How did you work with the C-Suite, earlier in your career?

The simple answer is that I didn't. However, it didn't take long for me to realize that in order for me to accomplish what I was driving on personally (both internally, as I thought about promo paths at the companies I've worked for and externally, when selling into other companies), I needed to ensure that I understood what the respective C-Suite cared about and find a way to tie my goals to their goals. For example, when thinking about my career progression, I make sure to align the projects and initiatives I am focused on to build out my body of work aren't just things I'm passionate about, but also things that align to the strategic focuses of the business set by our C-Suite. This leads to real impact, natural exposure with executive leadership and great reason for promo, which solves for my goals of career progression and their goals of business impact. When selling externally, I work with my team to ensure, as early in our discovery phase as possible, that we understand who the DMs are (typically C-Suite) and what they care about, so that the use cases and story-telling we lean on throughout our sales process align to the problems their C-Suite wants to solve. This is what gets contracts signed. Also, if you are able to offer a solution to a business problem vs. an IC's problem, you are far more likely to get direct access to the C-Suite, which is critical given they are the ultimate DM.

Ever since I've worked in tech, I've only worked for one company where I didn't work with a founding CEO. Early in my career, I was intimidated when I would see the c-suite walk into the room. 

I finally realized I had nothing to be scared of. It's like you're at war and you're all defending the same country or the same company mission. I had the pleasure of sitting next to my CEO at a small startup and I would ask him how he had overcome certain objections in the past. His one- liners were great and I eventually started using them in my sales cycles to close more business. 

Once I learned to embrace the c-level at my organization and keep them in the loop if I needed help or if my team had wins - it was a game changer. Simon Sinek (Start with the Why author) says, "The hardest part is starting. Once you get that out of the way, you'll find the rest of the journey much easier." TRUE!

Early in my career, I made mistakes but when things started clicking, I moved up the ranks pretty quickly. Here are a few things I did to ensure the job I wanted was mine when it became available.

1. Show up early, be available, and say yes when power people are watching - I literally turned the lights on in the office every morning for 4 years. I was always there and always available for risky projects when the C-Suite was building a thesis around something (in my case - for GTM)

2. Be the tide that rises all boats. Help those around you. But be cautious in how you present your advice if it is purely unsolicited. You should be trying to add value to as many cross-funcitonal partners as you can. Be on tiger teams, help with product launches, and stuff envelopes with Marketing when time permits. Execs will call you up to the big leagues when multiple independent sources name-drop you.

3. Hit your number (if in another department track and manage to your KPIs, OKRs, SMART goals, etc.) Always fall back on your performance. If you're trending well with the first 2 and the performance is there, you're an A-lister and will quickly find that you can move freely throughout an organization in search of your happy professional place.

Agreed. Early in my career I didn't. But as my career goals grew I learned to network with people you'd enjoy working with if you started your own company. Most importantly- looking for ways to help others in their career journey builds fundamental and meaningful connection. Helping others is always a win.