Career Progression for Marketing Executives

Speaker A: Welcome to this Cambridge Marketing College webinar. Uh, my name is Neil Wilkins, and we're going to focus today on career progression for marketing executives. Now, the principles that we're going to focus on apply to all forms of marketing career development, but we're going to focus down into marketing executives as a really good kind of foundation, if you like, uh, for developing a career both professionally, but also to enjoy it and also to get some personal satisfaction and growth at the same time. So we're going to look at how to build capability, how to take kind of control of your destiny, rather than thinking of career progression that happens, um, as a byproduct of just having a job or working somewhere specific where it's all outside of your control. We're going to figure out a way to work around a career progression that balances fitting your own smart goals kind of where you want to get to. So it is all about you and adapting that around, building capability, some visibility. So there's a personal branding thing going on here too, as well as professional confidence in a way that joins everything up and together. So just as a little reflection point, as we kind of start to build some detail around this, just think about what's the next step you want in your career? The very next one. I mean, have you defined it clearly enough to be able to walk towards it? Uh, that's the key, because a lot of people say, oh, I just want to be working in this sector, or, oh, I'd like this particular role without actually really defining it and really reflecting on some of the reasons why, maybe some of the gaps in terms of progress that you might have not been able to achieve so far, going deeper, really into the nuances of the context of your career development. So this is where we're going to go in this conversation. And it really matters because it rarely happens through just purely technical skill alone. A lot of people think, oh, well, if I'm doing some kind of professional development, I'm on a course or an apprenticeship, uh, or I'm doing some, you know, study outside of work hours, then I will be able to develop in my career. That is partially true, but there's a lot more going on. It usually depends on a mix of that capability, but also your visibility, your confidence, the feedback that you then work with, and clarity about where you want to go. There's a lot of guidance, a lot of research behind this that really kind of argues that career progression starts with the clarity as well as the learning experiences that help you develop and improve your professional practice in the right direction. So what we're talking about here, and this is really the key point, is that your career progression is going to be built. So we're going to create a framework that allows you to build forward rather than just think, oh, well, it's all dependent on what my boss says, or it's all dependent on the next job application I do. There's something bigger, uh, greater at, uh, play here, and this is something that you can begin to take control of. So by the end of this session, hopefully you'll be able to define a career goal using smart thinking. We all know kind of smart objectives, specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. Well, that applies here. So we're going to go deep into that. We're also going to be able to assess career current capability more honestly. In other words, actually identifying where there's gaps, identifying where there are, uh, preferences, and particularly where there are things that you're particularly strong at. We're going to look into the skills, behaviors and visibility needed to be able to take that next step. So not just doing this as a wish, but actually doing this as a structured plan. And then we're going to build a practical development plan around your own goals. So this is about turning the theory into something that's very personal for you because we're all on a different journey, we're all on a different trajectory. Some of us want to take it steadily, some of us want to really go for it. So creating this around your own smart go goals and objectives is key. And then we're going to strengthen confidence through getting evidence that you're making progress, not just guessing or hoping. Okay, so there's some real planful stuff at play here, and that's what's important about this session. So let's begin with the destination, not the activity. It's like going for a drive in a car and thinking, okay, I'm going to just get in the car, I'm just going to drive. Well, where are you going to go? Uh, well, I don't know because I'm just driving. And that's often how people think about career development. They kind of think, well, as long as I'm driving, I'm going somewhere. Whereas actually the smart career progression developers are going to be looking at this by setting the sat nav so they know where they're wanting to head. And yes, there might be diversions on route, there might be a traffic jam that you then need to navigate around, but the sat nav destination is going to drive your route map Drive your journey. So it is less about the activity and just getting yourself busy and much more about defining clearly the route that you're going to be taking by setting the SAT nav. So we're going to start with the destination, not just the activity. And a lot of career development fails because people collect courses, certificates, tasks and experiences without this clear destination. So if you start by some smart goal thinking, that will help you structure what you're actually after here. Um, you know, writing these things down as well is also really, really important. Don't just commit this to your mind, but actually start to think about this in detail. Spend some quality time reflecting on, okay, what specific things do I want not only at my next step in my career development, but maybe three or four years time, maybe five years time, you know, and get really specific about what that looks like and how that feels. Yes, it might change. Of course it might. You know, things change in life and, you know, there's a very strong sort of chance and percentage likelihood that you will want something different this time next year. But at least by actually taking some progressive steps now, uh, in a specific way, you stand a chance of actually getting somewhere. Make it measurable, in other words. Actually, how big and how bold do you want this thing to be? Or would you much rather that it was actually controlled and measured and you want to do this at a steady pace. It's all about