Have you ever wondered how to elevate from an individual contributor to a leadership position? Well, it's all about picking the right elevator.

Imagine your current position as an elevator, and it has stopped at the seventh floor.  Despite pushing all the buttons, that elevator just will not go up.  So, what do you do?

Likely you would get out of the elevator, which represents your decision to make a job change.  But notice, you are still on the same floor that you're exiting.

A common misconception is that someone stuck in an individual contributor role can move out of their company and up a functional level. The rule that I've seen apply in nearly all cases is:

If you want to move up a functional level, you almost always have to do that within your company.  If you want to move out of your company, you almost always have to do that at the same functional level.

There is not some Wankavator that can move you up and out in one diagonal move. So, a person has to get out of the elevator on the seventh floor and enter a new elevator on that same floor. Yes, a lateral move, but you're entering an elevator that is going up.

As you evaluate the bank of elevators to see which one can take you to that next level, how can you know which one to choose?  This is where pa