Chances are you’re not very smart. That’s not an insult, just statistics. With intelligence, as is true with most things in life, there is a natural bell-shaped distribution. In other words, there is a small number of morons in the world, a small number of geniuses, and a lot of people in between. That works out for me because this article doesn’t target the morons (sorry, no hope for you), nor does it target the very smart people (you don’t need this article). It does target those in between, which is almost everyone. In this article, I’m going to explain how average managers can become great managers and advance in corporate America.

Talk to any martial arts expert and he’ll tell you that it is very important to know your weaknesses before heading into combat. If you’re missing a leg, doing a flying jump kick may not be the best idea. Likewise, if you want to advance in management, you must know your weaknesses and act accordingly. Even if you’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, it by no means prevents you from advancing. You simply have to use different tactics to achieve your goals.

So, you’re a manager. You want to know what it takes to make it to the top; to win recognition from your peers; to be regarded as successful in your field. You’ve probably taken a few classes, studied all about planning, executing, delegating, reviewing and analyzing. But for some bizarre reason, although the extra knowledge didn’t hurt, it didn’t help you move up in the world. It didn’t take you to the next level. That’s because you’re seeing it all wrong.

So you want to know the real secret? It’s simple. If you’re a business owner, then you’re a good manager if you delegate absolutely everything, to the point where you need to do virtually zero work. If this is not possible for financial reasons, then the business plan is flawed. If you’re a manager working for an employer, the same principle applies, only there’s a catch: If you want to hang on to your job, you have two options. The first is to not delegate just enough to make yourself needed. The other is to use various tactics, which I’ll describe later, that create the illusion that you are needed. The last method is the preferred one, and the one I describe in detail throughout this article.

There are two very important points I want to make: First, perception is reality. Anyone who says differently knows nothing about human behavior. Second, if you work for a company, the only thing that will keep you employed even in the toughest of times is if the top executives have the perception that you are absolutely needed for your department to function properly. They have to believe that if you were gone, the group would fall apart. That can be challenging, because as was discussed above, a truly good manager creates a department that is completely self-sufficient. Thus the challenge is not to simply plan, execute, review and analyze your group, but rather to create a self-sufficient department while maintaining the uninterrupted perception that if you were gone, everything would fall apart.

So you want to know specifics. How can you get to the top? Schmooze with those other top executives? Well, look around you. Who are those executives? What are they like? How did they get there? If you ask any company President or Chief Executive, he or she will tell you proudly that their company hires the smartest people in the industry. Now recall the natural distribution – there are very few dumb people, very few brilliant people, and lots of people in between. If you reread the last two sentences, you’ll notice a contradiction. It’s nice that every company claims to have the best employees, but that is simply not true. It is statistically impossible. By definition, most employees in most companies are mediocre. True, you can segment employees into various seniority levels, but the same principle applies: within senior management, most employees in most companies are mediocre senior managers. To better grasp this concept, ask yourself this: would you like your child to be mediocre? Would you like your child to be average? Would you like your child to be abnormal? Most parents would like to have children who are not mediocre, not average, but who are normal. Unfortunately, that’s impossible. By definition, a mediocre person is an average person (a.k.a., a “normal” person). Following that logic, we can deduce that most executives are not handpicked superstars, but rather mediocre senior managers. What really helped most of those mediocre executives get to where they got is their ability to perform their previous functions at relatively satisfactory levels (average skill needed), remain with the company for an extended period of time (average luck needed), and employ various tactics that help them become distinguishable within the company (no skill or luck required).

The first two requirements are where the vast majority of decent American workers are. They’ve performed their job well, they’ve managed to stay with the company for a substantial period of time, and are generally well-regarded. Yet, it doesn’t get them to that next level. The step that most people miss is that required to make them stand out. Before I go into the various methods that will make you stand out, you must remember that these will take time and effort, and if your department is chaotic, you won’t have the time needed. The first step then is to streamline the process in your department so that you are virtually not needed. This can be a scary thing for some, especially those who consider themselves “control freaks” (a.k.a., people with low self esteem). The trick is this: Don’t create a one-to-one-to-many org chart structure by hiring a supervisor to oversee day to day operations while you oversee that supervisor. Doing this can be dangerous because if times are tough, the company will most likely cut you out because they know there’s a supervisor in place who demands a smaller salary and who is keeping the department running just fine. Instead, fill various positions that fill roles within your department as independently as possible. For example, if you currently serve as an authoritative figure who signs off on important tasks, simply hire someone (or designate an existing employee who you trust) to fill that role. Your ultimate goal is to create a one-to-many org chart that has you on top and many direct reports underneath, where each subordinate works as independently as possible.

