Career Speedrun - MAC109
Managing A Career
Welcome back to Managing A Career, the podcast that helps you put yourself on the fast track for promotion. I’m your host, Layne Robinson. Today’s episode is all about a concept I’m calling the Career Speedrun. If you’re into gaming, you probably know what a speedrun is: it’s when players try to beat an entire game as fast as possible, skipping unnecessary parts, using shortcuts, and optimizing every move. Now, when it comes to your career, you can’t literally warp-jump from your first job straight to the corner office—but you can learn to recognize what slows...
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Early Promotion to Career Success - MAC108
Managing A Career
Reframing the Premature Promotion Back in , I tackled the tricky terrain of getting promoted too soon—when the title lands before the readiness does. That episode unpacked the complications that can follow a premature promotion: skill gaps, team tension, imposter syndrome, and even layoff risk. This week, I’m flipping the script. Instead of focusing on the pitfalls, let’s talk about how to turn that early promotion into a strategic advantage. Because if you play it right, what starts as a stumble can become your fastest leap forward. The Risks Beneath the Ribbon-Cutting ...
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Career Stagnation - MAC107
Managing A Career
Has your career quietly veered off course—not with a dramatic crash, but with a slow, almost imperceptible drift? One missed opportunity. One unchallenging role. One “maybe next year” that turned into five. Then one day, you look up and realize you’re nowhere near where you thought you’d be. Here’s the good news: every detour has a reentry point. You won’t fix it overnight, but you can start with one small, intentional correction. And that shift—however minor—is how momentum begins. How Did We Get Here? Before we talk solutions, let’s rewind. Career drift...
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Non-Verbal Communication - MAC106
Managing A Career
In last week’s podcast episode of the podcast, Episode 105 – Communication Etiquette (), I talked about how seemingly small, everyday actions can shape how others perceive you at work. While these habits may not directly earn you a promotion, they quietly build your reputation with the very people who influence those decisions. This week, I want to take that conversation further by focusing on something even more subtle but just as powerful: non-verbal communication cues. Why Non-Verbal Communication Matters Whether you’re in a casual hallway conversation, presenting in a...
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Communication Etiquette - MAC105
Managing A Career
On other episodes of the Managing A Career podcast, I tend to focus on the big-picture strategies that can propel your career forward—things like building influence, earning visibility, and positioning yourself for future opportunities. But advancement isn’t just about the major moves. Sometimes, it’s the subtle, everyday actions that shape how others perceive you. This week, I want to zoom in on one of those seemingly small details that won’t directly earn you a promotion, but will absolutely impact the impression you leave on colleagues, managers, and executives: communication...
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A Seat At The Table - MAC104
Managing A Career
You Need to Be in the Room Where It Happens — But How? You’ve heard the phrase before: “You need to be in the room where decisions happen.” It sounds powerful—exclusive even—but no one ever hands you the playbook for getting in that room. Working hard isn’t enough. Being the best at your job isn’t enough. The truth is, opportunities to sit at the table where decisions are made don’t simply appear—they’re earned, often through deliberate actions, strategic visibility, and building the right kind of influence. So the real question becomes: how do you earn that seat at the...
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What Are You Prioritizing? - MAC103
Managing A Career
What You Prioritize Is What You Grow In your career—just like in life—whatever you prioritize is what takes root, grows, and ultimately defines your trajectory. Whether you’re intentional about it or not, your attention acts like sunlight and water: it nourishes certain parts of your professional life while leaving others to wither. Even worse is when you don’t make a conscious choice at all—when your career just “happens to you.” That passive approach can lead to years of drifting, missed opportunities, and invisible ceilings. So take a moment to reflect: what are you truly...
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Creating a Career Vision When You Don't Know What's Possible - MAC102
Managing A Career
We've recently gone through a reorganization at my job, and with that change, I now have several new team members reporting to me. In my one-on-one meetings, I like to focus on more than just status updates—I emphasize career development. One of the tools I’ve consistently found to be effective is the Individual Development Plan, or IDP. If you’ve been following this podcast, you may remember Episode 37 () where I broke down the Vision and Roadmap section of the IDP. It’s a framework I believe in deeply. But here’s the thing: many of my new team members are struggling with...