measurement. So set some kind of standards, if you like, in terms of just how hard you want to push this thing. There is no judgment here. I'm not saying you've got to push hard. Absolutely not. For some people, that is not the way to do it. Some people don't like change. Some people like to kind of be quite steady in their progress. Other people want to really kind of, you know, put the afterburners on and achieve, you know, very, very quickly. So making a measurable, specific sort of goal is, is really, really key here. And it's very personal to you. Keep it achievable, you know, if you want to become the next Elon Musk, is that achievable? If you want to become the next Steve Jobs, is that achievable? If you want to be, you know, your sort of chief marketing officer, if you're in a larger organization, you might have somebody at the top of the tree and you think, I want to be in that role in two years time, is that achievable? So it's not about kind of putting reins on and harnessing in and saying, oh, no, I can't do this and I can't do that. But it's about some kind of pragmatic thinking. Is the goal setting that you're doing achievable? And um, I'm not saying don't stretch the goal, I'm saying actually do if you want to, but just kind of be pragmatic, be realistic I guess is the way to look at this. Is it relevant? That's the next one in our smart goal thinking. You know, there's a lot of stuff at the moment obviously focused towards AI so you know, kind of saying, I'm going to be a traditional marketer, I'm going to refuse to adopt AI well, is that relevant to the world around you? Is that relevant to the kind of business that you want to be working in? Is that kind of relevant to the sort of role that you want to see? So set relevant, achievable, measurable and specific goals here. So this is about kind of a real realism, if you like in this. And also T for time bound, this is key understanding, even though it might change and adapt and you know, sort of develop over time. Setting a time bound goal here. So am I looking at the next year for that next career move? Am I looking in two years time, three years time, five years, am I going to look actually 10 years out and think within 10 years I want to be doing in that sector? Uh, maybe in that country. You know, it's, it's very much down to you, but actually setting some time goals here, they will and can change. Okay, so this is not about saying, Neil, this is so unrealistic. It's about saying, no, I'm actually going to put in, you know, sort of, um, into a real kind of solid framework what my expectations are right here today. Knowing that these things can change. So a weak goal, for example, would be I want to make progress in my marketing career. Okay, well that's not very smart, is it? A much stronger goal would be I want to move from marketing executive to senior marketing executive within 12 months by improving campaign planning, stakeholder management and performance reporting and by taking ownership of one cross channel campaign. Well, there you go. There's a target. There's a, uh, strong kind of smart goal thinking approach that is actually going to give you the clout, clarity to get to the next step. Now there will be, as we go through this, a few little theories and little models I'm going to drop into play here and you can choose to use them and think about them as you start to reflect on where you want to go. And where you want to be, uh, but you don't have to. So not all of these are going to be at the same weight or level for you. Uh, everybody is different, everybody kind of approaches this in a subtly different way. So if some of these models work, great, experiment and play. But if some of them don't, fine. The next one might actually apply too to you. And in a short while I'm going to start to build a step by step process that will start to get you on a bit of a journey here. So we've set the goal and the first theory I want to talk about here, uh, is Bandura's self efficacy theory, which is really, really good when you start to think about career uh, progression here because the theory is actually at the heart of human agency. So this is kind of ownership and control. Um, and basically the teaching define it as, um, it's confidence in the ability to control your motiv behaviour, your performance and the environment around you that's helping you to move in your career. So it's actually being really accountable and taking responsibility. Because confidence in this regard as we look at career progression will grow when you gain evidence that this is actually all about you and that you actually are in charge of this. Um, and you've just got to take a leap of faith here and actually believe me because it is true. You know, it might feel, particularly if you are very early in your career, career journey, that it's all about others. It's all about what your boss or your line manager thinks it's all about actually the style and the culture of your organization that you currently work in. But it might not be, it might be that you're going to take that side hustle and actually make that your career goal for life. It might be that you're looking to move into a different sector. Those choices are yours. The accountability is only ever going to be you. And that's what this, this particular theory talks about. Uh, and then not just simply trying to feel more confident and say, hey, I've got this, it's all about me. Because there is that social context, there is that reality of well, this is where I am right here today. So it's not saying that's not important. But what this is saying is no, it's all about me and I'm actually in control of this. These goals, they're mine. The choices I'm going to take, those are my choices. The direction I'm going to go in, that's my direction and it isn't anybody else's. Is it when you stop and think about it, uh, it is actually yours. And by taking the next few steps, confidence will follow the evidence. You know, as you start to do real work successfully, as you see others modeling the behavior, as you receive encouragement, as you start to learn under potentially quite a lot of pressure. A lot of us are kind of under quite a lot of, um, pressure right now for a variety of reasons. But as you start to get that kind of belief in your capability that actually I am making progress, it's not always three steps forward. Sometimes it's two steps forward and one step back. You know, that old cliche, but it's so, so true. But just seeing evidence that, oh, actually, uh, I've got this actually, I am actually moving forward. And the more people, Here's a really interesting