A Step-By-Step Guide to Developing Your Career

By Tara Biamby

In today's work environment, the ability to collaborate effectively is a necessity. Whether you are an individual contributor or a people manager, there is always an opportunity to focus on developing and strengthening skills to achieve your professional goals. In this article, we reveal practical insights and strategies for career growth, curated from Tara Biamby 's real experiences and expert guidance provided by the Paramount Propel Learning team.

How to be a Collaborative Contributor

The most successful professionals prioritize open communication, active listening, and a willingness to share ideas and responsibilities with team members. 

People like to work with colleagues who are supportive, adaptable, smart, steadfast, and positive. To bring out these characteristics, learning and development courses provide insight and resources you can implement with peers and colleagues to boost your reputation and executive presence. 

Teamwork is knowing when to lean in and when to lean out. The Road to Assertiveness Propel course encouraged me to manage boundaries. The course empowered me to articulate my wants, needs, and ideas in a direct, healthy, and respectful way. After a point, I decided to remove myself from a work project. I was able to express my point of view, step back, and feel confident the project would move forward without my daily input. Of course, I was always ready and available to pitch in as needed. Over time, the team managed the project's evolution smoothly, and I was able to manage my bandwidth. 

Making yourself a key player and bringing valuable contributions sets your foundation and gives you credibility.

How to Communicate Effectively

A big part of communicating is listening thoughtfully. Appreciating others’ strengths allows for a personal openness that supports connection, collaboration, and working well with diverse people and teams. Better listening skills enhance communication style, create clarity in messaging, effectively bridge gaps, build empathy, and minimize misunderstandings.

The Present Like A Pro Propel course taught me how to tailor my presentations to my audience. It's imperative to know what they care about, what will keep them engaged, and how you design your materials. Recognizing the answers to these questions will help your delivery style and allow you to increase engagement.

Different situations and audiences may require adjustments. Improving your presentation skills allows you to shine and brand yourself to employees of various levels within the company; you never know who is watching you work and can support your career journey.

How to be a Good Leader

A good leader demonstrates empathy and understanding towards their team and fosters a culture of trust and collaboration. Leading by example, displaying integrity, honesty, and transparency in your actions and decisions inspires others to follow suit.

It's essential to demonstrate leadership skills no matter where you sit in the company. I'm an executive assistant and always aim to develop my leadership capabilities. Propel and other internal offerings allowed me to better connect with people and learn to convey ideas and concepts confidently. I actively listen and welcome different perspectives so that I can participate in and influence an outcome, process, or affect decision-making.

The path isn’t always straight. If you are adding tools to your toolbelt, then you are moving forward. Stay curious, discover new interests, and consistently come from a place of wanting to learn and grow.

How to Develop Your Career

To help focus your development efforts, use these career framework questions to identify where you are today, where you want to be, and how you will get there: