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If you want to get ahead - get yourself an image

If HR Directors want to make it to the top then they should concentrate on their image and perceptions not just their skills.

Kevin McAlpin managing Director of Performance Coaching International said research showed that to get to CEO level as much as 80% of their time was spent perfecting the right attitude and resilience and only 20% their abilities.

He said that perception not reality was what people made their decisions on. What you do on a day to day basis your task and outcomes accounted for only 10% of your success.

Your personal style makes up 30% and other's perceptions of you and what you do makes up 60%. However McAlpin denied this perpetuated bad practice at the top of business.

"You need substance first" Yes this 10% is the foundation and you have to deliver first, but often you can deliver less but in the right way and the right time. Not delivering would be a mistake and would lead to loss of credibility and being known as the confident idiot. You need to project good practice - market what you are good at.

He warned delegates to look out for the factors that could derail their career when they are destined for the top.

In the United States, the Center for Creative Leadership conducted a study of the reasons why fast-tract managers derailed.

They found that young executives often displayed characteristics of extreme ambition, drove themselves and other people hard, and did not often care what others thought of them.

Frequently these characteristics manifested themselves in political manoeuvres, but it was those same characteristics that undermined them later in their careers.

Senior managers needed to be more strategic, take longer-term perspectives and be more skilful and considerate in dealing with people.

Those who remained overambitious, abrasive and willing to do anything tended to come unstuck. In short, those who lived by the sword, died by the sword.

For a full list and explanation of the factors that could derail your career e-mail info@performancecoachinginternational.com