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Dumb question, but how do people advance to Directors and VPs?

4,842 Views | 32 Replies | Last: 6 yr ago by $30,000 Millionaire
lancevance
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Let's assume in an engineering or information technology environment. As in what skills do they have that the average engineer or IT guy does not?

Jaydoug
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AG
In Engineering, it's about leading people. Go from production/calculations/specifications/designing under supervision to doing so while supervising a couple people. Work your way up to a lead engineer, then to project engineering/project management or department head. Then on to a myriad of roles.

Communication capability is paramount. Planning. Shepherding. Leading People. One Minute Manager type stuff. Knowing personalities and fitting roles to souls.
Dr. Horrible
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Brown nosing
Picard
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Dr. Horrible said:

Brown nosing


/thread
bmks270
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Be a better persuader and politician than engineer.
AggieArchitect04
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Sex.

Or nepotism.

Or if you live in Arkansas it could be a combination of the two.
_lefraud_
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If you have to ask...


/texags
cjo03
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Know someone.

The tech folks I have seen promoted internally (without known connections) are the people who can consistently and succinctly explain complex problems to their non-technical partners.
ORAggieFan
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Be able to kickass at what you do and also be great at managing and talking to people. Having a great mentor or two helps as does a boss motivated to grow careers of his/her people.
MemphisAg1
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No magic formula, but here's a few ingredients:

-- acquire a wide range of experience instead of a narrow, expert skill set.
-- work in a variety of locations
-- communicate well
-- be an active learner
-- treat challenges as opportunities instead of problems
-- make your career aspirations known, and work with your manager to create developmental opportunities
-- with your boss's support, get to know his/her manager well.
-- put in the extra effort routinely to excel at your current position.
Pound the Rock
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AG
Jaydoug and Memphisag pretty much summed it up.
OasisMan
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mouth hugs
E
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Learn to delegate
knoxtom
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I just don't think any of these answers are the way to reach executive level.

Becoming an executive is about one thing... bring in business.

If clients start saying they will only come aboard if you are leading the teamor if you go out and find work for the team, then you will become a director or VP.

Basically the leaders above you have one thought about you. If they think you will leave the job and clients will follow you or if they think you will leave and bring in new clients for yourself, then they will consider making you an executive when you demand it.


All the other answers were BS. Does you boss really communicate and lead well? Or does the team mostly gripe and think him being gone would be better. He is where he is for one of two reasons, either he is the owner's son or he brings in business. Nothing else really matters.
Ulrich
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This is right in commercial/sales/business development or at companies whose primary function is in that realm, but IMO you're overselling this point. Much less important at most companies in engineering, operations, and most support-type departments.
knoxtom
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Have to disagree Ulrich.

I worked for an engineering company for a while. With my law practice today, every one of my clients is an engineering company or local government. I do infrastructure throughout Texas.

If you want to be a VP or director of an engineering company, be the guy who gets the clients. If you want to peak as a "Number 2 - Project guy", then be great at your job. Number 2 guys don't become VP's and directors until they learn to get the business. And until that day, they are expendable and easily replaceable.

Same is true for operations, consulting, and support departments. If you want to be at the top, be the guy the client asks for.
cjo03
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AG
fair points if your core is selling IT or engineering.. but "bringing clients in" is not quite as relevant in large companies where the IT and engineering "environments" are enabling functions. core to keeping the business running, but not core to bringing in new clients. these organizations have IT and Engineering leaders too.
Ulrich
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Pretty much what cjo said. If what you sell is expertise in engineering, then the players are going to be engineers who can sell their expertise.

But if what you sell is a physical product or some other capability, the engineers never interact with customers. It's business development or sales who rise on their ability to win business. The engineers are getting to director or vp for other skills.
Aggie Q
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I really enjoy this question (not a dumb question at all), and have been dwelling on it for quite some time personally. I'm not currently a VP/CTO, but I am actively pursuing that path.

Of course there is no "one right way" to make it to that level; the VP-IT at some multinational financial institution is a different animal than the CTO of some bay area SaaS startup. There are some comments on this thread that really speak to that; the anecdotes we carry from our own experiences point to a very small collection of paths to a VP/CTO-type job when of course the big picture is a hodge-podge of different routes to leadership.

