Are You Promo Table

8/8/2019 Are You Promo Table

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- . A r e Y o u , . , ^

Promotab le?f you want to get ahead in your career, it's not

enough to just work hard and hope for the best

Here's wha t it reaily takes to be a promotable

professional In today's workplace.

By Jeffrey Cufaude

O n c e u p o n a t i m f̂ , simply doing well in your

current job got you noticed as a potentially desirable

candid ate for a promotion. Put in

your time, do good work, exceed exp ecta-

tions, and you'd likely be on your wa y to

the C-suite.

Today? Not so much . Or per-

haps more appropriately

stated, not so little. As

Ladd Smith, CAE, Ph.D.,

president of the

Research Institute for

Fragrance Mate rials, Inc.,

notes, "Performance matte rs...

as gauged by the association's m anage-

ment, the membership, and external stakeholders."

Associations Now May 2010 45



To be deemed a promotable pro-

fessional, effectively executing y our

presen t position 's responsibilities is a

minimum expectation, not a differen-

tiator. So wh at will make you stand out

from your peers as worthy of additional

responsibilities or more significant posi-

tions of leadership?

In Good to Great, auth or Jim Collins

offers a five-level hierarchy of executive

capabilities. (See "Good to Great's Levels

of Leadership" on page 47.) The p yramid

shape illustrates the num ber of people

likely to effectively perform the respon-

sibilities corresponding to each of the

five levels. In almost an y organ ization,

you'll find a large number of individuals

who are highly capable in their respec-

tive positions, but a smaller number ofpeople able to perform w ell as compe-

tent managers or effective leaders.

The qualities individuals must

possess to be successful at each of

Collins' levels parallel the key the me s

and insights that more tha n a dozen

association professionals offered on

wh at is required to be a promotable

professional.

Succeed with the soft stuff that

some find hard. You excel in y our

own functional responsibilities, but

do you play well with others? You

should respond with a resounding yes

if you w an t to move from level one to

level two, and that requires m astery

of the soft skills. "B y far, I think one of

the most im portant qualities when

deciding to promote someone relates

to e motion al intelligence," says Lola

Pugliese, CA£ , vice president, finan ce

and mem ber services, for the C linical

and Laboratory Standards Institute.

Emotionally intelligent individuals

possess stron g se If-awareness, are able

to manage their own emotions and

their reactions to others, dem onstrate

C D C g o m e m b e r s

S o l u t io n s T h a t A r e

A s F l e x i b l e A s

Y o u A r e

Y o u r o r g a n i z a ti o n p e r f o r m s i n a w o r l d

t h a t d e m a n d s a g i li ty a n d c r e a t iv i ty

w h e n i t c o m e s t o m a n a g i n g d a y - to - d a y

o p e r a t io n s a n d a d d r e s s in g t h e n e e d s o f

y o u r c o n s t i tu e n t s . C D C g o m e m b e r s ,

a p r o v i d e r o f a s s o c i a t i o n a n d e v e n t

m a n a g e m e n t s o f t w a r e , d e l i v e r s s o l u t i o n s

t t ia t a r e f l e x ib l e , e a s y t o u s e a n d a r e

d e s i g n e d to m e e t y o u r u n i q u e n e e d s .

empa thy and truly understand col-

leagues' perspectives, and handle

difficult em otions and conflict w ith pro-

fessionalism and maturity.

Leadership and career strategy coach

Pegotty Cooper suggests this latter qual-

ity presents itself as being "willing to

engage readily with o thers even whe n

their opinions and viewpoints are radi-

cally different." Given tha t individua ls

who advance in an association are more

likely to work with a broader ra nge

of internal and external stakeholders,

the capac ity to engage effectively with

diverse viewpoints becomes critical.

Promotable professionals see others'

perspectives and feedback not as hard

and fast truths to either accept or reject,

but as useful insights into how theirefforts and styles are perceived. They

incorporate this understanding and

modu late how they do their work to

more effectively interact along side oth-

ers different from them .

Joel Albizo, CAE , executive director of

the Council of Landscape Architectural

Registration Boards, suggests this is

essential: "T o grow and be promoted

one necessarily has to tackle and suc-

ceed at m ore complex and ambiguous

challenges. This can make you uncom -

fortable, and the re is a need to rely onexternal support."

Embrace and contribute to th e big-

ger picture. It's one thin g to perform

the tasks of your position proficiently.

But it's quite another thing to perform

them in a manner that demonstrates an

understand ing of your organization's

larger strategic direction. "1 lean toward

promoting staff who are focused on

our mission and wha t's best for the

organization, rather than employees

who are mo re inwardly focused," says

Staqr Brungardt. CAE , executive direc-

tor of th e Society of Teachers of Family

Medicine.

Taking an interest in and making

a contribution to this proverbial big-

ger picture is seen as a critical qu ality

for individuals who wish to adv ance.

And the big picture also includes th e

priorities of other depa rtments and the

needs of your colleagues. Promotable

46 Associations Now May 2010



GOOD TOGREAT'S

LEVELS OF

LEADERSHIPLevel 5:

Executives

"Builds endurint

greatness through

• aparadoxical blend of

personal humi l i tya nd '

pro jessionalwi l l . "

pim C ollins, Good to Great)

Level 4: E/fective Leaders

You engage individuals'commitmentand

, contr ibut ionstoagreaterv is ionandbet terresu l ts . ,

Level 3: Competent Managers

You eifectively and ef|iciently organize people and

other resources tow ar d predeterm ined objectives.

Level 2: Contributing Team M embers

You interact well with others ande/fec tively c ontribu te to group objectives.

