Adam Bryant, Senior Managing Director and Partner at the ExCo Group and author of "The Leap to Leader," shares his expertise on navigating career paths. He discusses the importance of assertive communication and how it can impact perceptions in job applications. Bryant introduces a pyramid approach to career advancement, advocating for skill diversity over traditional ladders. He also emphasizes proactive mentorship and the value of collaboration, urging new managers to build relationships and tackle bigger challenges beyond assigned tasks.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Misinterpreted Assertiveness
Adam Bryant felt assertive when interviewing for his first newspaper job.
However, his employers weren't sure he wanted the job, highlighting a gap between perception and intention.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Show Enthusiasm
Express your enthusiasm and desire for a job clearly to hiring managers.
Don't try to play it cool, especially if you genuinely want the position.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Career Pyramid
Think of your career as a pyramid, not a ladder.
Build a broad base of experience early on for career stability and diverse opportunities.
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Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders
Adam Bryant
Kevin Sharer
The CEO Test provides a comprehensive framework for leadership, highlighting seven key challenges that CEOs must navigate to succeed. These include developing a simple strategic plan, creating a meaningful culture, building effective teams, leading transformation, listening actively, handling crises, and mastering the inner game of leadership. Drawing from extensive interviews with CEOs and real-world experiences, the book offers practical insights for aspiring leaders.
The Leap to Leader
How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership
Adam Bryant
In 'The Leap to Leader', Adam Bryant provides practical strategies and insights from over a hundred successful leaders to help managers make the transition to leadership. The book emphasizes the importance of self-awareness, empathy, and strategic thinking in effective leadership. It offers actionable advice on building a loyal following, making mindset shifts, and navigating complex organizational challenges.
Adam Bryant: The Leap to Leader
Adam Bryant is Senior Managing Director and Partner at the ExCo Group, where he works with hundreds of senior leaders and high-potential executives. As the creator and former author of the iconic “Corner Office” column in The New York Times, Adam has mastered the art of distilling real-world lessons from his hundreds of interviews and turning them into practical tools, presentations, and exercises to help companies deepen their leadership benches and strengthen their teams.
Adam works with executive leadership teams to help drive their transformation strategies, based on a best-practices framework he developed for his widely praised book, The CEO Test. He's also the author of The Leap to Leader: How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership*.
Many of us have our career trajectories planned out in our minds. While we know it’s not going to happen exactly the way we’ve planned, it’s still jarring when we find ourselves on a different path — or presented with a different opportunity — than we anticipated. In this episode, Adam and I discuss the mindsets and actions that will help you take the next step in your career.
Key Points
There can be a large gap between how assertive you are and how people perceive you.
Think about your career like a pyramid — building a strong foundation across many areas of practice. Bloom where you are planted.
Don’t just solve the problem your manager tells you to solve. Find (and start solving) the bigger problem that isn’t even on the radar screen of senior leadership.
Use these words: “I need your help.” When seeking advice in the context of someone that might mentor you, make your ask specific and then loop back to share what you did with their advice.
When someone asks how you are, instead of just saying “fine,” tell a story about what you’re working on.
Peer relationships are a common blind spot. Early promotions may come from your manager, but higher level promotions comes moreso from the relationships with your peers.
Resources Mentioned
The Leap to Leader: How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership* by Adam Bryant
Interview Notes
Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).
Related Episodes
How to Nail a Job Transition, with Sukhinder Singh Cassidy (episode 555)
How to Start a Big Leadership Role, with Carol Kauffman (episode 617)
How to Start Better With Peers, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 635)
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