Its a tradeoff, as switching jobs always carries some level of risk but also allows you to bypass some of the rules of a place. Its also possible to go back sometimes to the original place in an even higher position if for example the experience you gather is valuable, you spend some time in a start-up and become this “rule breaker” the CEO is searching for…
Very good article. One of the things not said here is that, many times, to go up the career ladder, you have to "bend" your own rules, simply to comply (or to be in the same "frequency") with what the guys in charge of evaluating you or simply grant the green light for your promotion. Some people do not have problems with this, but in other cases, ethics come into play. It is not pleasant, depending on the situation...
Rule breakers are well seen many times until the rule they break annoys a manager. This, of course depends on the organization. In some organizations rule breakers are seen as a constant threat, so they are not allowed at all.