Is humility the key to advancement?
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Humility is not a popular word. People often think that career advancement is for people who portray themselves as confident, in charge and in control, and that humility leads to you becoming a doormat. But that isn’t actually the case.
You see, humility is not about that; it’s about allowing yourself to be brought into and caught up with someone else’s vision and agenda. And if you support the right person, you can quickly earn significant career advancements. And when you consider our research shows that 10% of people find senior career opportunities through relationships with their managers, there’s certainly more to it than being a doormat!
I’ve best heard this idea expressed as “followership,” the complement to leadership, and it’s a great frame for considering the approach to your career:
Ask yourself how you can be a good follower. Humility isn’t about being a doormat; it’s about enlisting with the right person to help them achieve the right agenda and using this success to advance your career.
You see, humility is not about that; it’s about allowing yourself to be brought into and caught up with someone else’s vision and agenda. And if you support the right person, you can quickly earn significant career advancements. And when you consider our research shows that 10% of people find senior career opportunities through relationships with their managers, there’s certainly more to it than being a doormat!
I’ve best heard this idea expressed as “followership,” the complement to leadership, and it’s a great frame for considering the approach to your career:
- Work with what you have. You may not always get a choice about who you report to; you may indeed be stuck with someone you don’t like working for. But thinking about how you can make their life easier can still be key to how you drive progression. Remember that other managers will look at how you support your own manager when considering bringing you into their team. Getting a reputation for great followership can make you sought after, and could be the quickest way to escape from a person or a position you don’t like!
- Choose a manager not a job. Do you talent spot managers? If you can find someone who is really going places – but needs your strengths – this could be a great career strategy for both of you. Work out why they’re good – for example they may be good with people, have a clear vision or manage upwards well – and where they need support. If you have strengths where they have weaknesses, you can be the yin to their yang. Find managers you’d like to work for – and let them know you’d enjoy working for them. Consider the manager as much as the job, when making career decisions.
- Find the right agenda. When you’re looking for someone to follow, don’t just find a job – find an agenda or vision you can buy into. After all, if you’re going to follow someone else’s vision and you’re going to be making sacrifices for that vision, you need to believe in it. Bear in mind that this doesn’t mean sacrificing your own agenda – it just means just giving the majority of your time over to what they’re trying to achieve and sharing their success when they do.
- Accept you’ll end up doing things you don’t enjoy. With any role there is always a percentage of work that you have to grin and bear. But rather than getting disheartened remember that just getting the job done and delivering it will get you noticed. Quick and efficient delivery is one of the real keys to career advancement.
- Accept you may be doing things that are “beneath you.” Sometimes it’s the mundane seemingly “unimportant” tasks that get you noticed. For example, early on in my own career I was good with PowerPoint and became senior managers’ ‘go to’ person when they were building presentations. I found it gave me great access to senior people, senior thinking and priorities (often confidential).
Ask yourself how you can be a good follower. Humility isn’t about being a doormat; it’s about enlisting with the right person to help them achieve the right agenda and using this success to advance your career.