Anna Maria Richards
If you’ve recently begun an entry-level job role, you may be pondering ways in which you can eventually progress to management level. What skills are needed? And what’s a realistic expectation of when you can hope to get to this point in your career? After all, we can’t just click our fingers and jump into a promotion. It takes time to hone skills in order to be ready to take that step up when you’re ready.
In this article, we share our top tips on different ways that you can progress to management level on your chosen career path.
Demonstrate your ambition
Discussing your aspirations lets your superiors know exactly what path you wish to take. Showing your co-workers and managers that you are ambitious demonstrates maturity and shows that you take your role seriously. Using any 121s or monthly catchup meetings to discuss your personal development plans with your line manager is the perfect way to get the ball rolling. Be sure to request clear objectives on how you can begin working towards your desired path of progression. If you need any assistance, your company could provide you with a leadership assessment service to help get momentum moving for the career goals you wish to reach.
Build strong relationships
One of the best tried and tested ways to getting on the path to management is by cementing strong relationships within your team. The earlier you do this the better, as you can display that you are a proactive team member from your first day on the job. Not only does this show you to be a confident new starter, but being approachable and having strong interpersonal skills is an important quality that managers require. There are several ways to integrate yourself into your new team, from being vocal in group emails and meetings, to volunteering for projects whenever an extra pair of hands are needed. It’s also a good idea to get involved in any work socials to help you bond with your new teammates outside of the office too! According to studies from positive psychology, “leaders who encourage informal interactions, such as social gatherings, can foster the development of more positive relationship.”
Maintain your targets
While each job role measures success rates in different ways, nearly all job specs nowadays incorporate some form of SMART objectives that you need to hit. These might be weekly or monthly and should be clearly outlined to you by your line manager. Whatever they are, striving to hit them every single time will demonstrate your capability of consistency – a key trait that any manager should be able to display.