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Leadership Isn't Assigned -- It's Taken - MAC101
Managing A Career
“Being a leader isn't an assignment that is given to you, but an assignment that you TAKE.” Let that sink in. Leadership isn’t about waiting for permission. It’s about stepping up when others step back. In today's episode of the Managing A Career podcast, we’re diving deep into what it really means to TAKE leadership. Anyone can be a leader—because leadership is a quality you demonstrate, not a job title you hold. Sure, some roles come with authority baked in, but real leaders don’t wait for the title. They lead because they choose to. If you have ambitions to advance...
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Grow Your Team, Grow Your Self - MAC100
Managing A Career
There’s a common misconception the corporate world: to get ahead, someone else has to fall behind. It’s the old zero-sum thinking — that career advancement is a competitive, cutthroat race. But today, I want to challenge that notion. Whether you're managing a team or just stepping into a leadership role, the truth is that investing in the growth of others doesn’t slow you down — it accelerates your own career trajectory. Helping others succeed is one of the most powerful, and often underestimated, ways to grow yourself. This zero-sum outlook is rooted in fear and...
info_outlineAt some point in your career, you will find yourself in a position where you have to deal with office politics. Office politics aren't bad in and of themselves, but it is important to understand how they work and what your place is within them.
First, we should put some clarity around what I mean by the phrase "office politics". They are really just the unwritten rules and informal structure of the organization.
The key to navigating the political landscape is to understand the various roles and who holds them. From situation to situation, there may be different people playing each role, but understanding who plays them in your current situation will make it easier for you to do what you need.
Decision Makers - someone who has final say on critical decisions. For bigger decisions, this is usually a manager or executive. But for smaller items, this could be a team member or a team with approval authority over a specific process.
Gatekeeper - someone who controls access to a key person or resource. The gatekeeper for an executive might be their executive assistant from a time scheduling perspective, but it is often a trusted manager when it comes to processes and decisions. You may need to make your case to the gatekeeper before the decision is brought to the leader. In the case of a process, there may be someone responsible for managing the agenda for approvals that you must convince to prioritize your request for a decision.
Connector - someone who has connections across multiple departments. The connector can be invaluable, especially when you are new to an organization, because they can provide introductions to decision makers and gatekeepers.
Influencer - someone who's opinion is revered by many in the organization, often including key decision makers. The difference between a connector and an influencer is that an influencer may hold sway with others just based on reputation without actually having a personal relationship with the people involved. Whereas a connector has the relationship but may not have the expertise needed to provide the influence.
Observer - someone who understands who are the current political players. An observer knows who the players are but may not be able to introduce or influence them.
Champion - someone who advocates for others within the organization. Having a leader that acts as your advocate can speed up the decision making process through the additional authority that they bring.
Beyond understanding the roles of the people who can help you, the next step is to look at what strategies you can take to be successful within the politics of your office.
Build a decision map. For each situation, build a map of who plays each role and how you can engage them. When you are unsure of who can fill a role, look to the Observer to help you complete the map. Unrelated tasks and decisions may have different maps, but similar tasks may have a fair bit of overlap.
Build your own network. Having a strong network is beneficial in terms of career advancement, but it is also useful in terms of getting things done. The Connector is an important role for cross-organizational work and if you can be the Connector for your organization, it puts you in a more visible position which can lead to more important assignments. Review Episode 029 - Building a Network for ways that you can build your network.
Build your people skills. Many of the roles involved in office politics require interacting with others. Building influence and making positive relationships will not just help your current situation but will serve you well for the future, too.
Become "the one". The final strategy is to become the go-to person for something within your organization. This could be by becoming the expert such that you become an influencer or by having a strong network to be the connector. You could also take ownership of a process so that you become a decision maker or gatekeeper. Regardless of which role you take, you can use this position of importance to negotiate favors from others allowing you to accomplish your tasks while assisting them in their tasks.
This episode, we've looked at the positive side of office politics. Next week, we will take a look at some of the challenges that you may face and how you can address them. Be sure to subscribe in your podcast player of choice so that you get the next episode as soon as it's available.