Reach Your Career Goals: How Great Managers Fast-Track Growth
30 January 2025
Beyond the Traditional Career Path—How Great Managers Fast-Track Growth
Have you ever looked at professionals in top positions and wondered, “How did they get there so fast?” You’ve been working hard, submitting resumes, and waiting for the right opportunity. But somehow, they seem to have cracked the code while you’re still stuck in line.
Here’s the truth: successful professionals don’t just follow the traditional career path—they take control and manage it strategically. The best part? You can do it too. In this article, we’ll break down the key strategies. These will help you take charge of your career, stand out, and accelerate your growth—wherever you are in your career. Read on!
Set Clear Priorities—And Stick to Them
Time is the one thing you can’t get back. Yet many professionals spend so much time stuck in tasks that don’t actually move them forward. This is the difference between those who achieve rapid success and those who feel like they’re constantly busy but going nowhere. They know exactly where to focus their time and energy. Start by thinking about these 4 simple ways to help you create a clear priority list:
- Define your top goals: What’s most important? Career growth, work-life balance,
personal development, or networking? - Separate urgent from important: Not all tasks deserve your attention. Focus on what brings real progress, not just what’s pressing.
- Prioritize opportunities that align with your vision: If an offer doesn’t move you closer to your goals, it’s not worth your time.
- Reevaluate every 6-12 months: Just like career goals, priorities shift. Regularly assess where your time is going and adjust as needed.
A well-structured priority list guides every decision you make. This ensures you stay on track rather than chasing random opportunities.
Work Smarter with Professional Recruiters
Job searching is a full-time job in itself. Between crafting the perfect resume, writing tailored cover letters, and applying to countless positions, the process can quickly become overwhelming. And after all that effort? You’re still competing with hundreds—sometimes thousands—of other applicants.
That’s why top professionals don’t do it alone—they partner with professional recruiters to manage the process and land better opportunities faster. Instead of spending hours applying to jobs that may never respond, recruiters connect you directly with hiring managers. This helps you skip the long and exhausting application process.
The best part? Whether you want to work for lawyers in Dade County or for linguists in Denver Colorado, finding these recruiters is simple. A search of online directories will help you connect with general recruiters or with those who specialize in your preferred career field.
Learn to Say ‘No’ to Distractions
Many professionals stay busy but never truly move forward. The problem? They say “yes” to too many low-value tasks that don’t align with their career goals. Identifying and then staying focused on those goals is critical for fast-tracking career growth. Here are some tips to help you on your way:
- Avoid unnecessary outings: Decline invites that don’t require your input.
- Limit “filler” work: Focus on tasks that build skills, expand your network, or get you noticed.
- Don’t be afraid to decline internship projects: If something doesn’t contribute to your career growth, it’s okay to say no.
- Protect deep work time: Set aside hours for meaningful tasks that actually push your career forward.
Leverage Data & Technology for Better Time Management
Technology isn’t just for convenience—it’s a powerful tool for career acceleration. The right digital strategies help professionals stay ahead, manage time efficiently, and make smarter career moves. Here are three ways to use data & tech to help you manage your time effectively:
- Google Alerts for key topics: Set these up and get notified about changes in your field so you’re always ahead of the curve.
- Time-blocking apps: Try tools like Notion, Trello, and Clockify help prioritize high-impact work over distractions.
- AI-powered resume scanners: Optimize your applications with platforms that analyze job descriptions and tailor your resume accordingly.
Pinpoint Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Many professionals try to improve everything at once—learning new skills, juggling responsibilities, and saying yes to every project. But this approach spreads you too thin, making it hard to see real progress. The result? Wasted time, slow growth, and constant frustration. Instead of trying to do it all, smart professionals pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses first. This helps them prioritize what needs improvement and manage their preparation more effectively. Indeed, strengths-based management is one of the things that makes great managers great! Think about how to use this strategy with these tips:
- Identify Strengths & Weaknesses: List your top strengths and the areas where you struggle. Are you great at strategy but weak in communication? Strong in technical work but slow in leadership?
- Allocate Time Wisely: Divide your schedule based on strengths and weaknesses. Spend time mastering what you’re good at while dedicating focused effort to fixing weak spots.
- Measure Progress & Adjust: Track improvements over time, just like you would with a work project. If one skill still holds you back, reassess and adjust your approach.
Wrapping Up
Success is not just about working hard—it’s about managing your career with intention. By setting clear priorities, leveraging recruiters, eliminating distractions, and refining your strengths, you take control of your growth. So, start managing smarter today and watch your career accelerate.
More career development tools and thought-provokers!
In these trying times, your next big career move may have been forced on you. If so, you might find some helpful tips in our article: Dealing with Job Loss: Survive and Thrive with ‘Plan A’. Or for more career development resources look at our great-value guides. These include some excellent tools to help your personal development plan. The best-value approach is to buy our Personal Development bundle, available from the store.
We’ve bundled together these five e-guides at half the normal price! Read the guides in this order, and use the tools in each, and you’ll be well on your way to achieving your personal development plan. (5 guides, 125 pages, 26 tools, for half price!)
Manage Your Own Performance (28 pages, 6 tools)
Managers Make the Difference (27 pages, 5 tools)
Managing from Strength to Strength (22 pages, 5 tools)
Making Change Personal (22 pages, 5 tools)
Re-defining Middle Management (26 pages, 5 tools)
>> Return to the Personal Development Knowledge Hub