Who do you align yourself with to gain momentum in the leadership organization?

Sponsors are critical for career progression. When you think about the best persons to lean on for sponsorship, you should be thinking about someone who is already bought into you and would endorse you to others within the business. You want to also ensure that this person is well connected and has a "voice at the table" that you don't have a "seat" at yet. Then, you need to ask that person for their support. Most importantly, you then need to create value and as mentioned in another response, e ...Read More

Internally: I figure out where I'm uniquely positioned to provide outsized value to the company. That informs who I need to align with in order to gain momentum. Do I have unique insights on the market that product could benefit from? Do I have previous experience at a similar company and can provide insights into internal things that worked/didn't work (RevOps, pricing/packaging, etc)? Externally: champions --> key stakeholders --> decision makersUltimately you are selling to the decision ...Read More

In order to align yourself to gain momentum in the leadership organization, it's all about over-communication. You're all on the same team. Also, I'm a big fan of never eating alone. Even if you're at a remote company, you can eat lunch together over zoom and talk shop. If you work at a company that's in person and you see someone you don't know in the kitchen or elevator, it's not hard to introduce yourself and an hour later slack them and say, "it was nice to meet you!" If I ever see someone p ...Read More

It's critical to figure out who the "fox" is at your business. The "fox" is that person who usually speaks a little bit slower in sr. meetings. Is the person who often other Sr. execs ask questions or seek insight. Foxes know whats going on with the needful. They control outcomes. Often CEOs will outsource big decisions to the "fox" Knowing who this person is is the hard part. But if you can find a "fox" you can slowly work with them, earn trust, and become a vital part of the decision tree. Fin ...Read More