Hitting a ceiling in my career, looking for advice on how I get to the next level!

KfromDerby

Hi guys I’m in 40s and have built a career in Procurement/Supplychain and although I earn well and quite well liked in my organisation, I just don’t think i,ve hit my full potential. 

Recently after my Director left, I was hoping that the senior management would have considered me for a promotion but they opted to interview externally. I have previously been overlooked.

I sometimes find I’m not the most proactive and for some reason get too nervous in front of senior management. Absolutely great communicator on one to ones.

I want to know can I do differently to achieve my full potential. Are there self help books or any training which can help me to get to the next level?

annabanana82

KfromDerby said:

Hi guys I’m in 40s and have built a career in Procurement/Supplychain and although I earn well and quite well liked in my organisation, I just don’t think i,ve hit my full potential. 

Recently after my Director left, I was hoping that the senior management would have considered me for a promotion but they opted to interview externally. I have previously been overlooked.

I sometimes find I’m not the most proactive and for some reason get too nervous in front of senior management. Absolutely great communicator on one to ones.

I want to know can I do differently to achieve my full potential. Are there self help books or any training which can help me to get to the next level?

Have you spoken with your line manager about your career aspirations and asked for any feedback on how you can realise these? If you aren't proactive they may well assume you are content at your current level

I also work in Procurement, and I'm at the stage in my career where another promotion will really put me more into a strategy and leadership role - if you were hoping for promotion to Director I assume you are have these skills and use them in your day to day work already? I'm quite fortunate that I'm also a team leader, support two teams and have a large portfolio of Contracts so I have been exposed to more than may others of my grade giving me a good advantage.

We have some great routes and courses on offer to develop staff to be effective managers and leaders depending on grade, is this something you could look into either privately or through work? I assume you have CIPS?

I'd also say you need to build your confidence and try and lose some of that nervousness, being able to communicate effectively with senior management is going to be essential at Director level.

EnPointe

The cynical answer is that  you are not seen  by senior management as having potential as in your own words ' not proactive'  and ' get very nervous in front of senior managers ' 

and/or you are too valuable in your current role. 

shy bairns get no sweeties ! 

as has been said  a serious discussion with the relevant senior management is the way forward. 

@annabanana82's  other comments are also on the mark here

Wyndham

Absolutely back the idea of talking to your manager, and seeing what you can do in your present company. But the truth is that often the way to get to the next level is to move onto another company. You lose all the 'baggage' and 'history' of how people perceive you, and if you have changed, that can certainly be advantagous. Unfortunately, once people have made judgements on others, it's difficult to get them to change.

Also, if you've been in your current role for some time, then experience of a different company, and a different way of doing things, or a different approach to things, certainly won't do any harm. That broader knowledge may mean that the next jump isn't where you want to be, but the one after that can be.

Good luck whatever you decide to do!

Marcon

KfromDerby said:

Hi guys I’m in 40s and have built a career in Procurement/Supplychain and although I earn well and quite well liked in my organisation, I just don’t think i,ve hit my full potential. 

Recently after my Director left, I was hoping that the senior management would have considered me for a promotion but they opted to interview externally. I have previously been overlooked.

I sometimes find I’m not the most proactive and for some reason get too nervous in front of senior management. Absolutely great communicator on one to ones.

I want to know can I do differently to achieve my full potential. Are there self help books or any training which can help me to get to the next level?

You're going to have to do that most difficult of things: make changes. What you change, and how you change it, are two important decisions.

Why aren't you proactive? That's not as daft or provocative a question as it might sound. Have you stopped to think about why, when you've identified something which is holding you back from progressing, have you not taken any steps to change your approach?

Getting nervous in front of senior management is harder to deal with. It's extremely common, especially if you don't routinely have opportunities to 'practice' eg making a presentation to them. A general confidence boost will help, but that's not always easy to achieve. Consider if there any particular aspects you find difficult/intimidating, and if so, what you could do to overcome those - eg they are much smarter in appearance (smarten up your own appearance!)? 

I'm not sure that self help books would get you that far, whereas 'live' training - preferably face to face - could help a lot. Talking to your managers and ensuring they know that you want to be promoted (?do they know, or are you expecting them to be mind readers...?!), and asking what assistance your employer could give, would be an excellent step. 

Think hard about whether you can change your current employer's view of you. If you've trudged along for years, steady but unremarkable, can you persuade them, as well as yourself, that you have the impetus needed to propel yourself upwards? Sometimes striking out with a new employer can give you the fresh start you may need.

Lastly, are you being realistic about what your full potential might be? Ambition and reality need to go hand in hand.

Very best of luck.

kimwp

In what areas are you not proactive?

I've sometimes thought about joining a speaking society for becoming more confident at talking in front of people, that might be an idea.

But don't forget to think about what makes you happy. I'm not saying don't push yourself to develop and improve, but I am saying think about what you like doing. There's little joy in following a prescribed path if it's not one that is a good fit for you.

TELLIT01

When you saw that they had advertised externally did you make it known to anybody that you were interested in the role?  Did you ask if you could apply?

If the answer to either or both is 'No' then why did you think you may be considered for the role?

EnPointe

TELLIT01 said:

When you saw that they had advertised externally did you make it known to anybody that you were interested in the role?  Did you ask if you could apply?

If the answer to either or both is 'No' then why did you think you may be considered for the role?

indeed ,  obviously  you aren't the preferred candidate ...  as  when management  have preferred internal candidate(s)  , you will often find they  hav an application 'thrust into their hands '  ( in times past that would physically happen , currently  likely to be ap rint out of the  advert or the advert specifically forwarded to you )

but if   as hinted at i nthe OP management were not  aware the OP waw interested  there would be no reason to tip them off and unless there was a regular  'all hands' message with  vacancies  what  exactly the  do expect ? 

KfromDerby

Thank you all for the advice and asking some pertinent questions. I did recently speak to my line manager but I got more of woolly response to the recent role but it did plant a seed about my ambition.

Perhaps I didn’t do myself much justice in the original post. I am good/confident presenter and extremely effective in small or one to one discussions. In fact always the go to for other stakeholders, but just seem to get a bit nervous about speaking in meetings with senior executives or in large workshops where we have senior people. Just can’t explain it!

Marcon

KfromDerby said:

Thank you all for the advice and asking some pertinent questions. I did recently speak to my line manager but I got more of woolly response to the recent role but it did plant a seed about my ambition.

Perhaps I didn’t do myself much justice in the original post. I am good/confident presenter and extremely effective in small or one to one discussions. In fact always the go to for other stakeholders, but just seem to get a bit nervous about speaking in meetings with senior executives or in large workshops where we have senior people. Just can’t explain it!

That's quite telling...don't be afraid to 'sell' yourself!