Are you trying to get ahead?  Have you been struggling to figure out what action you take will leave the biggest footprint on your career?  If this is you, then stay tuned.  This is the first article in a series of three articles about your career, and how you can shift it out of neutral. Let's get started!

The first thing to remind yourself is that the current economic situation has slowed down promotions and development in many industries.  That aside, we all want to make traction in our career, regardless of outside economic conditions.  Read on to find some of the many tactics that managers have used on their way to becoming executives and CEOs.

Break new ground.

So you have finally garnered the corner office--or its equivalent in your company.  Now it is time to get out of it.  Really.  Leading requires getting your hands into everything, so you should be on the floor or around the office for part of each day, seeing for yourself how things are running in the organization.  Strategy is critical, but it is important to keep it real by staying in touch with what is happening around you.

Break the preconceptions that people have about someone in your position by being visible and engaged during the business day.

Utilize the unexpected and concrete.

Have a concrete way of conveying big ideas.  Use real examples.  Take Jim Donalds, former CEO of Starbucks.  He has what he calls his "fish story." When talking about the company to large groups, whether they are investors, vendors, or internal managers, he brings a fresh salmon out of a Styrofoam chest to exemplify his point about resilience.

In his words, " I want to be the fish like the salmon that swims upstream when others are coming down, meaning that if we can catch our competition resting on their laurels as we make our way upstream, we'll end up winning.  I want to be the fish that jumps over these hurdles and obstacles called debt that get in the way, you know, like a salmon jumps over stones and boulders." 

Jim Donald's fish story gives him a concrete and unexpected way to convey his vision.  Come up with your own fish story.  Do you have one for the current initiatives of your job?  How about a fish story that you use for yourself, to keep focused on where you are going in your career? 

Encourage risk-taking

Have you ever heard the saying that "A turtle only moves forward when it sticks its neck out?"  It has been attributed to James Bryant Conant, onetime president of Harvard.  The fact is that if you stay in touch with people on the front lines, and give them the power to take some risks--and possibly fail, they will likely stick their necks out, and make some movement. 

This adage will work for you as well as your subordinates and colleagues across the company.  Regardless of countless best-selling books being published on the subject of risk, there are many managers, executives and CEOs who are still unwilling to foster risk-taking in their ranks.  Be one of the leaders who is a turtle, willing to stick its neck out and helping others do the same.

In Part 2 of Keys to Your Career, we will cover more sensible wisdom tactics for managers ready to move up.  Stay tuned!