If you choose a career in management, ther are certain keys to success you should consider. The following discussion makes some suggestions based on proven tactics that managers have used to advance their careers.

Ref: Management - S. Robbins

Do good work

Good work performance is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for managerial success.

Present the right image

The manager shoud evaluate the organisation's culture so that he or she understands what the organisation want and values from its managers. Then the manager is equipped to project the appropriate image - in terms of style of dress, the organisation's preferred leadership style, whether conflict should be avoided, tolerated or encouraged, the importance attributed to getting along well with others and so forth.

Learn the power structure

The effective manager needs to learn "who is really in charge, who has the goods on whom, what are the major debts and dependencies". Once s/he has this knowledge, s/he can navigate with more skill and ease.

Gain control of organisational resources

The control of organisational resources that are scarce and important is a source of power. Knowledge and expertise are particularly effective resources to control. They make you more valuable to the organisation and therefore, more likely to gain security and advancement.

Stay visible

Since the evaluation of managerial effectiveness has a substantial subjective component, it is important that your boss and those in power in the organisation be made aware of your contribution. You will want to call attention to yourself by giving progress reports to your boss and others, being seen at social functions, being active in your professional associations, developing powerful allies who speak positively about you and engaging in other similar tactics.

Stay mobile

Managers are likely to move upward more rapidly if they indicate a willingness to move to different geographical locations and across functional lines withing the organisation. Career advancement may also be facilitated by a willingness to change organisations. In slow growth, stagnant, or declining organisations, mobility should be of greater importance to the ambitious manager.

Find a mentor

A mentor is someone from whom you can learn and who can encourage and help you. A mentor is a person who will stand up for you at meetings and inside information that you otherwise wouldn't have access to. The evidence indicates that acquiring a sponsor who is part of the organisation's power core is essential for managers who aspire to make it to the top.

Support your boss

Your immediate future is in the hands of your current boss. He or She evaluates your performance, and few young managers are powerful enough to challenge their boss and survive.

You should make the effort to help your boss succeed, support him if he is under siege, and find out what criteria hw will be using to assess your effectiveness. By being perceived as suportive, you may find yourself pulled along too.

Don't undermine your boss. Don't speak negatively of him to others.

 Let's get started with your management career development...

Photo Courtesy: "You'll be a manager my son"

You should begin by assessing your basic strengths. Figure out what you do best. What skill or skills do you excel at?

Next determine what it is you like to do. Forget, for a moment, what you're good at and think about what "turns you on".

Now, you should merge what you do best with what you like to do. Think about linking jobs with your strengths and preferences. Strong social skills are needed in management. Below are some webforms in which you can assess your skills:

Is a Management Career in a Large Organisation Right for You?

How Good Are You at Decision Making?

(More webforms will be added with due time.....)

Once you've ge a set of jobs that you think you'd like and also do well at, ask yourself: Where do I want to work? In a large organisation? Large organisations offer specialisation, high rewards and often high status. Small organisation, on the other hand may be less bureaucratic and offer greater opportunities for visibility. You might also consider working yourself if you have an entreprenerial personality.

The final step is to assess market conditions. Where are the opportunities? It does little good to identify the perfect job if it does not exist or if the probability of your getting it is extremely remote.