Level 1: Highly Capable Individuals

Youdoyour jobwe l l .

professionals read and learn everything

about what other departments within

their association do and never fail to

offer help, according to Sherrie Cathcart,

CAE, executive director, American

Association for the Study of liver

Diseases.

As professionals supervise others,

the n ature of their big picture changes

as well. We've historically defined man-

agement as "doing things right" and

leadership as "doing the right thing."

While the distinction should not be

taken to an extreme, it does reflect

a fundamental shift in focus as one

moves from level three to level four

in the Collins framework. Individuals

with management responsibilities are

more inwardly focused, ensuring their

team's projects and tasks are performed

efficiently, on time, a nd in a way that 's

consistent with specified objectives.

Their long-term think ing often involves

projecting how current efforts willextend into the future.

Professionals charged primarily

with leadership responsibilities are

more externally connected, interact-

ing w ith a broader and more diverse

range of stakeholders from both inside

and outside the profession or industry

and scanning the larger env ironment

for em erging trends and opportunities.

Rather than seeing the future as a

mmor variation or logical extension

of the p resent, they see it as an inven-

tion that may require fresh thinking

and innovative solutions very different

than current organizational norms.

Where a manager might identify ways

to improve current efforts, the leader

identifies the next n ew thing tha t needs

to be embraced.

In many organizations, particularly

those with smaller staffs, the leader-

manager distinctions aren't separated

into two different levels in the hierar-

chy. People have to e mbrace both in a

hybrid role. The ability to do just that

makes you promotable, according to

Elizabeth L angston, CAE. director of

exam development for the National

Certification Board for Therapeutic

Massage andBodywork: "Iwa nt some-

one who thinks of new ideas while

paying attention to the little everyday

things. Sometimes it is hard to see theforest through the trees, but it also is

hard to see each tree In the forest."

Take initiative and demonstrate

accountability. "Self-starter. Someone

who identifies projects and programs

that viill benefit mem bers tha t are con-

sistent w ith our goals and objectives."

That's w hat Mike Grubb, CAE, p resident

and CEO of Southern GasAssociation,

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and confidence. Doing so builds muscie

memory you can almost reflexively

recall and execute on demand. It is this

exhaustive practice (Gladwell mentions

the oft-cited "10,000 hours" rule) that

converts a mere talent into a reliable

strength.

Know that it's not about you. When

contemplating your own career aspira-

tions and how you can achieve them,

it's easy to get so self-obsessed that it

becomes ail about the positions you

want and the recognition you seek.

Turn too far inward and you may unin-

tentionally impede the advancement

you desire, particularly if you aspire to a

CEO position.

Writing about Level 5 executives,

Jim Collins offers an observation that

may be equally true for profession-

als at any level of an organization

who wish to advance: "Level 5 leaders

channel their ego needs away from

themselves into the larger goal of

building a great company. It's not that

Level 5 leaders have no ego or self-

interest. Indeed, they are incredibly

ambitious ~but their ambition is first

and oremost for the institution, not

themselves."

While making your career inten-

tions explicit can help support your

desire to be promoted, perhaps the

efforts most likely to gain your

DOES ONWARD ALWAYS MEAN UPWARD?

Historically, a promotion has almost always m eant advancing to the next level

in the organizationa l hierarchy. But with fla tter organ izatianai structures and

individuals redejining what they see as a desirable career path, that may no lon-

ger be the case. For some, the career ladder is being replaced by a career lattic e.

Cathy Benko, vice chairwoman and chiej talent officer for D eloitte LLP, spoke

about this model in the November 8,2008, editian oJ The New York Times. Benko

noted, "While a so-called plateau or la tera! move, or a move down ward , was once

viewed as the end of the line, today's employees are more apt to reach a com fort-

able level of responsibility and compensation and stay there for a white to bal-

ance work and life demands. Later, many resume their upw ard climb—ar nat."

These lateral moves can stil) mean mare responsibility, new appo rtunities , and

even additional compensation. They may help you further establish your capac-

ity and credibility fo r a significant step up the career ladder at a later time when

you find th at m are desirable.

One useful lens is available at www.masscareercustomization.cam/interac

tive.html. A simple interactive tool, based on the book Mass Career Customiza-

tion (coauthored by Benka), allows you to chart the "sine wave" of you r career's

ups and downs.

Bu t if your interests and talents are varied, haw do you know whether or

not the career you are conte mpla ting is the right one for you? ]im C ollins again

might offer some insight. While the Hedgehog Concept in Good to Great is mast

ajte n discussed in organiza tianal term s, Collins suggests it also is relevant fo r

individuals.

To identify your personal Hedgehog Concept, ask yourself:

I What am I absolutely passionate about?

2. Wha t will people pay meto doPWhat drives my economic engine '

3. What am I gene tically encoded to do and could become best in class in doing?

The intersection of your response to these three questions may be the ideal

career destina tion for you to pursue. The challenge Collins notes is that often

we are well-compensated an d praised for work th at we are passionate about

and that people will pay us to do. Those rewards sometimes prevent us from suf-

ficiently exploring the critical thir d question: Is this what ! could become best in

class for doing?

advancement are the ones that support

and help advance others' efforts. Focus

less on what's next for you and more

on what's next and necessary for your

organization—and how you can con-

tribute to making it happen. When you

promote opportunities and efforts that

help achieve a greater good, the good

that you will achieve personally and

professionally will be greater, üh

Perhaps best known for designing and

facilitating ASAE & The Center's Future

Leaders Conference rom 1998-2007.

Jeffrey Cufaude strives to advance the

association community through his writ-

ing, speaking, and acilitating. Email:

[email protected]

Review and comment on this

article at www.asaecenter.org/associationsnow

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Are You Promo Table