How These 3 Steps Can Elevate Your Role from Task Manager to Trusted Advisor

I often get asked by emerging leaders and professionals in all kinds of roles how to transition from executing tasks to creating more influence and be seen as a leader and advisor in order to elevate their careers. 

Today, I’m breaking down three easy steps that anyone can use to position themselves as more than just a task manager. Within these steps you'll learn how to emphasize building relationships, developing a more strategic mindset and demonstrating measurable impact in your current role. 

Step 1. Strengthen relationships with key stakeholders. 

One easy place to start is to make an effort to focus more on active listening and understand the needs of the key stakeholders that you want to influence. Focus on learning what they care most about, what's important to them and what they're trying to achieve. You can learn a lot through listening to direct conversations and meetings, town halls and written communications as well as following them on social media if they post. When you better understand more about the people you want to influence it's easier to figure out ways where you can showcase your skills to them and add value beyond just completing immediate tasks at hand. 

Step 2. Think like a strategist. 

What does this mean? When you are thinking more like a strategist than a task manager, you are shifting from a focus on short-term tasks and execution to a broader, long-term perspective that drives outcomes and influences other organizational goals. Try and share tips with others that demonstrate your ability to  shift from a shorter term tactical focus to a long-term strategic outlook. You can do this by asking better questions, ask for example how your immediate tasks contribute to the organization’s larger goals and long-term success. Try to anticipate challenges and opportunities ahead of time and bring these up in your discussions with your manager and others.  

Step 3. Demonstrate your impact. 

I encourage you to reflect on how you can shift your focus in your current role away from just completing tasks to including more strategic influence. How are you measuring your success and are you considering the impact of your actions? Focus on achieving meaningful results that advance your larger team or organization’s objectives, even if that means prioritizing less important or fewer tasks at once. Think about the future, how does your immediate tasks aling with the company’s vision, where ae the trends heading, and how can you position what you do to have a bigger impact for success over time. 

These are a few of the steps that you can start taking today to begin shifting your focus from task completion to strategic influence in your current role. I encourage you to pick one of these steps to focus on this week and start making a difference in the trajectory of your career.  

Are there areas that your struggling with that are preventing you from making a shift to a more strategic leadership role? Drop a comment below or reach out to me directly, I’m here to support your journey.