Mentor Myth by Debby Carreau

Author:Debby Carreau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

The Fourth C: Competence

Much of the advice about getting ahead in the workplace is related to things like being a good public speaker, networking effectively, or keeping up a great social media presence. Don't get me wrong, these elements—along with many others—are important if you are going to take control of your career; all of the Four Cs are important. But one foundational element is often left out of the equation because it's a little more obvious and a little less sexy than a topic like executive presence. I am talking about competence, the ability to be good at the day-to-day mechanics of your job. Without this, nothing else matters.

There is an argument to be made that being a great pretender or having enough grit (a new buzzword—I have a whole shelf devoted to books on grit) is enough to make you succeed in business. Everyone knows that guy who's amazing at making himself sound like the most important, well-connected person on the planet. He might have talked himself into an impressive job or even an accelerated series of promotions (ever heard of the Peter Principle, aka being "promoted to your own level of incompetence"?).6 But eventually, he will be asked to manage a team, write a proposal, or build a cost model—stuff he's bragged about doing but clearly never done—and it will all fall apart. Faking it can take you far, but eventually you hit the reality wall. The same goes for people who think that if they just work hard enough they will succeed. Again, being a hard worker is critical to success, but you need more than hard work. You need to be strategic about your goals, you need to understand your skill set, and you need to apply that skill set to getting the right things done.

Unfortunately, so many people are so focused on building their bright future that they forget to assess whether they have the tools to succeed in the present. You can dream big dreams and feel like you are killing yourself to make them happen, but are you doing your actual day-to-day job well? I see this problem crop up most often in ambitious young people. They are usually well educated and very invested in their career. They might even be a little bored by their analyst or entry-level engineering role. But in the midst of plotting their success, networking with the executive team, and building an app, they neglect the job their manager needs them to do on a daily basis. Please, don't forget to keep an eye on the tasks in your job description. If you do, it will come back to haunt you. This is not an uncommon mistake; I can't tell you how often I see it in my line of business.

I am focusing here on the younger age group because in my consulting work I constantly encounter driven young people who don't understand why they have been at their job a year and are not being promoted. They assume that their impressive degree and internships are enough to put them on the fast track.

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