Page 99 - Free Yourself From

82 It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor

Table 5-1

Career Myth Career Reality

Most people follow traditional career Career paths are not straight and narrow today.
paths through their organization. We need to assert more focus and
accountability to managing our own
advancement.
Top performers who work the hardest Hard work and good performance are not the
advance most rapidly in the only criteria for getting to the top. Having a
organization. broader understanding of the business and
building a broad network of relationships is
just as important. Other people’s perceptions
of your value, capabilities, and desire to
advance are also critical.
Staying with one mentor or Relying on one mentor or sponsor can limit your
sponsor/advocate within a company perspective on the company’s business and
can greatly improve your ability to can keep you from hearing about potential
advance there. opportunities elsewhere in the organization. It
also limits your opportunities to get the word
out about you. Today you need to have
multiple mentors in addition to your boss.
Earning bonuses and performance awards What you are being recognized for today may not
is a ticket to the executive suite and is be what they are looking for on the executive
a good indicator of your chances for team tomorrow. Skill sets might be different
promotion. and impressions of you in terms of the critical
success factors for senior management need
to be managed carefully.
People who have spent more than 10 Many of today’s successful executives have a
years with the same organization have diverse mix of work experiences. They have
a strong track record for reliability and proven themselves in several organizations,
credibility, which makes them a sure which can make them seem more broadly
bet for the executive suite. competent. When it comes to competing for
the top jobs, they have an advantage over
internal candidates with narrower experience.

A Look at Your Track Record

Now don’t get me wrong. There are many good reasons to stay in one
place for a little while. There’s the opportunity to nurture others and
watch them grow, the chance to learn and become an expert in a