Page 220 - Roy W. Rice - CEO Material How to Be a Leader in Any Organization-McGraw-Hill (2009)

You Manage Your Career and Don’t Let Others Do It • 201

I’m not promoting job hopping just for the sake of change but with
the intent to grow and develop. Frequently, people get moved into a new
role for two years and end up still there 13 or 23 years later—unless they
manage their career.
Company policies and labor and salary grades can be strict and
allow for fewer move opportunities going forward. Rigid guidelines,
particularly in large companies, have a required minimum number
of years in certain jobs, mandatory courses, and essential training and
development—in other words, certain boxes have to be checked.
For example, if you want to end up the general manager of a GE
division, you probably have to “start out as field engineer, get green belt
in Six Sigma, move to master black belt, have an overseas assignment
for several years, and by age 35 be a small-division general manager.”

If you want to be a leader, you cannot sit at your desk doing your job,
waiting until someone taps you on the shoulder and says, “Do you
want to go up a level?”

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I want to die on a sword of my own choosing. I’m okay with that.

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I had a guy in my group who was given a huge opportunity to get
out to California and make a multimillion dollar project pitch in
front of a great group, and he said, “Can’t do it; I’ve got pets.” If you
want to be a leader, you’ve got to do what it takes. You can’t turn
down opportunities.

Be the Boss of Your Career

Every 2.5 years, make sure that you have more complex work and added
responsibility. When possible, pick good bosses. Be smart, and use human
resources and executive recruiters to the degree that you can, but always
remember the axiom, “Anything they can do for you, you can do for your-
self even better.”