Mon, May 28, 2007 22:21 EDT

Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Posted by: Michael Kavis in Best Practices

Topic: Personal Management

Current Rating: Comments: 2

Are you looking to climb the corporate ladder? One of the keys to moving on and moving up is having a successor who can fill your shoes.

As I look back at my career in management, I noticed that every time I was asked to take on the next challenge, I always had an able and willing body on my team ready to take on my current job. Early in my career this happened by chance. Over the years I turned chance into a strategy. Once I start getting my arms around any new role or responsibility, I immediately start seeking out successors within my team, outside my team, and even outside my department and company.

Opportunity doesn't come knocking often and when it does you should not miss out on it because there is nobody to fill you shoes. As a manager and leader within the organization, you should always be a good coach and mentor to your staff and anyone else who is willing to listen, learn, and grow. Find out what your employees' career aspirations are. Use tools like the IDP (Individual Development Plan) or Succession Planning to prepare your employees for your job.

You and your peers should make it a point to discuss your teams' top performers. This serves a few purposes. First, you get a chance to promote your best employees which increases their chances of a promotion. Second, you can keep track of potential successors from outside your immediate staff.

What I like most about the strategy is that it is a good for everyone. In addition to helping you move up the ladder, this strategy is good for your employees, your peers, and most of all, for the business.

So the next time opportunity comes knocking, make sure you can answer the door.

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Tue, May 29, 2007 1:13 EDT

Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Posted by: rileygg
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Interesting, cool article, made me chuckle.

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Wed, May 30, 2007 7:01 EDT

Climbing the Corporate Ladder

Posted by: tmmackay
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I've always prided myself that every organization or department I've ever left has been stronger and more effective than when I joined it. A big part of that is succession planning. I have always had a successor waiting in the wings, groomed and ready, and promoted by me to the management and other directors. The transition becomes very smooth, and the department continues on without a hitch.

The area where I live is a large, spread out metropolitan area. Yet still, the IT community feels small. You tend to encounter the same faces and names, particularly at the management level. A reputation as someone who leaves behind a strong organization is particularly valuable, and a reputation as someone whose organization collapses when they leave will haunt you for years. I suspect it is somewhat the same everywhere.

The most important reason to do succession planning, though, isn't because it's good for your career. You should do it because it's the right thing to do for the organization and for the good people who work for you. That the good karma you invest comes back to you should be a consequence, not a motivation.

Thomas M. MacKay
Assistant Director
Information Technology Services
Christopher Newport University

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