Don’t chase titles—build skills

Because of my recent promotion to the Chief Revenue Officer role at Scout, people often ask me for mentorship and career coaching. I love being a mentor. Giving back to others is my way of paying forward all the support I have been given.

The question I get asked most frequently is, “I want to be a CRO too! How can I get there?”

The truth is, I didn’t get here by making a beeline for this job. And I don’t think that approach would have worked.

Five principles guided my journey from stressed-out investment banking associate to successful revenue executive who can’t wait to get to work each day:

• Target the acquisition of valuable skills
• Get first-hand knowledge of all key functions of a business
• Embrace your ignorance
• Figure out what you’re good at and go for it
• Plan your career backwards.

Target skills rather than titles

Though I knew I wanted to be an executive one day, I didn’t target one job title. I realized that when you build skills, you get opportunities. So I set out to develop a broad skillset that would enable me to add value to a company in lots of different ways.

When people tell me they want to work on getting promoted, I ask what skills they’ve learned in their current job, and what skills they want to gain in the next job. Once you know that, you can identify roles that will help you learn those skills. Spoiler alert: the fastest route is usually not a straight line.

Learn about every area of a business

Many of the best executives did not inch their way up in one silo of the organization. C-level success demands a holistic view of the organization—a view you can best get by moving around different departments.

Until 10 years ago, I skipped around a lot, with one- or two-year stints in different areas including marketing, operations, strategy, sales development, and chief of staff (glorified gopher). As a result of working in so many departments, I am a CRO who can easily pick up a phone and cold-call a prospect. I can work with partners on building an ecosystem. I can also talk the language of marketing and operations to make the most of the expertise and efforts of those groups.

Embrace your ignorance

Don’t be afraid to show ignorance. I was a bumbling beginner each time I took on something new, but I compensated by being conscientious, hard-working, and eager to do better. People will give you a chance if you’ve shown intelligence and drive. I was able to make big lateral moves within a company because I’d built a reputation. I think it would have been harder if I had changed companies each time.

I wasn’t good at everything, but I learned to understand and respect each business function and how to leverage each one for the success of the organization as a whole. For example, I didn’t love marketing and was actually not very good at it, but now I communicate effectively with the marketing team. And although the year I spent in sales operations was one of the worst years of my professional life I learned about operationalizing processes, setting a structure for scale, organizational communication, and aligning multiple department objectives to a single corporate goal. That knowledge has been incredibly valuable to me in my current role as CRO.

Figure out what you’re good at

Moving around and building skill sets helped me get really clear on the work that inspired me (and what didn’t). I like strategy consulting, helping companies come up with picture of future. I get charged up about customer success. I love getting into the weeds about a customer’s problems, knowing their operations so well that I can see things they can’t. I learned I’m good at and enjoy business development, sales, and customer service. All these bright spots aligned to direct me to my current position, which is hands-down the best job of my life. 

If I’d started my career in sales, I doubt that I would have managed to be as successful. Those frequent changes of roles early in my career gave me a 360-degree view of the business and perspective on how to best leverage every department. And even if I had reached the same destination, without the experience of the journey I might not have been so confident that this is where I truly belong.

Plan your career backwards

When people plan their career as a series of stepping stones, each with a certain percentage pay rise and more benefits, they may think they’re focusing on the long term but I feel that they are actually thinking small. Ask yourself what you really want in life. This is bigger than any one job title. It’s about family, lifestyle, and the interests and passions that define you. Ideally, your career should support those goals by helping you to build the skills you need to flourish, both in the workplace and in all the other aspects of your life.

Whether you’re just starting your career or already have some experience, my advice to you is to gather as many diverse skills as possible. The best route to your career goals probably isn’t a straight line but a path that enables you to add lots of skills to your toolbelt so you get opportunities to take on new roles and are ready to contribute value to each one.

In other words, don’t chase titles—build skills.

Have suggestions for me or can I help you? Let me know!