little throwaway comment for you. The more people you get in involved on this journey, the more the momentum builds. If start to tell people that this is what you're doing and this is what you're about, it is amazing how much fuel that actually gives to the evidence that helps support the fact you've got this. So it's an interesting little energy builder. This is all about flow. So we're going to get into a structure in a minute. We're going to go to step one of doing this. But the thing I want you to know is that this is all about you. Accountability stops with you. If you decide you're not going to do this, then this will not work or happen. But if you decide you will, then it can. But it won't be in isolation. It'll, uh, be with others, supporting you, guiding you, mentoring you, just giving you little bits of feedback on route. So this can be exciting. And so there is this kind of practical kind of progression that you're going to see. There's a practical progression and it comes in three parts or three sort of waves if you like. And you'll see this not only as you start out, but it will constantly happen. I mean, I am decades into my career progression and my life progression in marketing and I can tell you that this still applies to me every single day. As long as you're watching and as long as you're, uh, able to kind of absorb and kind of flow with it. And the three phases, waves or steps really are capability, visibility and confidence. With capability, it's what can I do well already and what must improve. So it's not saying I have to be perfect to progress in my career. You will not be, I promise you. There is no perfect marketer no matter what some people might tell you, um, and so you will be constantly developing and evolving as a human, but also as a professional. So, but what can I already do? Well, there'll be things that you're great at already, and those things might just be being you at the moment. That might just be enough to get you moving. But also identifying, what must I improve? Remember that phrase, continuous improvement comes into play here. That's important. So capability. What can I do well already and what must I improve? Second, one of these three waves or these three part model is visibility. Who sees the value of my work and understands my potential. Now, this is not about seeking affirmation. This is not about tell me I'm great. This is not about, oh, unless everyone loves me, I'm not succeeding. This is actually about value. The key there is the word, word value. Who is seeing the value of what you do and understands your potential? In other words, are you positioning your personal brand? And you've got one whether you like it or not, by the way, um, is it getting value in certain people's eyes? Are people getting what you do and where's the learning there if people don't get you? If people aren't understanding the value you're bringing, there's a lot of work to be done there. It's not a bad thing. It just means that there is work to do. So visibility is a key one in this model. And the third one is confidence. How clearly and calmly can I contribute? Can I ask, can I influence and can I follow through in my actions and behaviors? Now, for some of us, if you're kind of, kind of introverted, you will probably want to do this one internally. Um, but if you're extroverted, great. Go seek and talk to people and ask them, how can I contribute? How can I ask more? Um, what is my influence here in this particular action campaign, project or strategy, and how can I follow through more effectively? See if you can get feedback. Some of this will be internal. You'll kind of want to think this through, but other times you can actually be thinking about this in line with others. So the key point here is that career progression usually requires growth in all three areas, not just one. Um, so this is not a strengths and weaknesses thing. It's a thing that we can all do, all improve on, and all reflect in on an ongoing basis. And this is really consistent with a lot of research that emphasizes knowledge, behavior, behaviors and impact in professional development are the key kind of ingredients, if you like, to good, strong career development. So There we go. We've set the foundations. These are the kind of the starting pillars. But let's kind of get into some steps for your career progression. So step one, defining your target role. Clearly now, this might be a role, it might be a job, it might be a sector, it might be a new business idea that you've got. So we just say target role. Okay for now, but you can translate this in a way that works for you. So many people, they want progression, but they're only really quite vague of what the next role or the next step is now. HBR Harvard Business Review's advice on advocating for yourself begins with career clarity, because it's really hard to progress towards something you've not defined. So you can ask some really profound but really interesting little questions. What's the role I'm aiming for? What would success look like in that role? What kind of work would I own more of? And what would I need to be trusted with? So some of those kind of questions, they are kind of quite profound when you stop and think about them. This again, and I will re emphasize this, this is quality time with yourself. You've got to spend some time thinking about this. And it might not come in the first two or three answers to those questions. You might want to push yourself quite hard. Um, Brian Tracy, for example, always argues that if you're doing a little kind of mind dump when you're ask yourself a question or reflecting and planning or journaling is. The answers aren't going to come in the first two or three answers. They're going to probably come at answer 20. I kid you not, this is kind of what he says. So keep pushing the answers there to those questions because you might find that the more you push, the more you push, you're going to start to uncover some of those subconscious thoughts which could be very, very valuable as you start to develop this career plan. Step two, then, having identified and defined your target role clearly, is to assess your capability. Now remember, no judgment here. This is not about saying, I'm good at this or I'm bad at this. A lot of this is going to be. I'm kind of on a spectrum with this particular, um, sort of, um, item. I might want to just get a little bit more experience there, or I might want to do a little short tutorial or course on that particular thing, or I might want to shadow somebody who I already know is pretty darn good at that particular role or that