When I started my career a dozen years ago, I thought I had enough technical skills and then I was free to dream of getting to the top of the ladder. Over time, I began to realize that my hypothesis turned out to be incorrect. Turns out there were a few other things I needed to climb the stairs.
Many people have great aspirations to climb the corporate career ladder, but many do not understand that climbing the career ladder cannot only be done with minimal capital.
To climb the ladder requires not only technical skills, but also interpersonal skills, and conceptual capacities. These three things were stated by Robert L. Katz, a management expert in his legendary book "Skills of an Effective Administrator."
What is the logical basis?
Look, the first logic is that whatever our intentions, whether climbing up the corporate ladder or becoming an entrepreneur, we still have to have certain technical skills that can be a differentiating factor in optimizing managerial performance. Then, the next logic is that interpersonal and conceptual skills are needed so that our brain capacity reaches a wide spectrum of abilities. Because without a broad spectrum of brain capacities, our problem-solving capacity would also be very limited.
The narrow spectrum of brain capacity will also easily make us trapped in a logical fallacy or logical fallacy which in the end will hinder our careers.
Technical Skills Are Important
Technical skills, in short can be described as basic capacities that are learned in almost any field of work, study, or even a particular game. For example, a center forward on a soccer team must know how to kick the ball and how to position his feet for accuracy and distance. Another example, a mechanic must be able to deconstruct and reconstruct a machine with equal precision.
Technical skills for a leader include a working understanding of the business processes in his department, the ability to make team members equally good at those processes, and communicating to the functions related to the end result of the business process.
Technical skills imply understanding of, and proficiency in, certain types of activities, especially those involving methods, processes, procedures, or techniques.
It is relatively easy for us to visualize technical skills such as being a surgeon, musician, accountant, or engineer when each performs a particular function. Technical skills involve specialized knowledge, analytical abilities in that specialization, and facilitation in the use of tools and techniques of a particular discipline. Technical skills are perhaps the best known because they are the most concrete and can be seen and practiced without the need for special talents.
Interpersonal Skills Can Be a Differentiating Factor
Furthermore, interpersonal capacity, with world conditions that are increasingly non-linear, many modern companies rely on the delegation of responsibility and authority to achieve goals.
As a result, business is no longer about results alone but more about leading or guiding, rather than giving instructions for every action. Well, this then becomes the logical basis of interpersonal skills to distinguish a manager from a leader. Creating conducive business patterns and processes requires this second skill.
Interpersonal skills, in short, are the ability to work effectively as a member of a group and to build cooperative efforts within the team they lead. While technical skills are primarily concerned with working with "things" (processes or physical objects), interpersonal skills are primarily concerned with working with human relationships.
These skills are demonstrated in the way the individual perceives (and recognizes the perceptions of) his superiors, equals, and subordinates, and in the way he behaves subsequently.
Be interesting, right? When there are two people, with equally good technical skills, it could be that their career paths are inversely related.
One of the possible causes in my opinion is this interpersonal skill factor. Employees with good technical skills but not supported by interpersonal skills will be difficult to become future leaders.
Conceptual Ability Will Be The Main Key
Lastly, one that I think is most important is conceptual ability, but what is the reason?
Conceptual skills are how comprehensive understanding of a particular context. Conceptual skills represent one of the three skill sets identified by Robert Katz as critical to the success of leaders in an organization.
While each skill set is useful in different circumstances, I think conceptual skills tend to be most relevant in a broad strategic setting and, consequently, conceptual skills for me are critical to leadership success.
Why is that so? Because if we are already at the top level, a large part of our task is to identify and strategize for the broader operational and competitive approach of an organization.
This strategic planning includes many things, such as organizational values, vision, mission, and also the future of the business. Of course, the ability to create complex formulas and concepts to use as an organizational foundation requires conceptual skills, right?
Conceptual thinking allows for accurate and timely feedback, as well as resilience, and agility in problem solving. In addition, basically, conceptual skills are inherent in us. However, not everyone is able to maximize conceptual skills.
Whereas in the era of connecting the dots as it is today, conceptual skills are needed, especially in the world of work. In fact, this skill is very useful for developing strategies and expanding existing business lines in a company.
The more concepts that emerge, the more opportunities to make ourselves known as quality individuals at the same time are bigger and once again, all lead to the opportunity to move up the career ladder faster.
Conclusion
If we want to have a good career trajectory and consistently go to the top, then these three concepts can be tried, of course the results will be different for each person. But for me it's better to try and then succeed than never try at all and fail.