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Matt Verderamo is a consultant with Well Built Construction Consulting, a Baltimore-based firm. The opinions are the author’s own.
Many employees hold back their own career growth because they believe you have to wait for your boss to give you the right opportunity.
Meanwhile, a small minority of employees know that if you want to grow fast, you can’t wait for the right opportunity—you have to create it.
But how to create the right opportunities?
In my experience rising to Vice President of Pre-Construction and Sales at age 28, there are opportunities everywhere. And you can create the right ones for you and your business by asking three simple questions. These work no matter how old or experienced you are. Let’s talk about how you can quickly get to the level you want.
Question 1: Where do I want to go?
You can’t create opportunities for growth if you don’t know where you’re going.
Therefore, a compelling vision of your future is an extremely important starting point. This vision must achieve two things:
- Define your “north star” – what career/position/etc. are you going to chase
- Encourage yourself to make the journey worthwhile
With a compelling vision for yourself, you’ll begin to see what you need to do and learn to be prepared. The more excited you are about that vision, the faster you’ll work on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes you need to get there.
Question 2: Where is the business going?
Chances are your owner or executive team has some vision for the future of the business. They may even have an idea of where you fit into that vision. If you really want to create fast growth opportunities, you have to be all about it.
Go to your owner or executive team and ask them questions like:
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- What are our long-term goals?
- Where do you see us in five years?
- What is our strategy to get there?
- What are our strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats?
- What do you need from the next generation of leadership for us to succeed?
- Where do I fit into this plan now? How can I provide maximum value?
Not only will they be amazed at your devotion to the business, but you’ll also have a clear idea of where you might fit into the future of the business. The more you understand the business, the more you can position yourself around the right opportunities.
Question 3: How can I align my plans with the company?
Your personal goal is great, but does it align with company goals? Does it align with the opportunities that will be available in the near term? With some slight adjustments, are there opportunities you can create for yourself right now?
For example, you may see yourself in a long-term operations role, but upon speaking with your owner or executive team, you learn that the head of estimating is retiring in the next five years and they are looking for a replacement. Are you interested in this? Is this an exciting opportunity?
Or imagine that the long-term plan is to open additional offices in new markets. Could you be the person to lead this position? Are you willing to move and grow as each new office does?
Only you know the answer to these questions, but the point is that without knowing where you want to go and where the company wants to go, you cannot plan your path to growth. In other words, you may be chasing the wrong opportunities. Once you align your current efforts with long-term opportunities, you put yourself in a position to grow quickly—much faster than your peers.
Creating opportunities
Once you decide what opportunities you want to create, make sure you go and tell your boss. Don’t be arrogant, but excited and open to feedback.
“I thought about what you said and I would like to find a way to take over the position of head of estimation in 5 years. What do I need to do to get there?”
Or, “I’m excited about helping open new offices in the future. Can I be a part of your plans? If so, I want to start working on the skills I need, in addition to my normal workload, right away. Could we talk more about what that would look like?”
You’ll position yourself for fantastic growth just by stating your intentions and demonstrating the commitment to get there.
