Last month, I wrote about how the incoming CEO of Levi Strauss, Michelle Gass, took an unconventional route to her C-level post. She chose a path that some would see as a temporary demotion by agreeing to first move from her Kohl’s CEO role to become president at Levi’s en route to the Levi’s CEO spot.
It’s not common to deviate from a straight climb up the corporate ladder like Gass did, but it’s savvy to think outside the box like this, considering all potential routes to help you reach your career goals. In SHAMBAUGH Leadership’s executive coaching practice for women and our Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) program — which is known for preparing and lifting women into senior leadership and executive/C-suite roles — we give participants executive coaching on women’s leadership and address these issues. Here are some strategies to leverage as you consider untraditional paths, alongside traditional ones, that might help you land a CEO role:
Focus on Upskilling as an Executive
Becoming a better executive at any level will help prepare you for a C-level spot. Take on opportunities that will give you a chance to boost your essential executive skills such as strategic thinking, complex problem solving and decision-making, change leadership, long-term planning, culture building, etc. Tackling new roles that provide greater visibility and access to important projects will expand your portfolio of executive skills and enterprise leadership.
Build Relationships with Influencers
Relationships matter, and it’s important to understand which stakeholders in your organization and industry can serve as mentors — or better yet sponsors — to help pave the way for advancement. Get to know executives who are respected influencers in your company, and those who are particularly aware of the key trends and changes in the organization and industry. But don’t just connect over coffee — find ways to build your relationship by letting them know how you can support them when it’s the right time. As you explore ways to tap into their support and resources, be sure to always reinforce the law of reciprocity, so that your requests aren’t one-sided.
Gain Experience in AI and Other New Technologies
Stay relevant by keeping up with industry trends and technologies to remain knowledgeable in your field. Always look for ways to differentiate yourself and be an innovation driver, identifying ways that your organization can achieve a competitive advantage and expand the business. Boost your knowledge outside of your organization too by serving on a board or community leadership role. Better yet, find ways to bring that external knowledge back to your organization to create value internally.
Make Your Words Count
In my book It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor as well as SHAMBAUGH’s WILL program, I emphasize the importance of communicating concisely and being relevant to your audience when speaking. You can inspire others through storytelling and vision, connecting the dots from your vision and strategy to what inspires and is important for your employees and holds them accountable for getting things done. By effectively engaging in challenging conversations that need to be addressed, you’ll demonstrate a level of emotional intelligence for controlling and expressing your emotions while handling interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathically — all C-level skills.
Embrace Agility and Flexibility
I interviewed Pattie Sellers for one of my books titled Make Room For Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results. Pattie suggested that it helps to think of your career as a jungle gym instead of a linear career path. Many women who make it onto Fortune’s “Most Powerful Women” list have made lateral moves — or even some downward moves — in their careers to broader their experience base and prepare them for bigger jobs, like Michelle Gass did. I think women can be good at doing that, because many women don’t value “rank as status” as much as some men can.
To Pattie’s point, growing and being successful in your career doesn’t always reflect a linear path. It’s important to keep your head up, staying aware of changes happening in your organization and the wider range of opportunities that occur. The bottom line is, it’s not about taking a predetermined path; it’s more about getting the right experience and exposure to set you up for greater leadership opportunities.
Recognize Your Greatness and Believe in It!
You need a fearless and selfless mindset to groom yourself for a CEO position, regardless of how you get to it. When tackling challenging business issues, maintain an unbiased and rational perspective. Never turn away from handling a crisis or confronting a critical issue. Open up your critical thinking and engage with a spectrum of strategic thought partners who can help validate your leadership abilities. But no matter what anyone else thinks of you, know that great leaders look within themselves and understand their beliefs, values, assumptions, goals, fears, strengths, and weaknesses. They believe in their own greatness and start to envision themselves as a CEO, president, executive director, or other senior executive. If you can’t see it now, no one else will see it later, either.
If you or your team have advice for women in leadership that you’d like to share or questions you’d like to ask about this topic, please reach out to me at info@shambaughleadership.com.
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Rebecca Shambaugh is a recognized author and speaker on leadership best practices. She is president of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, founder of Women in Leadership and Learning, and author of the bestselling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor. Read Rebecca’s best-selling Harvard Business Review article “To Sound Like a Leader About What You Say and How and When You Say It.