Survival and success in the corporate jungle is all about positioning. It’s about where you are in the asking chain, and more importantly what steps are you taking to get to the end of it.
Sometimes your position is down to circumstance rather than deliberate choice. By luck (or bad-luck) rather than judgement.
Maybe you’ve been stuck in the same job for 10 years and are the default go to guy / girl even though you hate it, and want to change direction.
Maybe you are at the other end, and desperate to progress quickly, but getting frustrated at having to exercise patience. It can feel like you have a mountain to climb.
Well here’s some awesome news for you – Both of these situations can be changed.
You can transform yourself into an expert THE AUTHORITY on your area of choice with the 3 simple steps below, but let’s get something clear up front – you need to want it, to be willing to spend time (and maybe a little money) on it, and to be prepared to fight for it.
Up for it? Ready to raise your game?
Then let’s crack on.
Simple step number 1: Pick something that makes your heart pound.
Unless you are fascinated by it, passionate about it, smile to yourself when you think about it, forget it. You need passion and raw enthusiasm so you can’t wait to relish in it. For it to be a pleasure rather than a chore.
You may go out with a girl who is ‘ok’ for a few dates. She is probably inoffensive and pleasent company. But do you get butterflies when you think about her? Probably not. Would you marry her? Definately not. But the girl you can’t take your eyes off of, the one who’s on your mind, even when you are with other people – she’s the keeper. That’s the feeling your looking for. Not that I’m suggesting you lust over your specialist area, but you’ve got to look forward to spending time with it and nurturing your relationship.
Simple step number 2: Invest in it.
Study it. Read books and magazines about it, make sure you are up to date with the current trends. The internet provides the ultimate tool to find ways of keeping current (as long as you’re not easily distracted by cat videos, and if you are then you’ve picked the wrong specialist area)
Live it, breathe it, obsess about it.
Simple step number 3: Tell people
If you’ve picked the right thing then you probably get so excited that you can’t help yourself from blabbing about it anyway, but it’s important to deliberately look for opportunities in the correct context to talk about it.
Refer to in team meetings. Write a blog post about it and invite your colleagues to read it. Heck – why not start a whole blog about it? Do a presentation on it. Write a book about it.
Bonus simple step – Get qualified
What courses are offered? What diplomas / certificates are available? This is not a necessity hence why it falls under the bonus section. On it’s own this won’t be worth much, other than some words on your CV, but combine it with the other steps above and it’s value (both perceived and real) grows.
You certainly don’t need to be qualified to become an authority, but it can support your journey.
If you have a clear idea about what you want to be known for, what you want people to come to you for, and what you can’t wait to become THE AUTHORITY on then get cracking with this list as soon as you finish reading this post.
Be patient but bloody minded about it. Be sensible rather than reckless, but in order to become THE AUTHORITY don’t let anything stand in your way. Start with something small that you can do today, and do it.
How do you climb a mountain? Lots of small steps, one at a time. You just need the intention and confidence to lift your foot and put it in front of you, somewhere it’s not been before, and then keep on going till you reach the summit. I hear that the view is incredible…
