Next Friday, May 9, I have been invited to speak at that the National Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Global Alumni Meet in Burlingame, CA, near San Francisco. Although, I often speak extemporaneously, if not impromptu, I thought it would be good to publish a perspective on this as my blog. This blog is not meant as a script for my talk at this NITK Annual meeting next week, but as a framework for my thoughts on this all-important topic.

About 60-70 percent of my career coaching practice is based on helping my clients amp up their careers: a promotion, a juicy assignment, or pursuing a new initiative within their own company to give them a résumé-building event and the visibility they have been seeking, to name a few. Of all these, moving up with a higher title, salary, responsibilities, and status are the main focus of their coaching needs. So, what are some of the main factors that come up in our coaching sessions for this pool? Here is a partial summary of the most critical ones that we focus on:

1. During the first phase of a career (25-30 years age) the main focus must be mastering a chosen technical area of pursuit as an Individual Contributor (IC). Technical does not imply technology; it can be any areas of endeavor—from writing compelling legal briefs, to writing concise code that is bullet-proof, or writing a fetching ad copy. Once you become a master of your domain or a Subject Matter Expert (SME) and become a go-to-person in your group or team from whom others derive leadership inspiration, you are ready to move to your next station in your career. Here, what is important is that you learn how to master something, which will stay with you for the rest of your career and life. Learning how to do this is the sine quo non, and NOT the subject matter itself so much.
2. The next inflection point—your second, after graduating and getting in the workforce for the first time—in your career can either be a Lead or Manager role or it can be the next level as an IC. Many companies have dual technical-management ladders for people to grow and they each present commensurately higher career progression. It is here that you must decide with some clarity which of the two paths is best suited for your success. Making this choice willy-nilly can be a major career roadblock.
3. If you chose the IC route then the remaining career progression is relatively straightforward in terms of what is expected of you, and what you must deliver to keep your career momentum. Although this ladder does not come without its own political challenges it is far less likely to be subjected to organizational vagaries, compared to its counterpart: the Management Ladder!
4.  For the Management Ladder the first stop is Team Lead or Manager-I. Either way this is an abrupt change from what is expected of that person compared their IC role. Here, you are expected to know how to manage resources within your purview in addition to providing technical leadership, without becoming a micromanager. This is hard for most because they often fail to see that doing more of what they did as an IC will get in the way of being a successful manager. In this role they are expected to know about the four functions of managing: Leading, Planning, Organizing, and setting up Controls. Anything outside of these functions is technical work. At each level a manager must manage their balance between management and technical work, spending less and less time doing technical work, yet doing the work that ONLY they can do. This is where most budding manager have a problem. They misapply their priorities and go on to become a micromanager.
5. Although high IQ is a prerequisite for a successful career, especially in the early stages of a career, it merely becomes table stakes as you move up the management ladder. What matters more and more are the other “Qs”: Emotional Intelligence (EQ), Political Intelligence (PQ), Cultural Intelligence (CQ), and Contextual Intelligence (XQ). Each of these four can be developed through a conscious effort and being aware of them, unlike the IQ.
6. Transitioning from the managerial office to the executive suite requires yet another shift in a mindset—your third inflection point: Moving your perspective from functional excellence to knowing how to run your business: Competition, customers, global forces, threats to your business, among other factors. Unless one is able to make this transition in their mindset, getting into the executive ranks is difficult.
7. If, by now you have mastered the art of collaboration, driving an agenda to its conclusion, inspiring others to take your lead, and demonstrated success in running your business you are ready to be seen as CEO material. For this level of success you must demonstrate some other traits not usually visible in your peers: ability to see around the bends and making the right calls in difficult times; driving your company’s brand as its ambassador, visible leadership within your company’s vertical, among others. All the while, you must manage your public brand with consistency, authenticity, and veracity!
8. In addition to running your business to deliver results CEO-ready professionals go beyond delivering Wall-Street expectations: they take on causes that go beyond their responsibility to their investors, customers, stakeholders, and employees: they take on social causes that brand their company differently from their competitors. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has increasingly become a major factor for senior executives. All things being equal, C-level executives are likely to be viewed more favorably if they also have done a good job with their CSR challenges.
9. It is said that leaders do not create followers; they create more leaders. One of the key elements of successful rise in a career is to always have your second-in-command ready for you to move upward. Many often see themselves as indispensible in their roles with their eyes cast upward for their next promotion. They are often disappointed when they are passed over by someone else with a less stellar record, but who has a clear succession plan.
10. One of the myths many hold for becoming a boss to be successful is that they think that they have to be brutal in their decision-making by showing no mercy in how to run things, treating employees as disposable resources, and being ruthless in their customer dealings. Successful leaders are exactly its opposite: they are fair in their dealings with others and they go out of the way to make things work for others to make themselves successful.

Now that you know what it takes to climb the corporate ladder unlearning what is holding you back and getting back on a track can open new doors for your continued growth.

Good luck!