You do not need to wait for an appointment to be a manager

There is an old saying “If you work hard 10 hours a day, you’ll become a leader and start working on 14. So then it will be for those who are not enough for 10 hours. Below is my free translation of the Act Like a Leader Before You Are One article from the Harvard Business Review, from which I removed references to lesser-known authors whose names will not say anything to people who do not know the American language. And their thoughts themselves, in my opinion, nothing.

If you want to become a manager, do not wait for a separate office or a beautiful job title. You can begin to think, act and communicate as a leader long before the official promotion. If it seems to you that everything is decided by someone else who is much higher than you, there are still many ways to demonstrate what you are worth and make your way up.

Your plan:

1. Do your job impeccably. No matter how great your ambitions are, do not let them distract you from your current responsibilities. Concentrate on today no less than tomorrow. No one - neither colleagues, nor management, nor clients - should have any doubts about your abilities. This is the first step advancement.
2. Help your boss achieve your goals. Think about what the problem is not giving your supervisor a restful sleep and help him cope with it. Try to accept rather than reject the requests of your leader to engage in some task. You will receive loyalty in return, which will become an important factor in your progress.
3. Grab any leadership opportunity. Try to keep your enthusiasm for new tasks beyond your direct responsibilities. Call to participate in new projects, especially those that are visible to people from outside your unit. This will give others the opportunity to feel that you will be representing yourself in a higher position. It does not have to be the “construction of the century.” It is enough to gather people for a meeting, settle a conflict between colleagues, offer to describe your view on someone’s problem. Such initiatives give everyone a signal that you have leadership potential.
4. Fill the vacuum. Another way to express yourself is to take a project that is “in a vacuum” between areas of responsibility. Every organization has problems that nobody wants to deal with or those that nobody suspects. Solving such a problem is another way to rise above the general level.
5. Keep it simple, and people will reach out to you. There is a difference between being ambitious and getting on everyone’s nerves. No need to try to use power, which is not yet. Try to focus on the problem, not on the importance of your role in solving it. Be sure of yourself, but not overconfident.
6. Keep your ambitions with you. If you have a relationship of trust with your leader, then you can share your intentions, but it is better to express them in terms of benefits for your organization. Describe your achievements over the past year and ask how you can continue to contribute to the success of the company. Let it be a dialogue about mutual interests, and not a report on your unsatisfied sense of self-worth. If you think that your leader may feel a threat to his position, coming from your ambitions, it is better to leave such a conversation for later and concentrate on demonstrating your potential.
7. Find an example to follow. Find someone to whose level you want to rise, and carefully study it - how it acts, speaks and thinks. Find the opportunity to work with him on a common problem and try to understand what is useful you can learn from him (but do not get carried away and remain at the same time yourself). You can also find some elements of behavior that, on the contrary, do not allow him to succeed. Perhaps he does not know how to maintain relationships with colleagues? Can not communicate with the leadership? Bad time management?
8. Build relationships It doesn't matter who you know, it is important who knows you. When they consider your candidacy for promotion, your future boss will not sit in the office and make a decision using the “scientific question” method. He will find out from the people who surround you, what you are worth. Therefore, you will need people who will give you good feedback - people who have worked with you know you and appreciate you. If you come across a director and he asks how things are going, you need not be deceived and think that this is a passing conversation that does not matter. Take each such situation as an opportunity to show your competence and your contribution to the work of the company.