15 Essential Skills for Advancing Your Career
To help you identify and develop the skills that can significantly contribute to your career advancement, we asked CEOs, founders, and other professionals to share their experiences. From embracing personal responsibility to adapting and overcoming challenges, here are the top fifteen skills these leaders leveraged for their career advancement.
- Embrace Personal Responsibility to Gain Power
- Cultivate Self-Awareness for Growth
- Harness Empathy for Connection
- Master Team Management for Success
- Communicate Effectively to Lead Effectively
- Develop Valuable Problem-Solving Skills
- Lead With Confidence to Motivate Colleagues
- Make Yourself Irreplaceable by Excelling in Excel
- Polish Presentation Skills to Open Doors
- Leverage Digital Marketing to Promote Yourself
- Think Strategically to Manage Your Business
- Display Your Dedication With Persistence
- Pay Attention to Detail to Optimize Systems
- Enhance Your Abilities in Data Analysis
- Adapt and Overcome to Thrive
Embrace Personal Responsibility to Gain Power
Certainly, a skill, and beyond that, a “come from” attitude, was when I decided to take personal responsibility for my response to any mistake or negative result, without descending into any victim role or corresponding blame, shame, regret, or guilt game.
I learned that all of those mind games and ways to avoid responsibility result in a loss of personal power and confidence.
When I began “owning it all,” I experienced getting my power back and building better relationships with clients and colleagues. It’s like a secret power!
Robert White
CEO, Extraordinary People LLC
Cultivate Self-Awareness for Growth
Learning to be self-aware and continuously honing that skill has been instrumental in my career growth. Recognizing that I am not perfect and acknowledging that there will always be areas for improvement has allowed me to approach my work with authenticity and humility.
By being aware of my strengths and weaknesses, I can leverage my strengths to make valuable contributions and actively work on areas that need development.
This self-awareness has also translated into my interactions with colleagues, direct reports, and clients. By embracing my imperfections and being genuine about my journey, I have fostered more authentic connections and relationships.
People appreciate honesty and vulnerability, and by being real, I have built trust and rapport in professional settings.
Kelli Anderson
Career Coach, Resume Seed
Harness Empathy for Connection
The one skill that has substantially contributed to my career is empathy. In my life-coaching work, empathy isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s the backbone. It allows me to deeply understand my clients’ feelings and perspectives.
This understanding then translates into creating meaningful content that really speaks to them. It also helps me to address their concerns more effectively and develop a deeper connection on their personal development journey.
Importantly, this skill continues to grow through practical application in daily client interactions, navigating their emotional highs and lows. Cultivating empathy goes beyond basic politeness. It’s about connecting with people on a deeper level, which lets me cater to their needs in a more precise and impactful way.
Bayu Prihandito
Psychology Expert, Life Coach, and Founder, Life Architekture
Master Team Management for Success
One specific skill that has significantly contributed to my career advancement as an entrepreneur and the founder of a podcast production agency is team management. I realized early on that assembling a talented and cohesive team was crucial for our success.
To hone this skill, I actively sought out resources on effective leadership and communication. I learned to delegate tasks according to team members’ strengths and fostered a supportive environment that encouraged collaboration.
Through this, I could leverage my team’s expertise, and focus on the bigger picture and strategic planning. Their dedication and hard work played a vital role in propelling the agency forward, leading to our growth and positive reputation in the podcast industry.
Harry Morton
Founder, Lower Street
Communicate Effectively to Lead Effectively
One skill that’s been pivotal in my career progression is effective communication. I believe conveying thoughts succinctly and clearly is vital in all aspects of business, from team collaboration to client negotiation.
I honed this skill by constantly challenging myself to engage in diverse settings, whether it be pitching ideas in meetings, networking at events, or giving public speeches. This allowed me to adapt my communication style according to the situation and audience.
In terms of leveraging it, I’ve seen my relationships strengthen with colleagues and clients, boosting trust and collaboration. Clear communication also positions me as an effective leader, as it creates an environment of transparency and understanding within my team.
Vikrant Shaurya
CEO, Authors On Mission
Develop Valuable Problem-Solving Skills
One skill that has considerably boosted my career is problem-solving. It may seem like a cliché, but breaking down complex issues into manageable pieces and identifying solutions has been invaluable.
This skill didn’t come naturally, but I developed it by intentionally seeking out and embracing challenges. Whether in my personal life or professional duties, I would dissect problems and thoroughly understand their components before proposing solutions. This allowed me to exercise my problem-solving muscles consistently.
Martin Potocki
CEO, Jobera
Lead With Confidence to Motivate Colleagues
One specific skill that has significantly contributed to my career advancement is leadership. I developed this skill through various employee development programs, such as leadership training, workshops, and mentoring.
I also took on leadership roles in different projects to practice and hone my skills. By leveraging my leadership skills, I was able to take charge of teams, delegate tasks effectively, and motivate and inspire my colleagues to perform better.
This led to increased productivity, job satisfaction, and recognition from my superiors. Developing and leveraging this skill has helped me progress in my career and take on higher-level roles with more responsibilities. Investing in employee training and development is crucial for anyone who wants to develop their skills and advance their career.