So here is my "broad strokes" approach, because I'd like to be a VP/CTO one day, but I'm not 100% settled on an industry or company profile and I do firmly believe that the following skills are fundamental to being a leader in technology:

1. Empathy - the most undervalued skill in engineering. Looking for something to set you apart from most of your colleagues? Learn how to be an empathic human being! As your career ages, the people you've worked with will start to occupy increasingly senior roles in their respective companies and that will be an advantage to you - but only if those people look back at your relationship with fondness. It's not about who you know, it's about how you treat the people that you do know. Empathy is also fundamental to many of the other points brought up on this thread: knowing the right people, building relationships with clients, leading a team, etc.

2. Technical Articulation - As a CTO/VP in a technical field, you not only need to know the technical aspects of the business, you will need to be able to communicate those things to non technical people. It is not enough to be technically competent, you must also be compelling. This is also something that must be practiced; you must go out and talk about technical things to non technical people.

3. Business Perspective - Along with empathy, the thing I see lacking in the vast majority of engineers is the perspective of business. There are so many great engineers out there with a M.S. in C.S. who simply don't understand why certain business decisions are made; you must have this perspective to survive at a level higher than "contributor". This is also where a higher level understanding of scale is hugely important.

For my part, I try to frame my career path around those 3 areas. Any decision I make should be aimed at bolstering one of those 3 competencies, and anything that detracts from those should be devalued. When you start to weigh decisions in light of those competencies then I think you'll be on the right track.

Of course, the quickest way to become a VP is to start your own business and give yourself that title. (Honestly, this is not a horrible strategy and considering the vast majority of businesses out there are small shops, then that means the vast majority of technical leaders got to their position more-or-less in this manner.)


GarlandAg2012
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For me it was having a niche skillset and being willing to take a risk with a small company.
schmellba99
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My experience - #1 is to be the golden child/chosen one/fair haired boy.

Seems that everywhere I've worked, there has always been the heir apparent, everybody knows it, and that person is constantly being groomed to climb up into senior management. If you don't have a sponsor, the road to upper management is extremely difficult in most environments.
HollywoodBQ
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+1 for getting sponsored in

I work in an environment where brown nosing is rewarded but, what is really valued is staying on message. Identifying problems and solving them does not move you up the ladder as quickly as sending out positive, buzz word laden messages.

Always try to stay far enough ahead of the technology so that everything you promise won't fail or turn out to be a complete fraud until after you've already been promoted to a new role.

My business has promoted a lot of British Commonwealth folks into senior management roles because they excel at saying Yes, staying on message and never thinking for themselves. During the past 4 years my business unit has decreased from $4B to $3B in annual revenue but the message is that things are 'the best they've ever been'. If you ask questions, or point out facts, you get shot.
Aggie_Eric98
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What I recommend in order of importance.

1. Develop a mentorship relationship with someone on the senior leadership team (VP or above). Maintain monthly/quarterly calls or meetings discussing work, life, whatever. Just stay in contact so they remember you when positions open up. Network with as many people on the SLT.

2. Make it known what you want. Create a development plan showing what you are doing or are going to do in teh future in order to develop yourself to meet your goal. Do what you said you were going to do on the plan. Share this plan with your boss and perhaps even your bosses boss to get their feedback on new skills or development opportunities they think you need to make that next step.

3. Add value, create new process/procedures to streamline old and outdated processes, utilize technology to make job's easier and more efficient.

4. Excel at your current role. Do not get frustrated it you are not immediately promoted to director or VP, put in the time. I have this as #4 as while it is important, many people will excel at their role but never have the opportunity to advance.
Ciboag96
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Wagon pullers usually get promoted.

Wagon riders usually don't.

If the company you are at promotes wagon riders, find another company.
Whitetail
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At my company, the path to becoming a VP is simply by joining a yacht club. Even easier path if you were born into said yacht club.

