653: The Path Towards Your Next Promotion, with Adam Bryant

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Nov 6, 2023

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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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.

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.

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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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

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How to Start Better With Peers, with Michael Bungay Stanier (episode 635)

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