Samuel Fletcher
Co-Founder, SupplyGem
Make Yourself Irreplaceable by Excelling in Excel
In every HR department, there is always one (and usually only one) resident Excel expert, and they are often in high demand. When HR practitioners get stuck with an Excel-related problem, the first person they recruit for help is the resident Excel expert, who single-handedly keeps the HR team moving.
Having developed a natural affinity for Excel earlier in my career, I have become the go-to person internally for all Excel-related questions.
This may seem like only a minor advantage, but when redundancies arose or promotions were considered, it quickly became apparent that my usefulness transcended just my in-role capabilities, and I found myself in an informal position of importance.
In summary, make yourself irreplaceable and build a moat around your career.
Chloe Yarwood
HR Manager, Test Partnership
Polish Presentation Skills to Open Doors
My first career was in the oil industry, but when I graduated, the price of oil was at an all-time low. I felt like I had just wasted four years of my life getting that degree. Desperate for a change, I enrolled in a public speaking class.
My presentation coach worked with me for almost three months. Just mastering that skill opened up so many doors for me. I left the oil industry and went into sales. Six months later, my boss made me the sales manager. I was making more money in my monthly bonus check than I had made in my entire salary at the previous company.
It was a night-and-day difference. What I realized was that people perceive a person’s competence by the confidence that the person shows. You can be the world’s leading expert on a topic, but if you look nervous, no one will take you seriously. So, if you focus on just a single skill for career advancement, make it presentation skills.
Doug Staneart
CEO, Fearless Presentations
Leverage Digital Marketing to Promote Yourself
The world revolves around the internet nowadays. Hence, I promised myself to develop skills that will help me become better known in the industry.
My digital marketing skills have allowed me to promote myself and my expertise to more people, further enhancing my career. Aside from that, it gave me access to more training and conferences that developed my leadership and other skills.
Danielle Dahl
Managing Editor, Leadership Expert, and Phd Candidate in Psychology, Everyday Power
Think Strategically to Manage Your Business
Strategic thinking is the one specific skill that has significantly contributed to my career advancement. It has helped me manage my business in an organized way, reducing operational complexities.
Being the base of strategy development and implementation, strategic thinking helps entrepreneurs analyze business situations for any uncertainties and address them to remain competitive in the market.
To develop strategic thinking skills, I focused on learning to break down business scenarios into smaller activities. This process enhanced the clarity of my thought patterns and enabled me to see ahead and consider the long-term consequences of my actions.
Lou Reverchuk
Co-Founder and CEO, EchoGlobal
Display Your Dedication With Persistence
When I first started my career, one specific skill that significantly contributed to my career advancement was persistence. While many in the workforce may not consider persistence a skill, it can be a game-changer, and everyone should strive to develop and leverage it!
Persistence can apply to almost any job position, and it all depends on how a person can develop their working habits. In the past, I developed my persistence by always staying on track and ensuring I had few distractions in my workspace.
You can leverage persistence in certain ways, such as through interactions with your clients, customers, and superiors in your company! By proving you are strongly driven in your work and persistent in completing tasks, you can create a positive image for anyone who sees the hard work and dedication you display daily.
Chris Hunter
Director of Customer Relations, ServiceTitan
Pay Attention to Detail to Optimize Systems
One specific skill that has significantly contributed to my career advancement is my keen attention to detail. Through this skill, combined with a systems-thinking approach, I have been able to excel in my role as a financial controller.
By meticulously reviewing financial data, statements, and reports, I prioritize accuracy and ensure the integrity of our financial records. My ability to analyze complex financial systems and identify inefficiencies has allowed me to drive process improvements, enhancing efficiency and optimizing resource allocation.
This skill set has positioned me as a valuable leader in process improvement, going beyond routine tasks and making a meaningful impact on our organization’s financial stability. By continuously developing and leveraging this skill, I have gained recognition for my contributions and advanced in my career as a trusted and strategic specialist.
Dane Habig
Controller, Utopia Management
Enhance Your Abilities in Data Analysis
One skill that has helped me advance my career is data analysis. This is a skill that can prove very useful in every department. From marketing to supply chain, data is used everywhere. It helps a lot if you know the basics of data analysis.
You can take on more complex tasks and showcase your competence. It’s easy to learn and develop data-analysis skills. There are a lot of online courses that can show you the ropes. I took a few courses that taught me everything from the basics to advanced skills.
Perry Zheng
Founder and CEO, Pallas
Adapt and Overcome to Thrive
As a physician assistant, like many careers in healthcare, it’s often necessary to shift your focus from one task to another quickly. It’s common for PAs to take on many roles within a healthcare institution, sometimes concurrently or within the same shift, and it’s not always possible to plan for the tasks you’ll need to tackle on any given day.
Cultivating a flexible and adaptable mindset has been crucial for my career progress in this field. In my experience, this is one of those capabilities that is best developed through practice.
My advice to anyone who wants to become more adaptable is to keep your mind open to whatever opportunities or responsibilities come your way, and don’t shy away from a challenge.
Learning how to think about things in new ways, and being willing to step beyond the defined responsibilities of your role, will help you gain the mental plasticity you need to thrive in a complex or dynamic field.
Carlos Da Silva, Physician Assistant, PA Career Hub
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