Once you get to that point, you should be able to step back and only become involved when overwhelming problems occur (as a good manager, you should have an employee who is in charge of looking at complex issues that regularly come up, since that is a part of doing business). Your other main responsibility is to have regular update meetings with your staff to make sure things are running smoothly. Beyond those two insignificant duties, you will be free to make yourself distinguishable. The following are tactics you should use:

• Get into meetings: Senior executives spend most of their time in meetings (internally or with clients). You must volunteer yourself to join as many meetings as possible. Some may be annoyed at first by your trying to “butt in” everywhere, but sooner or later there will be a perception that you are a significant contributor (especially if you actively use the rest of these tactics). And remember: especially with chief executives, perception is reality.

• Dress and look professionally: This may seem obvious, but if you want to reach the top, make sure you are well-groomed, wear expensive clothes, and look as attractive as possible (as attractive as an average looking person such as yourself can look, that is). If you look like a million bucks, you’ll soon start earning one.

• Be loud: It may seem silly, but it’s very true. Senior managers tend to be much louder than their junior counterparts. You must be loud and vocal, especially in meetings. Never mumble. Never stutter. Speak slowly and clearly. You must be known as one of those people who love to hear themselves talk. True, you’ll annoy some people, but those people will soon be left behind.

• Use choice words: Regularly use positive words like “great”, “opportunity”, and “value”. Also, use words that are generally associated with creative people, such as “out of the box”, “innovative”, and “pioneering”. Is it cheesy? Absolutely. Does it work? You bet it does.

• Be accessible: There’s a common misperception that top managers shouldn’t associate with lower ranking employees. That is not true. You should be friendly and accessible to all employees, from the CEO to the janitor, as long as you remember to present yourself with a certain presidential quality. It’s close to being arrogant, but not quite there. You should be able to speak to the lowest ranking employee and make him or her feel like you’re deeply interested, yet still maintain a level of superiority. If you’re ever unsure how to handle a situation, think of how former President Bill Clinton, who had this quality mastered, would have handled it.

• Send the message of manageable chaos: When asked how you’re doing, no matter how calm or chaotic things are, always say something like: “Wow, there is so much going on. But it’s very exciting”. The point is to make people think that your department has a lot of work to do and that things are hectic, but with your leadership, it’s staying under control and a positive attitude is maintained. Remember: This could be the farthest thing from the truth, but that doesn’t matter. Perception sooner or later becomes reality, whether it wants to or not.

• Recap the obvious: In meetings, especially the long ones, there are often heated discussions that go back and forth. Typically, this takes place between a smart individual and an average-to-below average individual. Especially when your boss is present, you should avoid taking sides at first and only fuel the fire a little bit. Then, after a while, it will seem obvious who is right (usually the smart person). When the argument is just about to conclude, stop it short by saying something like: “Look, how about we just....” and complete by recapping what the argument’s winner was saying all along. Over time, you will be positioned as the “voice of reason” who “just tends to get it”. You’ll have to be a little crafty so it isn’t too obvious, but this method can yield great rewards.

Similar tactics may be followed, as long as they help achieve the goal of creating the perception that you are a top-notch manager. Understand that the point here isn’t to be a horrible manager while getting paid heftily. The point is that most chief executives don’t understand who truly good managers are (those who delegate everything and create a self-sufficient department). For that reason, if you become a good manager, which means you soon won’t have much to do if at all, but do nothing else, top executives will think you do nothing and are therefore expendable. Most people don’t notice silent greatness. They only notice heroic greatness. As an analogy, a President who manages to run a tranquil country for a decade will not be seen as powerful as one who creates tension, invites an enemy attack, and then fights a large-scale war that defeats the enemy (while needlessly claiming thousands of lives).

Great leaders, whether they lead nations or service departments, should strive for a consistently peaceful and tranquil environment. The challenge for those working under an employer is that the vast majority of top executives use the wrong criteria to evaluate managers’ effectiveness. Therefore, while you may be a great manager, if you do nothing else, there will be a perception that you aren’t useful. Thus, you should also use the tactics listed above to create the perception that you are a top-notch manager (as it is judged by most executives).

As you can see, the strategies described in this article don’t require much skill. They don’t require much intelligence. If you consistently follow these guidelines, you’ll soon find yourself advancing in the company. As you move up or around the company, simply look at the current situation, reorganize it in a way that makes your group self-sufficient, and then focus on making yourself distinguishable. You just might become your company’s next CEO.

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