Feeling stifled in your career? Wishing that corner office was your next step instead of the upgraded cubicle down the hall?

What have you done to become the leader you want to be? Waiting for someone else to decide your fate is just that…waiting. Sometimes, you just have to make a move.

Earlier in my career I worked for a magazine as an advertising salesperson. This was not an easy job as the competition kicked our butt every month in ad sales. Feeling the editor’s frustration and irritated myself because I didn’t know how many more calls I could make or how much more spin I could put on our magazine, I started doing research and asking some questions.

• What were they doing that we weren’t?
• What did I have control over that could be changed?
• I started calling some of my friends in the industry and asked “What can we do better?”
• I did a little sleuthing and found out how they worked their pricing
• I studied the structure of their company to see how they operated.
• The most important question I asked was, “How can I help the company and get what I want at the same time?”

Then I put the information together and developed a plan for our department. I wrote myself into the plan as the Director of Advertising. I also wrote into the plan that we needed to hire another salesperson. Bold? Maybe, but I had done my homework and I could back up all the recommendations I had outlined in the presentation, including my own promotion. In a four hour car ride to a client’s wedding, I presented the editor with the plan. By the time we arrived, I had a new job and a new office.

Do you see areas of improvement you could make in your department? How can you take on a leadership role that will benefit the company? Are you sick of the competition beating you out? Start doing your homework, ask the questions and study the industry. My plan focused on bringing in more revenue for the company, not just my promotion. Being a leader isn’t just picking a new title, being a leader means earning it.

Question: What have you done to make a move and earn your next role as a leader?