There comes a point in your career development where advancement is no longer purely about becoming a technical expert. You’ll hit a crossroads where pursuing career goals that you want now requires you to play a different game strategy in your career version of Game of Thrones.

When it comes to advancing your career progress as an employee and/or business owner, there are key skills without which you’re going to hit an extremely frustrating plateau.

Whilst these skills will all help you achieve greater workplace success, what’s more important is determining which ones are most appropriate for you to start addressing depending upon where you are along your current journey.

1. Persuasion and influencing skills.

When you invest in learning the native language of those whose support or trust you need and can respond to them in that language, doors open, people listen and respond favorably. They grow to know, like and trust from you creating for them a feeling of safety.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle coined three terms – pathos, ethos and logos – systems of communicating which connect to our consciousness through different gateways.

Each way serves as a powerful way to influence and persuade those you need to build strong relationships with to advance your career:

Pathos

Some people are inspired to respond because they were able to feel certain emotions. It’s not just about your ability to make people feel good.

It’s about using words, examples and stories which elicit the right emotion which drives them to behave in ways that serve you and/or them. You speak to their heart.

Ethos

If certain people who can help you advance give high respect to achievements, status and authority, don’t be afraid to flash the results you have achieved or mention you graduated from an Ivy League school.

Doors often open because of our professional associations, memberships and career certifications. Use them to your advantage.

Logos

Learn to be good at formulating your case based on evidence and research, and you’re likely to win the argument with who make decisions based on this foundation. Use logic and be prepared to speak in facts, numbers and figures.

2.  Develop a commercial attitude.

Making concerted efforts to develop a commercial business perspective will truly fast-track your workplace success. Invest in programs and education which expand your thinking beyond excelling in your role. Broaden your awareness of wider aspects that make your organization run.

When you demonstrate an appreciation of the other essential cogs which turn in the engine room of your organization (e.g. financial, social, policy, environmental and mental) you illustrate higher contributive value. You’ll be recognized as having expansive thinking and capacity to perform and manage responsibilities at higher levels.

Wider possibilities, valuable connections and ideas that could advance your career in ways you have not yet been able to fathom will become more available to you.

3. Transformational Conflict Management and Negotiation Skills

When you can mediate two or more feuding parties to achieve a workable resolve, you become an irreplaceable commodity with greater bargaining power.

Whether you’re one of the disagreeing parties or not, doing the following background checks before initiating invitations to start resolution-focused discussions will greatly improve your chances of a successful outcome where there’s conflict:

• Learn the details and facts of the argument each party supports
• Gather further information from each party to learn the perspective and personal values driving their argument

Now, set the time-frame and framework for the negotiation process.

Transparently direct and communicate that equal space and time will be given for each party to gather their facts, figures and perspectives. It’s also mandatory each party knows they will be listened to and respected. Empathetic recognition of each other’s positions and perspectives is an essential stage in the negotiation process.

Invite each party to come together to mediate but dictate boundaries as to the conduct of communication. Illustrate how the rules are to everyone’s benefit.

State how and when each party communicates with another and designate a chair to ensure the exchange stays on course. Disallow any room for personal attacks, criticism, opinions and judgments.

Make part of the negotiation process an educational opportunity which sets precedent for how those parties will communicate when future disagreements arrive. Emphasize how it’s in their best interests to conduct themselves differently going forward, so they can be empowered to manage future conflict themselves.

4. Be prepared to clean-up, complement and then create.

Unless your new workplace has deliberately engaged you to cause a human capital hurricane, remember that regardless of the position you hold coming into a new role and environment, you are the new kid on the block. Looking to achieve quick wins will accelerate your passing initiation with the existing business team.

If there are existing projects that have come to a standstill, see if you can participate in accelerating their resolution. Volunteering to takeover tedious assignments will likely earn you more brownie points but use the opportunity to work in congruence with the original champions. Offer to share the reins not take them over completely.

Only when you’ve completed some hard yards have you earned your right to suggest new and unfamiliar initiatives. Demonstrate to the existing team they need and deserve time to adjust to you, just as you do to them, and you’ll hit the ground running paving a clear pathway for new success in that workplace from the outset.

5. Become adept at addressing workplace stress and increasing resilience.

The World Health Organization recognizes depression as the leading cause of disability worldwide and incidences of mental health conditions in entrepreneurs and senior managers are being increasingly being documented. When you can demonstrate, teach and support those you lead or work alongside that success can be achieved without burning the candle at both ends, you’ll quickly grab the attention of progressive predecessors.

Proactively working with a performance psychologist or therapist will greatly enhance your own mental and emotional resilience in the face of heightened work stress. Seeing you accelerate your performance capacity, others are likely to cheerlead their own career success by following your shining example. As you advance, so too do they.