Milestones for Every Stage in Your Career Progression

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In last week’s post, Why Am I Not Getting Promoted, we showed how you can add value to your organization in order to advance up the ranks, depending on which of four career stages you’re in.

Let’s revisit these four phases and look at the milestone targets you want to set and hit in each stage.

Stage 1: Dependent. Here you are flexing your individual creativity while dutifully delivering on the tasks assigned to you. Milestones: Jump on small opportunities, volunteer for more, deliver under pressure, and pay attention to detail.

Stage 2: Independent. Both your contribution and reputation are growing, as you build a strong network of co-workers. Milestones: Get deep in your technical knowledge of the job, reinforcing your reputation for competence. Keep your co-workers and stakeholders informed. Under-promise and over-deliver.

Stage 3: Contributing through others. Here you gain a broader understanding of the ecosystem of the company. You’re taking on leadership roles, whether formally as a manager or informally as a spokesperson. Milestones: Expand your expertise. Add value in new areas. Start to coach and develop others. Build your network of industry relationships and key internal influencers. Make sure you learn to delegate to others so that your productivity increases.

Stage 4: Providing direction to the organization. You are using your network, influence and power in responsible ways, and more doors are opening for you for greater responsibility and leadership. Milestones:: Get on a committee that is important to the organization. Start to develop your team members. Make them look good so you look good. Represent the company on the outside through speaking engagements. Internally, ask for opportunities to deliver presentations on behalf of your department.

As you evolve in your role at your organization, working to achieve these milestones will help keep your career moving forward.

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