Besides being a highly competitive environment, the corporate world can be pretty volatile and unpredictable. If you have been working hard and not reaping the rewards you rightfully deserve, it would be wise not to leave your career in the hands of fate and hope it intervenes. Set your career on the right path and push it along, ensuring that it continues to grow. The secret in scaling that corporate ladder is to move up one rung at a time so that you can manage each step effectively.

Bosses ultimately want someone they can trust to do a job for them. If they know the individual is professional, credible and works in the best interests of the organization, then they will rely on them to take on managerial positions. Most bosses also want to ensure that the people who are looking to rise up the ranks are able to deliver and have a track record of success.

Management is also about inspiring, leading and retaining the leaders of the future, so bosses will want to ensure that their own management structure is able to groom those underneath them to provide a pipeline of future management talent.

It is not necessarily about shouting from the rooftops proclaiming all the extra work you have done to get noticed, but making yourself indispensable. Does your boss always rely on you? Do they turn to you frequently for help and suggestions? Are you making them look good? Remember that if you are being assigned specific projects, it is probably because your management feels that you are the most capable person for the job. So all you really need to focus on is proving that your boss is always right (about you), and adopt a positive attitude at all times. Learning to take credit when it is due will help you climb that ladder more quickly.

Ask for milestones so that once you have achieved them, you are able to point out that you have successfully accomplished what has been tasked to you in order to achieve that promotion. You should also work on your softer skills by interacting, grooming and training your colleagues and new recruits as this will help hone your management skills and display your ability to take the next step.

Last but not least, you need to be part of the solution and not part of the problem. A management role not only requires you to have sharp business acumen and interpersonal skills, it also stretches your problem-solving and analytical capabilities. Take initiative to offer valuable insights and solutions to current organizational issues and demonstrate your commitment and enthusiasm in contributing to the company. Career advancement is usually not handed out to anyone on a silver platter, so knowing how to take advantage of potential opportunities and going that extra mile will be key in moving you rapidly up the ladder.

(Contact yangning@chinadaily.com.cn for questions and career advice)

Contributed by Chris He, manager of consumer sales and marketing at Robert Walters Talent Consulting Ltd China

(China Daily 12/20/2011 page14)