So September has drawn to a close which means that the new intake of graduates have had a month to bed into their new lives as young professionals. There have been 30 arrive in my department recently and the other day I stood up in front of them all to give a talk about Professional Development.

It was an important discussion for a number of reasons, firstly I explained the company’s process for heading up the ladder. There were the usual questions around how long does it take for promotion and what training is there. I stressed the point that it was difficult to put a time frame on the astronomic rise of a talented graduate…but more importantly I stressed that going out of your way to gain promotions and attempting to fast track yourself up the ladder isn’t necessarily the best way to go about things and can often lead to a glass ceiling at junior management.

If graduates direct their effort into delivering the highest quality work whilst demonstrating the behaviours of a leader then the professional success will naturally follow at a pace that will allow excellent prospects at senior management levels.

Don’t  forget that the way you go about your work is as important as delivery…but it shouldn’t take precedent…you need a good balance, that way you will stand out in comparison to other high performing graduates vying for similar roles in the business. It isn’t a crime if you purely focus on delivery, however you may find it harder when it comes to behavioural and strategic interview questions for managerial positions.

It occurred to me as I was explaining the development process that the management structure of the business hadn’t been explained to them. I asked the group an outright question whether they understood it…the common response was ‘yeah yeah’ with a few nods. Fair play to one of the guys who actually spoke out and said ‘No, could you explain’. I like honesty and I also like it when people seek understanding so I happily explained…much to the relief of the rest of the room.

The session went well from then on and I encouraged open questions about both the department and their development.

When I called for one final question, it came from the same guy who had asked about the management structure. He asked ‘What one piece of advice would you give us to help our progression?’ What a great question, one I had to take a second to give it the justice it deserved…I went with the following…see if you agree (bearing in mind I had a few seconds to answer it)?

“I would say the single most important thing for your own progression is very good self awareness, it allows you to take a step back to view the impact of every action or inaction you take…not just the impact on those around you but also the impact on yourself. It allows you to catch yourself before you come across as an arrogant so and so…It allows you to ultimately not be the guy or girl everyone hates. A heightened self awareness in my view nurtures the right environment for a high performer to succeed.”