Trying to improve our leadership, communication or influence skills on-our-own, without other people, is like trying to learn coding without a computer. 

We practise our R, Python, or other programming skills by:

• writing lines of code, 
• seeing what happens, 
• searching for bugs and googling or asking more senior practitioners, 

OVER AND OVER again.

Practical exercises, and capstone projects all help. 

Similarly, for 'soft' skills involving humans, we need to learn by doing i.e. practising in different circumstances and evolving our style based on the feedback we get. Our interaction with others is what allows us to see what works FOR US and them. And, actively reflecting as we learn, including with the help of a professional guide, is invaluable. 

In my experience, consultants are generally better at these skills, often because they've been exposed to a variety of situations, projects and people, giving them many more opportunities to observe, reflect and practise, including from early in their careers. Almost like a 'soft' skills bootcamp! 

One memorable analogy someone from the Isle of Man shared with me in a recent conversation: It's like "reading a book on Kung Fu and then going to a fight"!

What other analogies come to mind that could help to visualise this?

One of the best things about our work is interacting with high-potential professionals. And, often the ones who seek us out are ambitious go-getters who are thinking about their careers over the longer-term, or experienced professionals exploring what's next.  

It's a particular delight when the professional puts in advance effort to think about their goals and their key questions, as this makes any mentoring or coaching session so much more valuable. 

Our philosophy for career management starts with self-awareness i.e. knowing ourselves well, plus what we want to achieve / who we want to be next. Only then can we: 

• make improvements that help us to move towards our goals, and 
• track our progress over time, learning more about ourselves as we do. 

If we're not proactive, we could end up where we didn't want to go! 

For example, I love these questions I was asked in a recent conversation: 

• What should I be doing right now to support my long-term career vision? 
• What could I be doing to make my experience and skills more relevant globally? 

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What career questions do YOU have? 
How could our professional mentors and career coaches help you?

A common goal of our proteges is to reach (and thrive in) the C-Suite. And, a number of our professional mentors have experience of C-Suite roles, including as CEOs, CFOs, CROs and more – they’re available for one-on-one discussions with our proteges, who can book sessions with them to explore their personal circumstances, ambitions and strengths, usually at rates of between £100 and £200 per hour session. 

One of our proteges told us about an interactive executive education programme from a prestigious US university which costs over $4000 per participant for a roughly 10-hour group programme excluding breaks and the final certificate awarding ceremony. Steep, but clearly valuable to some as the programme has run multiple times. However, as many others can’t invest such sums in their careers yet, this post discusses alternatives, including a book by executive advisor and coach Cassandra Frangos (usually selling for $10-$20) and some of our free Routes to the Top articles. 

One of the big challenges is that there is a variety of possible paths to the C-Suite, and the right path for any one person depends on a range of factors. Their mix of experience, including operational and strategic. Their appetite to take risk (including moving organisations and/or locations for different opportunities, or starting their own ventures). The networks they’ve developed, and followership they have. Timing. Capitalising on opportunities that arise suddenly. And more… Which is why at Protagion we strongly encourage proteges with this goal to gather input from a range of sources, including professional mentors and coaches with their interests at heart. Knowing themselves well is crucial too, especially knowing why they personally want to be in the C-Suite (given the significant – and sustained – effort it takes). 

Read more to explore common reasons professionals aim for the C-Suite, possible pathways to get there, and some general tips to help you boost your chances. We also link to some of our past ‘Routes to the Top’ articles covering different industries or disciplines, plus an excerpt from our ‘Managing a Business’ panel discussion during our Professional Development Conference. Please do enjoy reading further, and reach out if we can help on your journey.