I would like to sit down and meet with a very senior person at my organization to discuss the future of the organization, where I will fit in, what I can do currently to increase my responsibilities. My current supervisor is aware of my ambition and drive to move up, but does not want me directly meeting with the other person. I am quite honest with my supervisor about my future goals, but I think that the senior person might be able to give me a sense of where I could go within the organization. Should I meet with this person or not?

This is a tricky situation. Your drive seems to be a threat to your current boss. My real concern is that it seems your current supervisor is not as interested in your future with the organization as you are. The real issue is who will influence your future, and who else in the organization will influence the next steps of your career.

Consider suggesting more of an “off the record” type meeting with this senior person. Grab a coffee together with the purpose of discussing their thoughts on how you are doing, what kinds of things will be happening with the organization, where do they see things going, and what kind of sense they have about you evolving your career within the organization. That will give you a sense of your “brand” within the organization. More importantly, it will help you in building key relationships within the rest of the organization, which is a pivotal factor in developing your career. My experience is that people are promoted based on a few key things, one is obviously their skill set, but the other is how trusted they are based on the strength of the relationships they have developed. Build as many relationships as you can, however, they need to be sincere and not strictly for the purpose of advancing your career.

The other option is to not take action. The downside of this is that you are really leaving your career plan with your boss, who seems to be more threatened by you than interested in your future. You have to decide which is more risky: to not take action and leave it to chance, or to take a smart risk.

Alan Kearns is the Head Coach and the Brand Champion! of CareerJoy. He is one of Canada’s foremost experts on all things career. With more than 14 years of experience coaching people through successful career changes, he brings an intimate knowledge of the entire transition process to all of his clients. To contact Alan about paid professional services, e-mail alan@careerjoy.com or visit his web site www.careerjoy.com.

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Disclaimer: Advice and recommendations are based on limited information provided and should be used as a guideline only. Neither the author nor CharityVillage.com make any warranty, express or implied, or assume any legal liability for accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information provided in whole or in part within this article.