I want to grow – what do I say to my manager?

I want to grow – what do I say to my manager?

Hi, I’m Janet Granger, answering the question: “I want to grow. How do I tell my manager?”

I really like this question because it’s about pushing you and your potential and not filling your time with more work, but learning. I think that’s the problem many managers have, when they see someone who works well. They just give them more work, instead of helping them to actually grow. 

If you’re asking yourself: How do I want to grow? What do I do? How do I tell my manager? My first question is: are you doing your job well? Have you learned and mastered what you’re currently doing? 

Because if you haven’t yet, that’s what’s going to come back at you (from your manager). If you’re not doing your job right, or well yet, they’ll respond: “You need to master what you have to do now.” Being good and diligent about your current position – and what you’re doing – is key to having the organization interested in letting you grow and helping you grow. 

The other thing is, unless you’re in a really fast-paced growing startup, it’s important that you’ve been in your job for at least six months before you take this tack. 

If you say this to your manager, they’re going to say, “Well, you haven’t even been here six months.” 

That seems to be the “mental calendar” – you need at least six months to get up to speed and figure your job out. So if you’re doing your job, AND you’ve been there for six months – you’re not at a fast growing startup but at a pretty well established organization – so you’ve had time to learn your job and do it well, THEN ask your manager for one-to-one to talk about where you are at the moment. 

Before you meet with them, do your research and figure out what it is that you would like to learn that would help you either do your job better, or get a much more strategic look at the kind of work you do. 

Maybe you can learn about other areas in marketing that are of interest to you. You can find some classes that are interesting that you would like to take, or courses that would level-up your skills. 

It could be an educational program.Your organization may have something like that. If they have an internal intranet, there may be courses and programs that are available that you can check out. See what’s of interest to you. 

If you’re at a larger organization, the most important thing, before you meet with your manager, is to have a plan. “I want to take X, Y, and Z” or  “I want to take this course, here’s why.” 

Let’s say it’s a couple of courses, or attending a conference, different classes, or presentations you want to hear. It might even be working with a senior person on your team, or another team, to learn more about what they do, so you can be better at your job. 

Whatever it is, write it. Print it out and have it in writing. If there’s a cost associated with it,  understand what those costs would be. For example, if it’s going to a conference: all the costs, including the registration, the flight, the hotel, and anything else you may need (transportation to and front the airport, food, etc.) 

Then, when you have that 30 minute meeting with your manager, tell them that you’d really like to be challenged further and what is of interest to you and what you plan to do (present your plan, tell them the cost, and hand it over to them). 

At that point, your manager has some choices: 

• They can tell you if there’s a budget – and if that spend would be approved. 
• They can share what the process is (if they can say yes right away, or not) 
• They can tell you no and they can give you reasons why 

But basically, what you’ve done, in the symbolism of this process, is you have taken charge of your destiny and your future. 

If you want to grow it’s up to you to grow and you’ve made it clear that you expect the organization and your manager to help you. 

Maybe you’ve gone down the wrong path and they think that another path might be better for you, given what you’re good at. Who knows? But if your manager says no, for whatever reason:  there’s no budget, or they’re worried you won’t get your work done, or whatever, tell them that you’d still like to pursue some line of education and that it won’t interfere with your work (which you will make sure it won’t.) 

You can even ask them for suggestions – then it’s on them. Again, this keeps you in control of your destiny. The reins are in your hands, when it comes to moving forward. And they can either help you – or not. 

Don’t be frustrated if, after you give this action plan to your manager, they say they’ll get back to you. Give it a week or two; they may need to get permission, etc. Don’t get frustrated – the larger the organization, the more time it can take. Just realize that you’ve made your statement and you’re going to pursue something. It may take a little while to get this off the ground. 

However, if you do end up getting a lot of “no’s” along the way, and you aren’t given any opportunity to grow or learn, then it may be time to think about going someplace else, and leaving the organization. 

After all, not everyone is given the opportunity to grow and progress. And sometimes you have to go someplace else to get that, or to get to that next level. 

I’ve included here a link from the Harvard Business Review about how to impress your boss’s boss. It’s a little bit more about getting promoted but I think it’s a good perspective for you to have, if you’re thinking along these lines. It tells you how to get noticed, so take a look and see if any of these things are of interest to you. 

In the meantime always be on the lookout for things you can read and attend to learn more.

I’m Janet Granger, answering the question: “I want to grow. How do I tell my manager?”