particular function or task. It's a balance about pick and mix. It's about looking at. And for example, for marketing executives, using capability categories to see if there are any, um, identifying gaps, for example, any good habits or good performance evidence that you're looking for. Are there any professional standards here that you want to kind of achieve? So again, if you're doing a qualification, you'll know what the knowledge, skills and behaviours are, uh, in the criteria that you're going to be assessed in. All of that stuff plays into this. So some useful categories might be planning and prioritization, campaign execution, performance analysis, writing and communication, stakeholder management. That's a good one. Commercial awareness, confidence in meetings and presenting, probably. And project ownership. So reflect here maybe which one or two gaps are genuinely holding you back right now from that list. Are there things in there that you think, if I had to choose one actually, and probably that's my weakest one right now, or might not be my weakest, but maybe I'm just not as confident in that one or two as I am in some of the others. And actually at the same time as looking for the gaps, look for the big wins as well. Are there any in that list that you think, yeah, I got this, or even if I haven't got this, I'm kind of on the journey to getting it. So maybe there's one or two in here that kind of give you those sort of outer edges, if you like, of your current capability. Because then what you can do is once you know your capability gaps is you can turn those into specific progression goals because planning is only as good as the behavior that it then triggers. Okay, so the example might be, I need to become better at reporting. Okay, well that's really, really vague, isn't it? But you could set then a goal turning that gap into a smart goal, which says, over the next eight weeks, I will lead the monthly campaign performance summary for one channel in my current role. And I'll use clearer commercial commentary and recommendations and I'm going to ask for feedback from after each report. Now think about where that might take you rather than just this vague dream of I want to become better at reporting. You've set yourself a stronger smart goal based around that capability gap. That's going to give you the evidence once you've progressed. Because progress becomes easier when learning goals are attached to real work that you do. So the evidence is going to come from the before and after. So this is like an a B test. And then once you see that evidence of, okay, well, actually I did do something a little bit different and actually it was really progressive and Actually, I did make progress and look at the feedback I, uh, got. Oh, I learned something. And this does not have to be perfect. You're not looking for perfect evidence. What you're looking for is what did you learn from that? That have you turned that capability gap into something that's actually an improvement opportunity for the future? Because trust me, this can. This particular example is something you will never get perfect. I'm constantly improving and tuning and fine tuning this whole kind of turning ideas in terms of dashboards and insights into stuff that actually helps you make business decisions. So you never lose that once. It's a good one. One actually, if you want to take that one as a good example and a useful model using this kind of theory and this kind of thinking of continuous improvement or continuous progression is using CPD as a learning experience that develops and improves your professional practice. So continuing professional development, you can score points by going to little workshops or tutorials, by spending the hours and the time actually learning continuously. And you could use CPD time to learn on the job by getting feedback and then reflection by doing some stretch work, maybe pushing yourself a little beyond actually what you or your colleagues are currently doing, observing or shadowing others. That's another one that I've mentioned a couple of times. And formal learning, obviously, tutorials and top up courses where it's useful. So the key point really here is that as we're developing this career plan, it needs to be active and continuous. Okay, I think you're probably already picking this up, but it is a plan. But it's an active behavioral plan. It's not something that is an annual conversation with yourself where you think, oh, okay, did this plan, you know, back along? And now I'm looking at it again saying, yeah, still a good plan. Haven't actually done anything. I've got, um, a bit too busy at work. This has got to be something you're going to integrate into your life and into your world. If you're serious about career development and career progression, passion, this becomes a priority, no matter how busy using that word you think you are. Okay, this is important stuff if you choose. No, I'm just happy in the role I'm doing. Uh, I don't want to progress. Then that's the other choice that you're going to take. Not saying you have to go this route, but taking action is key here. And the reason is step four, which is confidence through stretch, not comfort. So confidence is going to grow through motivation, mastery. But then development, actually moving the game forward is going to need Some stretch. Now, we're not talking chaos here. We're not talking about stretch targets. Yes, I've read about those. They feel like a little bit of a kind of an elastic band kind of stretching me and kind of pulling me further and it doesn't feel comfortable. What we're looking at here is supporting the idea that growth happens through progressingly taking on, on meaningful challenges. So maybe just challenging yourself each time you do something with maybe just incrementally adding a little 1 or 2% on. So examples of using this idea of stretch, uh, particularly if you're a marketing exec, is saying, okay, I'm going to lead a campaign work stream, or maybe I'm going to present one section of a review meeting. Maybe I'm going to own a reporting pack. Maybe I'm going to start managing an external supplier who I've not actually worked with before. Maybe I'm going to write the first draft of a plan or brief that actually takes this beyond what my normal day job is. This is interesting, isn't it? Because for some of us, these are things that, okay, I've seen others do and I've not really done myself. So maybe the stretch. First of all, the first stretch is, okay, I want to shadow somebody, or I just want to spend half an hour over coffee talking to somebody who's already