When I started my career (many years ago), I’d run across problems, and because I was unsure how to solve them, I’d just let my boss know. I’d often get frustrated because nothing was being done, not realizing the full scope of the schedule and portfolio my boss was managing.
As we grow as leaders, we begin to hear from mentors, “If there is a problem, please highlight a solution.” OK, so what does that mean exactly? From over 35 years of experience, I think I’ve landed on a great outline that I’ve shared with mentees, and I’m excited to share it with you:
- Cultivate strategic awareness: As you advance, you become more attuned to policy, process and procedure. This allows you to anticipate gaps and draw reasonable conclusions about how to improve a process or message requirements to the workforce.
- Cross-functional collaboration: Advanced complexities often touch multiple agency business lines. Leveraging or building networks provides opportunities to identify touchpoints that drive viable solutions. Keep in mind, you should always partner and ensure transparency before advising changes in an area outside your line of business.
- Leading solutions: It is imperative to understand your business line or customer needs in order to drive change. Sometimes, that’s as simple as conducting a quick pulse survey or interviews. Gaining insights promotes untapped opportunities to clarify gaps and potentially drive solutions.
These elements empower your contributions by organizing complex problems and driving potential solutions. Keep in mind, your communication is imperative. Always ensure your leadership knows what gaps you may see and steps that could lead to solutions. If you plan to discuss elements outside your line of business, ensure your leadership is aware; they may create engagement paths or offer a pivot. Keep an open mind, evaluate all solutions, and develop your top three recommendations for leadership.
How do these actions shape your career progression path? You will grow your capability to analyze problems, build cross-functional influence, develop and communicate potential solutions, and engage with leadership to drive those remedies forward. Most importantly, you are branding yourself as a well-informed, organized driver of solutions.
I’m proud of you and excited for the professional career you are building.
Treva Smith is a federal human resources, diversity and inclusion, and business operations professional, with over 33-years of service. Treva enjoys advising and mentoring individuals navigate their career paths to meet identified goals. She specializes in career planning and personal branding, and is certified to instruct Business Etiquette through the distinguished Protocol School of Washington and a certified Global Career Development Facilitator through National Employment Counseling Association.
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