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Building Influence Before You Need It

People who reach the top of the career ladder rarely start building relationships when they need a promotion. They invest in trust long before a vacancy appears. That means helping colleagues solve problems, sharing credit openly and keeping promises on small tasks, so that when a bigger opportunity arises, others already vouch for you. Senior leaders consistently say they promote people they know will deliver and will not create unnecessary friction.

Influence also depends on understanding what your senior stakeholders care about. Before proposing an idea, ask what pressures they face: revenue targets, risk, customer complaints or deadlines. Then frame your proposal in terms of their priorities, not only your own. A short, clear message that links your work to their goals is far more persuasive than a long list of tasks completed.

Deliberate Practice: The Habit of Masters

Stories such as Kobe Bryant's early-morning training sessions show that elite performance is rarely accidental. Psychologist Anders Ericsson described deliberate practice as focused effort on specific weaknesses, with immediate feedback and constant adjustment. Simply repeating what you already do well keeps you comfortable, but it does not make you better.

You can apply the same principle at work. Choose one skill that matters in the next role, such as presenting to executives, negotiating or managing a team, and break it into small components. Practise each one, ask a trusted colleague for candid feedback and review the results weekly. Over months, this steady approach separates people who plateau from those who keep climbing.

• Pick one specific skill rather than a vague goal.
• Set a measurable target and a deadline.
• Seek feedback from someone who will be honest.
• Record what worked and repeat it.

Overcoming a Plateau

Almost every career hits a flat period when progress seems to stall. Often the cause is not lack of talent but a mismatch between past strengths and new demands. The skills that made you an excellent individual contributor, for example, may not be the ones needed to lead others. Recognising this honestly is the first step to moving forward.

Start by asking three people you trust where they see your biggest gap. Compare their answers, identify the pattern and build a six-month plan to close it. Consider taking on a stretch project, finding a mentor who has made the transition you want or moving sideways to learn a new part of the business. A plateau is frequently a signal to broaden your experience before the next step up.

Staying Power: Resilience and Teamwork

Reaching a senior position is one challenge, but remaining there is another. Those who last tend to share two traits: resilience and a team-first attitude. Setbacks, restructures and difficult bosses are inevitable, and leaders who treat them as information rather than personal defeat recover faster and make better decisions under pressure.

The same applies to collaboration. Companies like Pixar and Motown succeeded because their leaders focused on bringing talented people together and letting them do their best work, not on claiming the spotlight. Golfer Danny Willett's phrase, "it's we," captures this well. If you consistently make those around you more effective, your value to the organisation grows, and so does your security at the top.