doing this and, uh, just seeing what the boundaries are, seeing what the expectation is and kind of what the reality is set as. So your reflection here, I would suggest, would be which stretch tasks do you currently have at, uh, your disposal, or if you were to ask for them, that would help your progression most in the next, let's say 90 days. Okay, so over the next quarter, the next 12 weeks, the next 90 days, which things would help your progression the most? If you were to just stretch a little bit beyond, because there's the evidence that's going to support your smart goals, that's going to show you and give you the confidence you're making progress. Can you see how each of these steps kind of plays backwards, upstream, uh, to the other stuff we've talked about? Progress is inevitable once you start doing these things. Step five, then, having taken that confidence step of, okay, I'm going to stretch myself and just push my boundaries. Not really. It's not a revolution. This is an evolution. Little, little steps forward, making those steps and your value that you're bringing from taking those steps more visible. Career progress depends partly on being seen doing useful, credible work. So if you've got clients or customers who you work with it's, what feedback are you getting from them? That's like, oh, wasn't expecting that, Neil. You know, you normally do it like this. But actually that was really useful what you did this month for me. If you've got colleagues, how are they feeling and talking and giving you feedback? If you've got a line manager, think about the relationship with them, them, how are they feeding stuff back to you? Make your value visible. Because building confidence deliberately in this way and making your contribution visible in a grounded way helps you to develop this momentum that I'm talking about. And this is not what you might term sort of self promotion theatre. This is not saying, hey, I'm on a career progression journey. I went to this webinar and I've read this thing and I listened to this thing and look at my plan. It's not saying that. Well, it kind of is saying that, but that's kind of hidden in the background. What it's actually saying is it's sharing your thinking clearly. It's about taking ownership visibly so being really accountable and taking responsibility. It's about showing and demonstrating you're following up. Well, probably better than you used to. It's about communicating progress. There's the value bit again. And it's about making your contribution easier to see and understand. And that particularly applies to people outside of our function. So if you're in marketing, I'm talking here about people beyond marketing. Do they actually understand the contribution you're making? And that one, believe me, is a lifelong journey, particularly for those who don't understand us that well. Sales, finance, customers. And do they really. Should they really understand everything we do? No. But if we translate it into language they understand, they're going to start to get it. So this is a really interesting thing about this interaction with others, because to this point, the plan is kind of all about us. We're in control. We're plotting it, we're reflecting, we're building this, we're journaling, we're showing our progress, we're keeping a log or a journal or a diary. But we can't do this in an ivory tower and alone. So it might be, you need a mentor, mentor. And that might help you with guiding your progress. That might help you with a, uh, kind of a nice sort of sounding board that gives you that feedback that, okay, it's not just from my perspective, I'm kind of getting this feedback from others. And yeah, what I'm seeing and feeling is reality. That's a good part of getting a mentor. Sponsorship can Also work, can you get a sponsor within your organization? I mean this could help with your public advertising advocacy, um, and also could help with m meaningful career support. If you get somebody from outside of your function and your discipline, somebody else in the business or the organization who is your sponsor. I mean that can carry a lot of weight and particularly if they're in a more senior kind of role. I saw this work for me beautifully when I got early in my career a director who was a, uh, sponsor of me and they were talking about me to others in the organization even when I wasn't around around. It was such a useful piece of advocacy. So think about who could you get to help you deliver your smart goals? You know, they don't have to do a huge amount, but just the fact they're there can be really, really good to give you this relational authenticity if you like, through the work that they do and through just kind of dropping you into conversation as a really useful member of the team or a collaborator, that can really, really help, help. So step six is this thing about building your support network. Career development really relies on a useful career network. And this can be internally within the organization, but of course it can be outside. It can be building a network within the industry, within the role that you have, within where you want to go. Think of those smart goals into the future. You know, if you're not out there and if you're not on LinkedIn and you're not kind of doing, doing stuff that makes you visible and part of the bigger conversation, then you're not developing necessarily in the way you need to. So a useful career network often includes manager for feedback, stretch and opportunity, a mentor for perspective and your own learning, a sponsor for that wider advocacy and visibility, and of course peers for that day to day support for the learning and honestly honestly giving you a comparison as to how you're doing versus how they're doing doing or how they've seen others do. And so this distinction is very, very well supported by a lot of research, including Harvard again and their work on mentorship and sponsorship. So think about who currently helps your development and what kind of support out of this list and maybe more broadly is actually missing to help you get to where you want to get to. Uh, and not necessarily that final goal, but the next few stages, the next few steps, steps into the future. Step seven. We're almost getting to the end of our nine step uh, process here. So step seven is then seeing feedback as a progression tool. You can't really do career progression without taking Feedback. Okay, so the feedback that's going to come in, whether you like it or not, needs to be really, really honest. So useful feedback questions that you're going to be seeking will be things