How do they know you?

How do they know you?

In any company there are probably a maximum of 10 people who will have an outsized influence on your career.

Those include immediate superiors who know you and your work well and then the larger leadership across the company who may not know you closely but know “of” you and in a positive light. At the very least you are not a complete unknown stranger.

Being visible to the right people, making sure you are liked and respected by the key decision makers and getting the blessing of the big wigs are critical elements that drive career progression.

To be clear, by no means does this discount the quality of your efforts and your work. Those are table stakes. But how often have we heard of a friend or a co-worker who worked hard but did not get the promotion and someone else who played their cards right ended up climbing the ladder faster. Notice something, the latter would often be seen having hallway conversations or exchanging pleasantries with senior executives and the former would simply walk by and the executives wouldn't blink. 

So, the question to ask is simple. Who are the 10 people within your organization that could have an outsized impact on your career and how do they know you? What efforts are you putting in front of these influential individuals to showcase your talent and get the highest return for your investment of time and effort?

I recall a colleague felt her department head, our CFO, was not exactly that open to promoting her and fighting her case forward. So, she set up time with the CTO who she worked with closely and asked his support. The CTO obliged, sent a kind note to the department head and then my colleague was promoted quickly. Clearly the CTO was one of those influential individuals and important he viewed my colleague favorably to bat for her.

The corollary to this is the individual who works hard and enjoys a solid reputation but amongst a crowd of people who wield no influence and have no voice. There are many individuals who get stuck working hard for people who do not bat for them and even if they want to bat for them, do not have the position and voice to do so.

So go ahead and identify the 10 people who will have an outsized impact on your career. Analyze how they know you. Is it just that they know you by face or do they know your name or do they know your work to bless your progress and recommend you forward.

As they say you do not need to boil the ocean, attend tens of networking events or connect with 400 people. It’s the 10 important individuals that you need to know and more importantly make sure they know you and think of you favorably and positively.