Leanna Cruz
Editorial Director

Reach for the stars is a common phrase we have all heard before. As an adult you use the phrase to encourage others to pursue their goals and to aim high. If you say the same encouraging words to a child with a scientific mind she may tell you that her arms aren’t long enough or that stars are gaseous and that if she can some how find a yet to be discovered means to grab one it will vaporize her. Her perspective and accurate explanation quashes your creative wish for her to excel and your encouraging words become meaningless. She has missed your message. So many of us face this in our career.

You begin a career at a company in which opportunities abound. From the companies perspective you can reach the executive suit, but from your perspective you can count several logical reasons why you cannot. What if you change your perspective? What if you saw things from the point of view of those holding your space at the top?

The maze to the executive suite is not straight forward for anyone. Maintaining a high level of knowledge and skill, honing your strengths to add value and developing the soft skills necessary to get there makes navigation less treacherous. Everyone faces road bumps, though they are not in the same places or same form. Rather than stopping at the bumps and analyzing why they are there and explaining why they hinder your progress, look at road bumps from a different perspective and learn how to drive over them.

From one perspective there are opportunities for those willing to hold leadership positions but from other perspectives there are so many reasons why you can’t. I would encourage you to be aware of the road bumps and learn how to drive over them. Anyone who successfully holds a leadership position has had to do the same.