Guide for career progression - 3Ps process

While the trajectory of your career is influenced by both hard work and luck, it's equally shaped by your ability to recognize the right opportunities and make strategic moves at the right moments. As you ascend into more impactful roles, the competition intensifies, making advancement more challenging.

Drawing from my own experience and observations, I've distilled the journey from one career level to the next into a three-step approach. Following these steps, in conjunction with seizing opportunities and timing your actions effectively, can greatly enhance your career progression.

Before delving into the steps and unveiling the secret, it's important to note that this approach may not universally apply to all scenarios and job types. It's tailored to the context of the IT sector, where hierarchical structures prevail, and individuals are driven to climb the corporate ladder.

Now, let's explore the three-step process I mentioned earlier. This process typically spans 2-3 years (given the current IT landscape), demanding patience, adaptability, a willingness to invest effort, a knack for acquiring new skills, and the occasional stroke of luck.

The three stages of this process are Prepare, Practice, and Progress. Henceforth, I'll refer to it as the 3Ps approach. 1. Prepare yourself well

In any job role, setting your own goals is crucial. Without a clear direction for your career and objectives, you could easily end up adrift, like a piece of wood in a river's current.

So, establish your goals. Make sure they're realistic, achievable, and, importantly, measurable. Your goals should be tangible enough that you can showcase your accomplishments to your managers and colleagues. It's wise to set goals that can be realized in both the short term (3-6 months) and the long term (2+ years).

When setting goals, remember they should meet two essential criteria:

1. Benefit Your Project/Organization: Your goals should contribute positively to your project or organization's success.

2. Add Value to Your Performance Report: Your goals should reflect achievements that hold weight and contribute to your performance assessment.

Once your goals are defined, the initial and most crucial step is to hit the ground running by dedicating yourself to your project with diligence and intelligence.

Key actions to consider:

• Rapidly grasp the project's intricacies.

• Demonstrate teamwork and active listening skills.

• Assist your teammates.

• Deliver strong results in your project, establishing your dependability.

• Showcase your capability to handle the project with confidence.

Typically, within 6-8 months, you should be ready to transition into the next phase of your progression. Once you've fulfilled the aforementioned criteria, you're poised to step forward and embrace even more challenges.

2. Practice Diligently – Become a Vital Player

The next phase revolves around immersing yourself in project work and evolving into a pivotal contributor. To comprehend the term 'key player' is fundamental to mastering this stage.

When I refer to a key player, I mean someone who is:

• Self-sufficient in project-related tasks

• Exceptionally proficient and reliable in their role

• Capable of delivering solutions to challenges

• Possesses a deep understanding of the project and its environment

Achieving self-reliance requires dedicated efforts to understand the project's nuances, internalize its objectives, and align your short-term goals accordingly. As the saying goes:

Evolving into a key player not only elevates your significance within the project but also strengthens your trustworthiness, contributing to favorable impressions from your superiors. Rather than merely clocking in hours, it's pivotal to focus on demonstrating outcomes. Although sometimes long hours are needed, tangible accomplishments carry more weight.

A span of approximately 6-8 months is a reasonable timeframe to attain key player status. Yet, let me emphasize that this isn't an easy feat. You must constantly exhibit a willingness to learn, adapt to changes, and exhibit your competencies on the journey.

This becomes a critical aspect during this phase and serves as a significant exit criterion. Demonstrating your project's value is crucial for your management to acknowledge and appreciate your contributions. (Apologies for unveiling this crucial tip!)

Key tips to bear in mind while striving for key player status include:

• Showcase your value by yielding results.

• Take the initiative to implement technical solutions for common challenges.

• Boost efficiency by automating routine tasks.

• Remember, outcomes matter more than the time spent.

• Attain process efficiency and highlight gains for both management and customers.

• Strive to be consistently visible.

If you succeed in this pursuit and evolve into a key player within the team/organization, you're better positioned for the next phase in your career journey. However, keep in mind that this isn't a straightforward path and might necessitate regular discussions and aligning short-term goals with your manager. It's imperative to keep your manager informed about your progress, your immediate objectives, and how your contributions benefit the project!

3. Progress forward

Assuming you've effectively become a key player within the team and have been performing at your peak for a substantial period, it's time to prepare for the next step by 'unlearning' some of your current project knowledge and cultivating successors.

When I mention 'unlearn,' consider these key steps:

• Identify someone who can step into your role within the project.

• Personally train this individual on the project's intricacies.

• Ensure the knowledge you've amassed is transferred, understood, and practiced by your chosen successor.

• Remain accessible to your manager for tasks that need completion (since, ultimately, you're aspiring for their role, right?).

• Initiate the process of making your own role in the project redundant.

You might wonder about the last point – after all, if the second phase urged you to be a key player, why suggest making yourself redundant now? It's a valid question and a tremendously crucial one. The answer is simple: unless you pave the way for your project to function independently of you, how can you ascend to the next level? The significance lies in building a proficient team and robust resources for the project's continuity. It demonstrates your legacy as a professional, manager, and effective leader.

During this phase, connect more frequently with your manager than you did in the earlier stage. Seek to comprehend their responsibilities, methodologies, and performance expectations.

If luck shines your way, you might observe favorable outcomes in your subsequent performance reviews. Then, you can loop back to applying the principles of phase 1 to your new role! As I mentioned in my initial post, this cycle generally spans about 2-3 years. Patience and a strong work ethic are vital attributes during this journey.

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Photo in the image by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash