Whether or not there’s a job in the offing at the moment, you want everyone to
Climbing that ladder can be easy!
know that you can do the job you are hoping to move into. You are hoping that when your more senior colleague finally moves on, everyone will assume it’s a foregone conclusion that the job’s yours. You’ve seen it happen often enough: everyone can see that the more junior team member is ready-made for the job when it comes up. The closer you can get to that state of affairs, the better.
So how are you going to demonstrate that you can do the job? Essentially by doing it. Always be the first to volunteer if there’s any overflow of work being handed down. Put yourself in line for taking over parts of the job – especially taking over responsibilities. If working out the time sheets is an onerous task for your colleague, offer to learn it from them so you can take it over, or at least do part of it. Volunteer to do your colleague’s research for them when they write reports. Suggest that if you were trained in using the spreadsheet software, you could enter the day-to-day accounts yourself. And, of course, miss no opportunity to step into as much of the job as necessary when the colleague in question is away on business, on holiday or off sick.
Just one word of caution here: don’t get pushy. You’ll make yourself unpopular and that won’t help your chances of success. You don’t want your colleague to think that you are trying to pinch their job. You’re not. You want them to stay there until they’re ready to move on. It’s just that when they do move on, you want to be first in line. Some colleagues will actively encourage you and groom you to take over from them when the time comes, while others will feel threatened and nervous if you show any sign of treading on what they see as their territory.
Don’t break the chain
It doesn’t hurt to groom a replacement for yourself. You don’t want to miss out on a promotion because your boss can’t afford to spare you from the job you’re in now. So make sure it doesn’t happen: show some other capable person how to do your job, ready to step into your shoes as soon as you get the chance to step out of them.
If you’re dealing with a colleague (or maybe even your boss) whose job you want train up for and who is easily threatened, you’ll need to tread carefully:
• Don’t offer to take on too many responsibilities at once. Wait until they have got used to you doing a particular task as a matter of course before adding the next one to your portfolio.
• They won’t feel you’re closing in if you keep emphasizing the gap between the two of you. So point out how, if you take this menial task off their hands, they’ll have more time for the really important stuff. For example, ‘I can see that the report you’re working on is going to be very important to the department. Would you like me to do a bit of running around researching the information for you, so you have more time to invest in the report itself?’
• Don’t do anything behind their back. People who are easily threatened can get paranoid. Suppose you decide you want to learn to operate the spreadsheet software, but you’re worried that they may feel threatened if you let them know this. So you get someone else to teach you. Now imagine your colleague finds out; what will they think? Not only are you trying to learn their job, but you’re trying to do it in secret. So never try this technique – it can backfire horribly.
• If they show any signs of paranoia, tell them what your agenda is. It’s perfectly reasonable, and they’d probably do the same themselves. Maybe they already have their eye on someone else’s job. Make it very clear that you don’t want to replace them until they’re ready to move on and up themselves.
You Can Do Better
As well as learning how to do the job in question, look at ways you could improve on it too. Look for opportunities to do even better than the present incumbent, and make a mental note of them. That way, you can make a good strong impression when you apply for the job, by explaining how you see it developing, and again when you finally step into it.