No other skills required.
oldschool87
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Working hard and moving dirt piles, means zip to upper management, any and all of that will go to the credit of your manager, no matter what you do. He will recognize and reward you, but that will not get you from a Senior Manager to a Director. You have to get wide and do the following:

  • Know someone, are you happen to be someone's golden child
  • Financial impact. What actions, decisions and moves have you made to impact the company in the millions of dollars. Did you drive a project that replaced 25 people, did you come up with the idea to use Fed-Ex Shipping?
  • Have you managed across the Enterprise. Have you taken 15 to 20 people and executed on a project across the enterprise, not just in your own area.
  • Do the directors and VP's even know your name? Have you worked on projects with them. Have you created and presented power points to the entire IT staff, company, etc... Have you spoken at a town Hall.
  • Do you dress like a Director, do you act like a director, are you involved in budgeting, Finances, have you made difficult employee decisions as in RIF's.
  • Is there a position open. You can be a director, but if the spot is occupied, that's that!

In short, unfortunately, your real work counts, but it's just the entry fee into the big game. If you want good cards, you have to go big, across the enterprise and get in front of people. Take the next data gathering project that comes along across the enterprise and take it. Make sure you report out to the Director level management team. This will be a good start.

oldschool87
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Whitetail said:

At my company, the path to becoming a VP is simply by joining a yacht club. Even easier path if you were born into said yacht club.

No other skills required.
What is your company name. I am a Commodore of a fleet... LOL
BrazosDog02
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In my corporate job, it was exactly as stated....Nothing to do with what you know, and everything to do with whose throat you cut to get one rung higher. At my level of management... usually had a guy that would bring his pals in and they'd bring their pals and so on. A few times a year someone would throw someone else under the bus to make themselves look better or get undue credit. Sometimes it ruined their day, sometimes it ruined their career....There was no working up to anything.

That's life though...Hard work rarely pays off the way your daddy and pappy said unless you work for daddy and pappy . This is 2017. Embrace it.
ATM9000
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1. Network. Executives are never going to give a bunch of responsibility to somebody they don't know really well. Almost none of you would either so get out of the whole mentality of 'networking means kissing people's asses' thing that so many get trapped by.

2. Embrace and lead change. Businesses that don't evolve and continually look to streamline and improve eventually die... Because there are a dozen others out there that will.

3. Don't be afraid to work outside your comfort zone.

4. Start being a consensus gatherer across the organization.

5. Be really good at your current job.

6. If you do the 5 things above, as mentioned already (this is probably the most important thing to)... Be concise and clear and open about your goals.

7. Also mentioned, be patient... The thing about going up in the organization is the further you go, the less spots to get promoted into there are.
Buck Compton
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I'd be interested to hear the size of each poster's company.

That's makes all of the difference. People saying "VP/Director", but in a Fortune 50 company, that is a budget of billions. A single IT implementation may run over a billion dollars.

My current client has over 200,000 employees in the United States... just a tad different skill set as a VP (in any department or functional area) than at a 25-50 person company.
GarlandAg2012
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6 Employees. I don't really belong in this thread but it's an interesting read for sure.
Aggie_Eric98
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$3.5B topline, my segment is $2.0B of the 3.5.
Rusty GCS
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MemphisAg1 said:

No magic formula, but here's a few ingredients:

-- acquire a wide range of experience instead of a narrow, expert skill set.
-- work in a variety of locations
-- communicate well
-- be an active learner
-- treat challenges as opportunities instead of problems
-- make your career aspirations known, and work with your manager to create developmental opportunities
-- with your boss's support, get to know his/her manager well.
-- put in the extra effort routinely to excel at your current position.


I agree with all those except for the first point. Being a jack of all trades sometimes doesn't get you noticed. Make sure you're at least an expert in one area. That way people are thinking of you. But that comes with the continued learning.

I think a big one there is being willing to relocate. Much easier to climb the ladder when that many more positions are open to you. It also exposes you to so many more environments to learn from.
$30,000 Millionaire
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Really good posts on this thread, but I will boil it down to a couple of things: 1) ability to lead, guide, and shape the business. This can be sales, it can be strategy, it can be operations, or whatever else. 2) ability to manage risk. 3) ability to manage relationships.

As far as who gets to these positions, you see up and comers on their way to great things, the old loyal guard that gradually got there and is capped out, nepotism hires, and charlatans that bounce around from place to place
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