What Does Senior Management Want?

Understanding what senior management wants is key to moving ahead. I like this New York Times interview with Liz Rodbell, the president of a major retailer, because she shares these insights: 

1. Show appreciation. An early leadership lesson she learned was to thank people: “The behavior seems so simple, but it’s the importance of saying ‘thank you,’ and taking the time to recognize people’s successes. Saying thank you is not hard, but not everybody does it.” Remember: you will rely on others to get to where you want, so be gracious!
2. Tell good stories during interviews. Liz asks candidates to “tell [her] stories about themselves and their experiences of how they dealt with challenges.” So anticipate what the hiring manager is looking for, and be ready with on-point stories. These make you memorable.
3. Communicate well. Liz notes that “we are in a lot of meetings, and they’re very purposeful and we have agendas. If somebody isn’t listening and following the trail of where we are in the conversation, I get annoyed. When we run a meeting, we expect people to speak up, and if they don’t understand something, they should ask about it.” She also expects quick email responses: “If I don’t even get an ‘I’ll get back to you’ …, I’m unsure if the message got through. So I do expect follow-up. I’m very busy and I want to be connected to make sure that we keep moving.”
4. Network! Her top career/life advice is to network: “[Y]ou can reach out to people and say, ‘How did your career start? What did you do? How did you find your way? How has it evolved?’ People are willing to help if you just ask them.” (especially if they are softball/affirming questions!)