How to Advance Your Career Strategically

Want a raise or promotion? Map your relationships first. Your skills matter, but not as much as your reputation. And your reputation is built on your relationships. Relationships ➡️ Reputation ➡️ Raise The people who influence promotions aren’t always obvious, and a strategic approach beats guessing. Use Relationship Mapping to identify key players and strengthen your "internal network." Here are the steps: 1️⃣ Identify Decision Makers Who actually impacts your career growth? ✔ Direct manager ✔ Skip-level leaders ✔ HR professionals ✔ Informal influencers (mentors, respected peers, executive assistants) Decision makers value some opinions more highly than others. Make it your job to find the people with "weighty opinions." 2️⃣ Assess Your Current Relationships For each person, ask: ✔ How often do I interact with them? (Daily, Weekly, Rarely) ✔ Are our interactions positive, neutral, or challenging? ✔ What do they care about most? (Results, innovation, loyalty, data?) 3️⃣ Find Gaps & Opportunities ✔ Who are my allies? ✔ Who do I need to know better? ✔ Where can I add more value? 4️⃣ Strengthen Relationships ✔ Start small. Comment on their work, ask for advice, share useful info. ✔ Align with their priorities. What problems do they have? What can you help solve? ✔ Increase visibility. Ask questions in meetings Praise people genuinely. Take more initiative. Get more buy-in. 5️⃣ Track Progress ✔ Check in regularly. Are relationships improving? ✔ Adjust strategies based on feedback. Visibility and trust fuel career growth. Make sure the right people know your impact.

The Promotion Secret Most Professionals Discover Too Late   In over two decades of executive recruitment, I've observed a pattern among professionals who consistently advance in their careers versus those who stagnate despite equal talent and effort.   The difference? Strategic documentation of achievements, what I call a professional "brag book."   This isn't about boasting. It's about recognizing the reality of corporate decision-making: in quarterly review cycles and fast-paced environments, even exceptional work becomes invisible without proper documentation.   Your comprehensive brag book should include:   1️⃣ Achievement Portfolio: Concrete evidence of promotions, awards, successful projects, and initiatives that demonstrate your ability to deliver results   2️⃣ Quantifiable Impact: Specific metrics that translate your efforts into business value; revenue generated, costs reduced, efficiency improved, or risks mitigated   3️⃣ External Validation: Preserved testimonials from clients, acknowledgments from leadership, and formal recognition that provides third-party credibility   4️⃣ Leadership Moments: Documented instances where you identified problems independently and implemented solutions beyond your job description   The professionals I place in competitive positions understand a fundamental truth about organizational dynamics: visibility strategically created through documented evidence consistently outweighs undocumented effort, regardless of quality.   Update your brag book quarterly and bring it with you to performance discussions. Make it impossible for decision-makers to overlook your value when advancement opportunities arise.   Sign up to my newsletter for more corporate insights and truths here: https://lnkd.in/ei_uQjju   #deepalivyas #eliterecruiter #recruiter #recruitment #jobsearch #corporate #careeradvancement #workplacesurvival #selfadvocacy #careerstrategist

70% of career-defining decisions about you happen when you're not even in the room. Are you certain your name is being spoken in these pivotal conversations? Promotions, high-profile assignments, strategic projects—all these critical decisions often unfold behind closed doors. The harsh truth: Your career depends on advocacy, not just performance. Stats that’ll jolt you awake: -A recent Harvard Business Review study confirms promotions depend 65% on reputation and only 35% on actual performance. -LinkedIn research reveals 92% of senior executives consider advocacy crucial for career advancement. -According to Forbes, employees with powerful internal advocates are 23% more likely to receive high-profile assignments and promotions. Here’s exactly how you ensure your name echoes loudly in critical rooms: ✅ Advocacy starts with genuine connections. Identify influential stakeholders and nurture relationships. It’s not about forced networking—it's about creating authentic trust. ✅ Advocates can’t champion your strengths if they’re unclear about them. Make your contributions visible and quantifiable. Clearly articulate your impact and ensure others can easily repeat your narrative. ✅When you advocate for others, you model leadership. Reciprocity is powerful. Speak up for your team’s talent, celebrate peers, and they’ll naturally amplify your voice too. ✅ Strategically Position Your Brand Consistently align your actions with the future role you desire. People advocate for leaders who clearly fit into opportunities that emerge—be that obvious fit. ✅ Create a Legacy of Reliability and Trust Your word and reputation are your biggest assets. If you consistently deliver excellence and integrity, people feel confident representing you even when you're not there. Your career won’t flourish from performance alone. It grows exponentially when powerful advocates champion you in spaces you don’t occupy. Want to cultivate advocacy, amplify your influence, and ensure your name gets mentioned positively and frequently? If you’re committed to being influential—even in the rooms you're not in—let’s have a conversation. 📩 Message me directly to explore an exclusive executive coaching partnership. ps: Infographic by Justin Wright #ExecutiveCoaching #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerAdvice #PersonalBranding #Leadership #Influence

I’ve advised over 200 high achievers in the last 3 years. From F500 companies to billion dollar startups. 5 challenges that kept them stuck + how to overcome: (1) Demonstrating impact It's a harsh truth, but no amount of work will get you promoted. To level up you need to show impact on the bottom line. Recommendation: Focus on outcomes vs. outputs, and track your success. (2) Owning your time If someone else owns your calendar you can't be effective or make a big impact. But most people just accept what ever is put on their calendar. Recommendation: Be proactive, not reactive. Create you ideal schedule (I call it CEO schedule) and own your time. (3) Leveraging advocacy Your career will grow faster if you have key stakeholders ready to speak on your behalf. But most people don't have a strategic plan to build and nurture advocacy. When the time comes they need to beg for support. Recommendation: Identify your advocates and manage the relationship long term, to get undeniable recognition. (4) Having hard conversations The things you want most are on the other side of a hard conversation. Asking for a raise, getting a unique opportunity, sharing feedback, letting an employee go. Avoiding these conversations keeps you stuck. Recommendation: Don't avoid hard conversations. Plan and practice for them to reduce the anxiety and fear. (5) No vision or strategy You assume working hard enough for long enough will get you ahead. That's usually not the answer. Doing more of the same won't get you far in the corporate world. Recommendation: Gain clarity about your vision and what it would take to get there, so you can be intentional about how you spend your time at work. Ignore these challenges and you'll stay stuck for years. Master them and you'll join the 1%. *** Enjoyed this post? ♻️ Share to help someone get unstuck and grow their career

Want a promotion? It takes more than just “working hard” (though that helps). It takes strategy, visibility, and growth. Here are 9 practical tips that can actually move the needle: Think like your boss’s boss – Start aligning your work with bigger goals, not just your job description. Document your wins – Keep a running list of impact metrics and success stories. You’ll need them. Ask for more responsibility – Don’t wait for permission. Step up before the title shows up. Speak the language of business – Know how your work affects revenue, customers, efficiency, or reputation. Make yourself replaceable – Train others. Systems > heroics. Leaders create leverage. Build cross-team relationships – Promotions often come from people outside your immediate circle. Give your manager a success story – Help them justify your promotion. Make their job easier. Ask directly – “What would it take for me to get promoted this year?” is a power move, not a risky one. Act like you already have the job – Show up like a leader before you're called one. No shortcuts. No politics. Just clear moves that build trust, influence, and value. Which one do you think is most important? #CareerGrowth #PromotionTips #LeadershipDevelopment #WorkplaceSuccess #ProfessionalGrowth