Becoming an executive is one thing, but being award-winning is another story. The corporate ladder is high and it takes more than academic qualifications to get to the top, with competition emerging here and there. If you are aspiring to become an award-winning executive, here’s a list of what it takes to become one.
Education and Experience
While education is important, it is not everything. It is somehow useless without experience. These two go practically hand in hand. Your bachelor’s degree would be more important to an organization if you have at least five years’ experience in the industry. A fresh graduate with a master’s degree rarely becomes an executive as a first job. You need to have as much work experience as you can if you plan to make it to the top. Grab every opportunity to attend leadership training that will help increase your marketability and boost your confidence. It will also increase your management skills for future uses.
Updated Training
Remember, no matter what position you are in, training doesn’t stop. Learning is an ongoing process for everyone, including executives. You need to keep up to date on your industry.The good news is that training nowadays is not as infrequent and expensive as they used to be. There are many online training courses you can readily take to improve your knowledge and retain skills you already have. One advantage of online training is that you can easily access it whenever you need a refresher or need to retake it for whatever purpose it may serve. Bottom line, never stop learning.
Specialized Field
The corporate world is wide and vast. You can’t just hop from one industry to another, hoping to get to the top by doing so. If you find something you’re good at, regardless of the industry, focus on it and make sure you grow professionally there. Have a specialization. It gives you greater efficiency, making you more sought after in a particular domain. For example, someone who is a Master of Accountancy, Master of Science in Accountancy or with an MBA having an accounting concentration knows more than someone who is in general accounting. Look for an online training platform that will suit your professional growth needs to help you market yourself better.
Accreditation
Sometimes, we think that because we have a master’s degree, it’s okay to forego accreditation. This mindset must be changed if you want to excel and be known in your chosen field. Accreditation is driven by industry standards that will help you be ahead of the game. Whatever expertise you have, have it accredited so you can officially be an SME of the skill you are known to be good at. This will add to your value in the organization.
Management System Background
Since you are headed to the top, you need to know the ins and outs of management. For this reason, it is critical for you to focus on learning management system. It will assist you in understanding your own unit’s contribution better. The data from management system is useful in seeing the bigger picture of what resources you need versus what you need to deliver. Gone are the days when everything is done manually and goals are mere approximations. With management system, you actually have a concrete set of data that will help you drive strategic goals. With this, a strategic sourcing certification will also be beneficial.
Human Resource Context
Without HR, organizations cannot build valuable teams, although it easily gets overlooked. As a leader, you must ensure that there is a good employee training platform to increase the efficiency and improve the performance of your team. You also have to make sure that HR compliance training is not missed out; else, it’s going to pose risks to the rights and welfare of the employees. In general, human resource must be given enough focus to achieve the organization’s goals, given that they are responsible for maximizing employee performance.
Critical Thinking
Being an executive is more than just having that sophisticated job title. To be a good leader, you need to be a critical thinker. It requires a lot of decision-making from the smallest to the biggest subject matter. As such, you need a sound, analytical mind. Your cognitive skills must be sharp as the organization is looking up to you for direction and guidance, and one incorrect decision might lead to business losses. In order to stimulate your sensory information, look for motor control sources that will help advance your physiological and psychological skills.
About Erica Caramol:
Erica Caramol is the Strategic Account Manager at Coggno.com, a website that aggregates online training courses and also offers a free Learning Management System.
