Understanding how your Boss became your Boss
December 12th, 2006 by Endless Aspiration
When I interact with my coworkers I see two types of people. First, there are the people who look at upper management and name all the reasons why they can’t get to that level. Second, the people who have no idea how they got there. I work in a public accounting firm so “upper management” consists of the partners in the firm. For the staff people most conversation about the partners revolves around how they bring in business. As staff we understand the work that needs to be done to complete our jobs, but we have no insight into how partners bring in business so it is natural for us to wonder about how they bring in clients.
The people who know why they can’t get there will probably never make it. The pessimists know all the specifics on the unfair advantages the partners have. Either the partners have put themselves into a specific niche, or have relatives with connections, or the firm supports them. They know all the reasons why the partners do not deserve their status and are lacking an understanding of why they deserve their position.
The people who do not understand how the partners get their clients but are willing to learn generally look at the process as some big mystery. They think “there is a training program for potential partners, so that must be how they learn how to network and bring in business”. This is completely wrong. The partners who are truly successful at bringing in business have been working at it a long time. They are very experienced at selling themselves, they understand what people want, they have a deep understanding of their profession, and they know how to put themselves in situations where they can meet potential clients. All those traits can be learned from working at becoming a successful networker.
Networking is tough work, but if you work hard at it and are successful you can reap the rewards for a long time. Most staff people at my level weren’t around to see what the partners had to do in order to build their client list. They arrived in time to see the partner sitting back and enjoying his previous success at networking. So all they see is a guy who plays a lot of golf and doesn’t seem to be earning the salary he is making, when in fact all the effort he put into networking is now being rewarded.
What does working hard at networking consist of? Putting yourself in a social situation where there are people who could potentially help your career and start a conversation with them. Evaluate how well you were able to convey your abilities. Are you comfortable contacting the person in the future? What can you do to be more successful the next time you are trying to meet people? All those successful partners went through this process at some time and succeeded. Because of that success they make a lot of money for what seems to be very little work. I suggest the next time you want to complain about your boss, figure out what he did to get there.
moneysmartlife Says
Good point. I think we can apply that same principle to most things we complain about. Instead of bitching about the negatives, figure out how to make it into a positive. Of course, sometimes it feels good to just complain away!
Dec 13th, 2006 at 1:56 am
MollysBrother Says
Excellent post. I am amazed at how limited certain mindsets can be in terms of their professional future. Networking is hard work, but it definitely is one of the keys to success.
Dec 13th, 2006 at 3:30 am