This week I interviewed the CEO of an energy company in the Northeastern US. He had invested most of his career in the electricity industry at a senior level. We discussed his career and what his observations were on how companies support and promote their high potential managers.
As a long-time successful occupant of the C-suite, here are a few of his observations:
- There is a clear lack of career management planning at the senior levels.
- Being tapped on the shoulder to take on a project or fight a corporate fire is the most common strategy for career “pathing” for aspiring executives.
- Even those managers who are very capable high potentials were not always tapped for projects—but not because they lacked the skills and competencies, but because they lacked the confidence, social graces or political savviness to win the confidence of decision-makers.
Here are real-time suggestions from this senior corporate leader from 21st century Corporate America:
Read the rest of the article here: 3 Ways Smart Executives Get Tapped for a Promotion