like, like what am I already trusted for? What would make me more promotable if it's within the organization, or more recruitable if you're looking for something outside in the future, what am I doing that limits my impact currently? And what would you, as the stakeholder here from that previous step, what would you need to see from me over the next six months for me to demonstrate that I've actually progressed, so I am actually making progression that gives that more value? And we call this kind of feedback loop a 360 degree feedback. Okay, so it's coming not just from you in the direction outwards, but it's coming from the world back into you. And the key point here is that feedback is most useful when it's specific enough to change your behavior. So don't take feedback, even if it's what you don't want to hear. It's like, oh, Neil, you absolutely bombed in that last campaign. It failed. You underperformed. You were too busy and distracted. You didn't kind of plan that outright. Um, you had one eye on that other project you were doing over there. It just did not work. You don't take that one to heart necessarily personally. But what you're saying is okay within that feedback, and that was really poor feedback. Was it? Actually, it was very good feedback, if you take it from an honest truth, because then you can turn that feedback into okay as a progression tool. What are the learnings in each of those little pieces of information I've just gleaned? Well, it's to prioritize more. Okay, let's get some prioritization techniques. What little courses can I do, little short tutorials? Let's get onto YouTube and learn prioritization, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. So all of that feedback is going to give you an opportunity to learn. So that is what we're doing here, huh? And feedback can often be tough to hear. Sometimes it's not what you want to hear because you're always looking to do a good job. Of course you are. You're not looking to fail in anything you do. We know that. But failure is not underperforming. Failure is where you fail to learn from whatever happened. So whatever the result of the thing that you did. And remember, every decision, every action has a consequence. It could be a, uh, positive consequence, but it also could Be a negative consequence. But if you think about it from a kind of Zen sort of Buddhist tradition condition, it will be. It is just a consequence. It has neither good nor bad connotations. It's just, that's what happened. Okay, so from what happened, if I take my emotion out of it, what can I learn? As soon as you load your emotion into it, things start to, uh, change. Things start to kind of cloud judgment. They cloud how much you then want to take on. So try and use what we call psychological capital. Because what it does is it balances the four states that enhance well being and performance in whatever happens. Okay, so the career interpretation is hope. I can see a route forward from that feedback, irrespective of whether it was, oh, it hit me between the eyes, it was so strong and powerful and it wasn't nice. I can still see a route forward because I can learn from that efficacy. I believe I can do it. So I believe I can actually turn that concept consequence that happened, that result from that campaign, I can turn into a behavior and some learning that can actually take me on that next step. Resilience. That's the next one which says I can recover from a setback because sometimes it's going to feel like you've been hit by a ton of lead and it's like, oh, no, this whole world is crumbling around me and I cannot get through that. Well, you can. Resilience again is another thing that you can learn better to do and to do more of and to be more resilient when the going gets tough. Because on the journey at times it will. Okay, it's just a fact of life. You probably know it right now because for a lot of us, times are tough right now. And the fourth psychological capital is optimism, uh, believing that improvement is impossible. And that again goes back to this principle of with every action and every result is a consequence or an outcome. And that consequence is neither good nor bad. Bad. It could be positive or it could be negative, but it's neither good nor bad. And if I take that view of it's neither good nor bad, then I can stay optimistic that I can learn. So the key point here is that growth is not about skill, but sustaining the motivation and staying constructive. When things feel slow, when they don't feel like, it feels particularly positive. And when that you can't see the wood from the trees because, because on this journey from time to time, that is going to happen. It is as simple as that. Uh, it will just happen. So if that's an inevitable, you can Just live with it, you can just work with it, it's fine. And step eight will then help you to build this professional confidence that you've got this. Because if you know to this point that everything has an output, everything has an outcome, every decision's got a consequence, and they are just what they are and everything is a learning opportunity. There he goes again, another cliche. But it is so, so true. You realize cliches actually are, ah, there for a reason. They're often quoted because they are the truth. You know, they're kind of often quoted, over quoted because people get a bit tired of them, but they have to be seen as well. They are the truth, actually. So building professional confidence comes from how confident you contribute, not by just how much you know. So if you repeatedly point to clarity, if you repeatedly question, if you repeatedly look back at this grounded contribution of value and these will be your visible signs of growth, then you can continue on your journey confidently. And by being confident, you will find that other people just latch on to you. It is quite irresistible. It's very magnetic. Confident people just attract confident others, they attract opportunity. So this is going to help to fuel you as you go. So practical ways you can start to feel this confidence coming through in this journey are, uh, preparing one point before each meeting that you want to get across in that meeting. Don't just turn up to a meeting that's got an agenda with nothing to contribute. You know, every meeting should have an agenda. And by the way, if a meeting doesn't have an agenda, it's not a meeting you need to be at. Uh, it's going to waste your time. So make sure you've always planned in advance and then you can professionally confidently contribute and then you'll feel good and you'll make a contribution that has a consequence. And