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_outlineBack in Episode 083 (https://www.managingacareer.com/83) I talked about how Imposter Syndrome and Fear of Failure can derail your plans for career advancement. This week, I'd like to take a deeper dive at Confidence. Confidence, at it's very basic, is the believe that you will succeed in the current situation. Confidence is not arrogance; but they can be two side of the same coin.
The biggest difference between Confidence and Arrogance is how others react to you and how you treat those around you. When you are confident, you state your case assertively but with respect. If you are arrogant, you will come across as dominating and dismissive. When you are confident, your believe in success can encourage those around you and lead them to want to help. Being arrogant, though, can alienate others when you act superior to them.
So, how does confidence help when it comes to your career?
- Being confident makes you a better speaker. When you believe in what you are saying, it comes across to those you are speaking to. Your confidence will help you make your point stronger.
- When you are confident, you are focused on the final success and will not be hampered by small challenges along the way. Continued confidence in everything you do will have others considering you to be a "winner".
- As I mentioned earlier, being confident can inspire those around you. This type of inspiration will have others viewing you as a leader because most people want to follow proven winners.
- You confidence will also bring you bigger opportunities. When you are able to work through any challenges you face and still drive to success, you will gain the trust of your leaders. This trust will lead to those coveted higher-level assignments that eventually lead to promotion.
Some people have what seems to be a natural confidence. You may even think that they were born with that confidence. But, in reality, confidence is a lot like compound interest. When you have a small success, you gain some confidence, which helps you have more success, which leads to more confidence, which leads to more success, and so on and so forth. When someone seems to be naturally confident, it is just that you are seeing them so far past their initial, awkward phase. If you find yourself in a situation where you don't have confidence, as I said in the episode on Imposter Syndrome, set as small of a goal as you can; make success almost a guaranteed outcome. Your confidence will build and grow much like a snowball rolling down a hill.
Beyond starting with small wins, another confidence building technique is to practice self-affirmation. A negative mindset can erode your confidence. When you find yourself doubting your ability to succeed, you need to act quickly to change your mindset. Make positive statements about yourself, out loud if possible. As you make these statements, take a "superhero pose". You'll be surprised how just holding a powerful pose for a few minutes can boost your confidence.
- Start by focusing on the things you KNOW you are capable of and focus on those positive aspects. Confidence builds on other confidence, so by going back to the basics, you are starting the seed of your confidence snowball.
- Next, look at the skills that you are building. Focus on how proud you are of the growth you've already made. Make positive, affirming statements about the continued growth you will experience. These statements should be along the lines of "I *will* successfully learn……" and then name the skill.
- Lastly, take the negative thoughts that you have and reframe them into statements of opportunity. Instead of saying "I _can't_" or "I'm not good at" say "Even though I do not currently have the ability, I can learn".
Another way to build confidence is to reach out to your mentors and leaders to ask for constructive feedback. They can help you identify the things you are good at (the beginning of your confidence snowball) and how those strengths are positive for the team. This assessment can be a big confidence boost. They can also help you plan your next areas of growth. Competence builds confidence; the stronger you are in particular skill, the more confident you will be when using the skill. Never stop learning and refining your abilities.
Where are you in your confidence journey? Are you just starting or have you already banked some successes? Regardless of where you are, a career coach can help you build your confidence. If you need a career coach, reach out to me via the Contact Form at ManagingACareer.com (https://www.managingacareer.com/contact/). I'll schedule an introductory session where we can talk about your career goals and determine if we would be a good fit for coaching. If we are, we can arrange regular sessions to help you put your career on the fast track to advancement.