How to race up the career ladder

The first few months in any job are a voyage of discovery, but the journey is not the same for everyone. For a large chunk of new employees, it’s all about finding your feet, trying to fit in, making some friends and working out who to avoid. But for others – a distinct minority – those first few months are critical in a very different way.

These determined few are not looking for the coffee machine or trying to befriend the guy with the funniest jokes; they are trying to find out what they need to do to accelerate their progress in the company. They’ll be looking for key people to connect with, understanding in-house politics and training opportunities.

They will make it their job to know who they need to impress to have the most impact and they’ll be figuring out what they’ll need to do to get on the radar of the company’s top brass.

These employees are not out to destroy their colleagues as such. They just want to get ahead of them – quickly.

‘The employee who is going to go far and do so quickly has a very specific skill set and approach to work life,’ says Kamran Tork, a noted UAE-based business leadership coach who works with both the Belgium-based Center for Creative Leadership that has several students from the region, and French-based business school Insead that has a campus in Abu Dhabi. ‘He or she needs to cover multiple bases if they want to be noticed and fast-tracked for promotion.’

Kamran divides the must-have qualities for success into four distinct quadrants.

At a practical level, it’s all about what you feel about a new idea or product and what your intentions are. If Steve Jobs had been lacking in this quadrant, for example, he might never have put his weight behind the iPod.

‘In the second quadrant,’ says Kamran, ‘is the Cultural Dimension, which is concerned with what the team wants, and is also known as social intelligence. A great leader will understand what the team wants, thinks and feels. They will become competent in communication skills, involving people, understanding how to influence not just their team but people above them, and have a good sense of the company politics.’

In the third quadrant is what Kamran calls The Behavioural Dimension. ‘This is all about your leadership presence – how you are observed from the outside. To succeed, you need to be perceived as credible, dependable and possessing “star quality”.’

The best way to assess how you’re doing, he says, is to enlist feedback from mentors, or trusted colleagues.

Finally, the fourth dimension is what Kamran refers to as The Systems Dimension, which is about acquiring a mastery of the ‘big picture’. ‘An employee who wants to go places will consider the impact of what they do on the company as a whole, they will be continually updating themselves on the organisation’s systems and technology, they will understand the legal, economic and social parameters of the company and will have a solid understanding of the products and services the company is involved in.’

Excelling in all four areas, says Kamran, is vital if you want to get ahead. But how many live up to this ideal of being an individual who knows himself and what he wants; who can empathise with and understand a team; develops a strong, persuasive, credible leadership presence and also has an unparalleled knowledge of the company and its place in the industry.

Given all this, it’s perhaps little wonder that high-flyers are pretty thin on the ground. But if you have the talent, all the soft skills crucial to get ahead can be quickly learnt.

‘Soft skills – like a strong work ethic, a positive attitude, good communication skills and time management abilities, among others – can be learnt with focus, practise and time,’ says Alex Davda, business psychologist and consultant at the Ashridge Business School. ‘These relational and interpersonal skills can help differentiate you from colleagues who may be as technically capable as you. Making small changes to your body language and fine-tuning listening skills will give you the opportunity to show bosses your real potential.’

To leapfrog your colleagues, it also makes sense to demonstrate the kind of attitude and skills that your employers hold dear. These will vary from company to company, but according to a recent report in Forbes, the most commonly prized of these include the ability to work within a team, to make decisions, and to communicate well.

If your grand plans are to work, Maurits Kalff, a psychologist, coach and trainer at The School Of Life (theschooloflife.com) says there are five things you should do. First, ‘When you enter the workforce, punctuality from day one is key,’ he says. ‘Be on time every day, and also when you attend meetings and with any deadlines you’ve been set. It’s a real barometer of finesse.’

Next, do your homework. ‘Whether it’s your first day, first week or first six months, being well-prepared helps you make the best possible impression.’ Third, show a genuine interest – in people, in the firm and in the whole process of what needs to be done.

His last tip, he says, is not one you’ll find in many books, but he claims it’s essential. ‘Smile!’ he says. ‘Have a sense of humour. It not only lubricates relationships, but enables you and others to take a different perspective on things. People love those who are smiling, interested and well prepared.’

A common complaint from would-be high-flyers, however, is that they feel stymied almost from day one, not because of their own shortcomings, but from a tyrannical boss. If your attempts to wow are falling flat, might it be possible to circumvent the boss by ‘getting in’ with HR?

Janet Graham, Crown Worldwide’s HR Manager in Dubai, thinks the answer is probably not. But she does think that making rapid progress in the Middle East can be easier than in many other places.

‘I would say, though, that a gradual rise is perhaps better than a rapid one,’ she says. ‘With a rapid rise you may not have the experience and knowledge you really need.’

Having worked in Dubai for 30 years, Janet has, she says, seen people rise to the top very quickly – and she has seen some fall back down again with just as much speed. ‘People who are all “me, me, me” can be a shining star for a short time,’ she says, ‘but they need to recognise they need a team of people to support them in the longer term.’

Getting ahead also doesn’t mean stepping on people. Dubai-based business and life coach Robert Simic certainly thinks that no colleagues need to be harmed in the making of your career. ‘Most people have a very incorrect sense of their true potential,’ he tells us. ‘Hardly anyone today is self-aware on a level that allows them to tap into their true potential and most people are actually going in the opposite direction. I would imagine many people underestimate their abilities.’

Translation: half the people around you are unwittingly holding themselves back anyway. So get in early, leave late, acquire a can-do attitude and trust the powers that be to take notice. The competition might be much less fierce than you think.

As for staying at the top once you get there, Kamran offers one final sliver of advice: ‘Remember the four quadrants. By remembering your intentions, the team’s values, your behaviour and the bigger strategic picture pertaining to the company and the wider world, you can cover all bases, quickly becoming a highly prized asset.’

1 Create rapport Good rapport can contribute to creating the right impression with senior stakeholders as it helps to develop an atmosphere of trust and openness. You can often tell if you have a rapport with others as your body language will be matching theirs and your pace and energy will be similar.

2 Be patient Influencing others is a process, not an event or a one-off occurrence. Perseverance, persistence, tenacity and consistency are all important to influence effectively.

3 Make the most of your voice It is an important tool in effectively communicating and influencing and can get you noticed. Think about the pace at which you speak and also the tone, projection, intonation and the words you use. Vary your pace and add colour and emphasis to what you are saying.

4 Practise active listening It is easy to fall into the trap of simply advocating your own views on any issue, but it is much better to gather intelligence about the other stakeholders’ perspectives. Often leaders in firms are looking for people who are self-aware and listen to the views of others.

5 Increase your empathy and emotion This is about understanding other people’s points of view, sharing the feelings of others and seeing situations through their eyes. Showing that you can do this is an essential leadership skill.

6 Consider your body language, posture and gestures Your physical presence has a fundamental influence on the impact you make. Your confidence, or lack of it, will leak out and affect the impression you create.

8 Make and create opportunities Use your influencing skills to gain an early opportunity to take on assignments that ‘stretch you’, or work internationally or join a challenging project team in an area outside your professional comfort zone.

9 Strategically network Be focused and tactical in your networking strategy, ensuring that your network includes people you enjoy being with, you can learn from, you find challenging or will be beneficial to your career success.

10 Be confident and prepare If you are in a situation where you do not feel particularly confident, it is important to focus on your strengths and think positively. Preparation, planning and rehearsal will help.

By Alex Davda, business psychologist and consultant at Ashridge Business School based in the Middle East; and Fiona Dent, an Ashridge Associate with extensive experience of working in the UAE.