what can we learn from that that we can then learn from that consequence? Ask one useful question. So actually, if you're in a situation that will build professional confidence, every conversation, every meeting, every presentation that you attend, ask one useful question that's got to be on your list of things to do, do. So don't just sit there quietly. You might be like me who likes to kind of reflect and ponder. Maybe it takes time to ask a question, but make that your mission, every encounter that you have, and summarize your recommendations. Clearly people love that. People absolutely love. What's the key takeaway here in every interaction that you have that will build confidence in you? Because people will say, oh, you know, that nearly always just summarizes it so clearly. And of course, AI is your friend here. If you're not very good at doing that right now, you can start to learn how AI does it, because it is so, so good at that. Those little executive summaries of the big report, you know how it works, linking your view to evidence as well. So actually saying, okay, this is how I'm feeling or thinking about this particular situation, um, but here's the evidence that kind of backs it up. That's going to give you confidence that you're actually talking. Talking not just from the heart, but from the head as well. And that is a potent balance, the head and the heart working together in every communication or aspect that you do. Again, that's very, very hard to argue against when somebody comes to it with passion, but they come to it with evidence as well. And avoid apologizing for every contribution. Don't just go in with an apologetic way and say, oh, sorry, but can, uh, I just add, uh, why are you so sorry? No, just add. It's that kind of thing that we Brits typically do. I've tried to train myself over recent years to not apologise for everything, say, oh, I'm sorry, I can't do such and such. No, don't be sorry. It's not sorry, you just can't do that. But what you can do is this. So making. Turning that kind of, that apology into something that's actually a positive, proactive alternative or other, that's a really key thing. Because confidence, confidence isn't judged through loudness. People often say, oh, well, he or she's the most confident person in the room, and it's because they're just noisy. It isn't judged by how noisy they are. And I tried this because I'm not a noisy person. In fact, in a bigger, uh, kind of gathering, I'm probably one of the quietest people in the room. But I'm often judged through clarity and usefulness. So I just try to limit my contributions to the things that really make sense. And I know then, and I've seen this over the years, is when I do talk, people listen. It's like, oh, Neil's going to add his little piece in here, and people actually then listen. And it's not because I've got the best idea, necessarily, but it's because I'm very, uh, discerning, I guess, in terms of the numbers of things I say. And that helps me because I haven't got a huge amount to say. A lot of the time it takes me time to Kind of come up with some contribution and answers because I'm a huge reflector so I have to use that to my advantage and then try and filter through all the small kind of things that I have and come up with the best one and then contribute that. So rather than being loud, you can do it in your own way. So that's a useful little thing for the introverts in the room here. If that feels like it's you and there are other introverts in marketing, trust me, then that might help. So let's try and get this into a little bit of a structure. So turning at step nine here, the goals that we we have into a bit of a plan. So use this structure to kind of really rationalize everything we do. Think about my target role, think about my smart progression goal or goals, think about my top three capability gaps just to kind of get me moving and I can drop other things in and out of that mix as I need to. Think about my stretch experiences that I need to have in place there to just incrementally improve my myself against or get some experience against some of those gaps. Think about my visibility actions. Remember that's your personal brand position. Think about my support network. You're not doing this alone. So who do I need around me? Not to overload them with stuff to do, but just to give me feedback in what I need and then check my feedback checkpoints. How often do I want to get feedback? Often. Am I going to do these kind of reflective journaling again, this plan and what are my review dates? Are these going to be daily, monthly, weekly, quarterly, annually? I need to kind of set some KPIs against those review dates. And this is a real personal plan. This is a bespoke learning plan approach which is really, really helpful for many of us to have and keeping it live is key. So here's a simple little example here. If your goal is again going back to being or moving into this senior marketing executive role, say maybe within 12 months capability goals could be. I'm going to lead one campaign plan. I'm going to improve performance reporting by X amount and I'm going to strengthen my stakeholder confidence. So the visible actions I'm going to take are as I'm going to present monthly results once per quarter. I'm going to own one briefing meeting and I'm going to share campaign learnings with my manager. The support actions I'm going to need here. I'm going to have a monthly mentor conversation manager, um, feedback every six weeks and I'M going to identify one senior advocate if I can. That's a big game changer, that one, if you can do it. And then the next one is a stronger than generic. Develop my leadership skills. My ambition is now much more specific, it's much more measurable and it's much more role linked. So I'm going to work to my preferences and I'm going to actually turn things that are just kind of these wishes and dreams into actual behaviors. So I've got an active plan here that I can measure and monitor. Uh, and remember, it's about gathering the evidence that you're making progress. Because once you get that, both you and others around you are going to notice and that's the fuel to your plan. And what we're going to be doing just purely by doing that, is we're going to be avoiding the common mistakes. So waiting for confidence before acting. Well, you can see that that doesn't happen. You've got to take some steps, steps before you get the confidence to know those steps are working. Setting vague goals. Oh, uh, how many people do you know who have just got this woolly little dream, oh, I want to do that. And then