In the most recent episode of Taking The Lead, Arthur Ventures Operating Partner, Anna Talerico sat down with Christina Brady to discuss a number of topics, including a great way to gain more attention. A few of the quick highlights in this article:
- The universal key to success does not exist. One’s aspirations don’t necessarily correlate with the desires of others. People have different goals, and if someone is content with their current job position, business leaders should show understanding and support.
- Anna Talerico, Operating Partner at Arthur Ventures, has successfully progressed through her career, assuming numerous leadership roles and fine tuning her skills as a leader in each position.
- Anna shared valuable insights on how employees can find their areas of opportunity for career progression.
With a fear of people behind her, it is amazing that Anna Talerico has been able to climb the corporate ladder with such confidence. In this week’s episode of Taking the Lead, Anna Talerico and Christina Brady discuss the tactics for getting noticed and growing as a leader. Anna has been a well exercised leader throughout her career and now continues to do so as she works as the operating partner at Arthur Ventures.
How to get noticed as an employee? Managing Up!
Is there an ideal career path? Most of us think that getting promoted and climbing up the professional ladder is the way to go. But what if all of our hard work and devotion don’t take us anywhere? Are we doing something wrong, and how should we make people notice our efforts?
“What I see where people struggle with this is that maybe they’re not managing up. I come into companies sometimes, and I see people doing great work, moving a business forward, adding value, delivering value, creating value. It’s not noticed because maybe they’re not managing up or managing up in a way that the organization can receive it. I realize that managing up is such an underrated skill, but it is how we get noticed,” says Anna.
Managing up looks different in different organizations.
As Anna states, anyone who wants to progress within their business organization should master the skill of managing up. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter how hardworking or devoted you are; if you are not delivering the way your organization expects, your efforts may go unnoticed.
“The one thing is to start with having an awareness of the organization that you’re in. It’s tactical, but it’s true. You’re not going to get noticed, or you’re going to get noticed in a way that says, ‘She or he doesn’t get it right. They don’t work the way we do.’ It’s important to bring yourself and how you operate and be true to that. But you have to adapt to the organization that you’re in.”
Looking at how the company communicates and mirroring those practices will lead to further recognition. In doing so, you will be doing lots of listening and watching, facilitating an understanding of the company relationship with career growth.
People have different goals, and leaders should understand that.
We often assume people want the same things. And that’s not true. Why is it hard to believe that someone can be content with where they are? Not everyone dreams about promotions and higher positions. The leader’s job on those occasions is to show support.
“We need to have candid conversations about what people want. Sometimes, people are happy where they’re at, and yet we come at them as leaders to say, ‘Let’s talk about the next thing. And here’s what you have to do to progress.’ We need to realize that not everybody wants that.”
By understanding that people have different goals, leaders are able to be tactical about giving constructive feedback.
The importance of asking for feedback
People don’t progress professionally as quickly as they would like to because they don’t receive helpful feedback. If you want to get to the next level, move into a new role, but you are not sure how to do it, reach out to your leader and ask for help. Sometimes, as Anna explains, leaders fail to do it.
”I was working with people that I loved and cared about, who were struggling to get to the next level. And I wasn’t as direct as I should have been. That’s something I don’t ever want to do again. If somebody is not getting to the next level for a reason, I want to be clear with them and not coddle them. I want to be direct.”
Anna notes that if you feel your career is not on the right path, it is critical to ask for direct feedback, as it could be the link to where you are and where you want to be.
We need to show support to those who need it.
It is hard to find a company that doesn’t advocate in favor of diversity. But we all know that’s easier said than done. The business world shouts, “We need more female leaders,” but our actions must be louder than our words.
Anna has an example we can all learn a lot from. “A woman who reached out to me on LinkedIn, she had read an article that I had written, and she said, ‘I got thrown into leading our sales team. I don’t know what I’m doing, and I need a little help. Can you point me in the right direction?’ I took it as a sign from the universe. I’m going all-in on her right now because she’s in front of me. I can’t put her in as ahead of sales at one of these companies, but I can make sure that she feels supported in this role right now. We spent about six months together. Now I talk to her every week. She had two quarters and killed it. She’s doing great. She’s somebody I hope to have in my life for a long time. And she used to say, ‘Why are you doing this?’ And I said, ‘Because one day you’re going to need to do it with somebody else.”’
This article is based on an episode of Sales Assembly’s podcast, Taking The Lead, which features top female B2B Tech Revenue Leaders, VCs, Advisors, and Icons. Bi-weekly episodes dive into a tactical topic to help listeners (regardless of gender or seniority level) learn how to be better, faster, and smarter as they navigate the craziness of the Revenue world within B2B Tech.