they're sat there a year later and it's like, how have you progressed? Well, I haven't. I'm going to probably try that tomorrow. Good luck. It's not going to happen, is it? You can just tell from what we've talked about already that setting vague goals is the biggest pitfall you can find. Collecting courses without applying them. You know that perfect CV without any, any application ain't gonna work. So you've got to put this stuff into practice. And of course those of you who are on an apprenticeship right now, you know that that is the core of the apprenticeship, that's the biggest value you're going to get, is putting the stuff, the theory, the models, the learning into practice. That's your portfolio that you're building. So you're already doing this in part. Another common pitfall is assuming good work always gets noticed. No, it doesn't, does it? Because you could be doing stuff that's well hidden. It's the best kept secret in the business. So think about how maybe if it's commercially, um, available to share in public, you're putting it on your LinkedIn profile. If it's private or it has to be commercially sensitive, then just sharing it with colleagues. Think about how and where you're going to build your brand. A lot of people as well avoid feedback. They just don't want to Know they want to put their head in the sand and if I don't ask, I'm not going to get the feedback, so therefore I'm not going to get hurt. But we know that doesn't hurt if you've got the right mindset about where you can take that feedback. So don't avoid feedback, seek it out relying on one technical skill. You know there is an argument that says specialist skills win. So if you are the best in the business at AI, for example, well then great, that is a skill. It is a technical skill that's going to be really helpful to the business. But is that all you need need or is it a breadth of personal and technical skills that is going to actually help you on a higher trajectory or actually get to that role that you want? I would say it's a mix and a balance using technical skills. But as part of a mix, it's part of a toolkit that we're looking for here. And also this is a key, common mistake is comparing your path too closely with someone else's. Again, it's this FOMO thing, it's this, oh, but look how many followers they've got. Or oh, look, uh, they just seem to be getting on or oh, they earn more than I do. But how have they done that? You know, they're on a different trajectory to you, they might have a different end game, they might be going off in a different direction to you, they might be just about to stall, who knows? And actually you could argue who cares? Because with your nine step plan that you're going to actually be activating, you are on your journey. So don't compare too closely. It doesn't mean, don't benchmark yourself, it doesn't mean do this in isolation, but just be careful not to overthink this. Work on your own career blocks, work on your own um, paths, work on your own pathway. Remember, your sat nav is set for your career, not for somebody else's. And so people who don't achieve in this, they lack the clarity, they lack the visibility, the over reliance eye on kind of other people and they just really just do the silent hard work without getting recognized for it. So a lot of these mistakes you will see if you stop and reflect and watch others that may be around you or maybe friends or colleagues who you know, have uh, not progressed on as far as you might have thought they would. This is why they potentially are falling into that trap. So once you're on your career pathway, you're actually making progression. Maybe it's Time to maybe have a little chat with them over a coffee and say, look, I'm just kind of, uh, I produce this little plan. Don't know if it's of use to you, but here you go, just have a little look and see what you think. So maybe actually becoming somebody else's mentor is as good a reason for actually the mentorship thing is actually you getting a mentor yourself. I don't know, everybody's different. We're all on a very different journey. So the key kind of takeaways here as you think about your own, own personal, accountable and responsible career progression, as hopefully now you realize it is all about you, it is all down to you. The key takeaways are, uh, that they're strongest when it is individual, when it's evidence based, and of course, as I've said so many times here, when it's tied to your own smart goals. So if you work through these step by step processes, you will identify those and then the real task then is to combine your capability, ongoing improvement there, with visibility, ongoing improvement there, and the confidence which will come through from the evidence of all of the above in a way that fits your target role and the current gaps that you have in your portfolio or your skills or just your pure experience because you haven't yet encountered some of the things that you need to do, do to make that progression. And this way makes progression really practical. It makes it much more measurable and of course it makes it way more likely to happen. So I'd like you to think as we close this session now, uh, your closing kind of task really here is what is the single, just start with one thing, single most important progression step you need to take in the next 30 days. Remember that little reflection we had right at the start, which was kind of, okay, okay, how am I doing on this whole thing? Well, okay, in the next 30 days, what is the most important progression step you need to take? Because if you can align that first little step, because it is all about taking the first step with your ongoing kind of smart goals to help you achieve that new role that you're looking for into the future, it might be internally, it might be somewhere else, don't know. It's down to you, you to decide. But that next first big step that you need to take is going to be the one that will start to build this momentum. And I would suggest that momentum is going to become irresistible not only for you, but also for those around you. So the very, very best of luck. This is how you construct career progression you might be a marketing exec looking for that next role. You might be in a completely different role. But just thinking, okay, okay, I can use that kind of framework and structure to do this. Uh, it does require commitment. You're not going to be able to do this as a one time activity. But hey, it does sound pretty good, doesn't it? Taking accountability and responsibility for your own career, because that is the way to progress into the future.