Expert advice for the go-getters

Hungry for a pay rise? Four chief executives tell JOHN DRINNAN how to get one.

THE GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT CHIEF

Health Ministry chief executive Karen Poutasi, 53, has spent her entire career in public health and for the past seven years has sat at the top of the public service ladder, running the Health Ministry with a staff of 900 and controlling $8.5 billion in government health funding.

She firmly believes that the public service is an attitude, not a sector group.

"I am always looking for a sense of public service when I am promoting in the senior ranks.

"We are a big organisation, but at heart we are offering a public service, and if that does not show through they are just not going to succeed."

Her recommendations for public servants seeking a pay rise:

* Demonstrate good people skills.

"I look for people who consult, persuade and take others with them. The ones who can go to a meeting, see someone and recognise whose strengths haven't been tapped yet."

* Have integrity and depth.

"The health sector has smart people, and they can spot the people who say all the right things, but have nothing there to back it up. These style-over-substance people are not genuinely interested in public service. They're in the wrong job."

* Make a difference.

"To get noticed in a big organisation, you have to make a difference with an idea or an approach that actually helps us to deliver."

* Show how you make good decisions.

"I look for people who have displayed superb judgment whether in their existing jobs or maybe outside work. People who've had to make a hard decision and made the right one. It shows they can be left to perform."

THE BIG CORPORATE BOSS

TelstraClear chief executive Rosemary Howard held several senior posts during 10 years at Telstra before she took over the merged telco at the end of last year.

She oversees 1200 staff and TelstraClear, like most corporates, expects them to adhere to a strict, customer-focused culture. And there are a few habits that will boost your chances of a pay rise in the industry:

* Be a visible leader.

"Leaders do not just sit around behind a desk. You have to walk the floors, talking with people."

* Set realistic goals.

"It's not enough just to have ambitious goals. Check they are realistic and not just a dream. Set quarterly reviews with regular checks so you can be sure of getting there."

* Just do it.

"We don't have the head-room to tell people what to do. If people do not take things and run, then they are not the right sort of people."

* Pull other people along with you.

"There is a risk in an organisation that the most extroverted people attract all the attention. But there is no point in thinking the right thing and never saying it.

"Extrovert or introvert, you look for people who go on a journey and take others with them."

* Don't forget the routine basics.

"It's great if you come up with big creative ideas [that deliver business] but you also have to keep an eye on the day-to-day work."

* Pat your own back.

"You want people who have enough self-confidence so they don't rely on others to tell them how great they are. You know best whether you have done a good job."

THE NON-CORPORATE, SMALLER COMPANY

David Walden, 53, is one of New Zealand's best-known advertising executives and heads a staff of 38 at Auckland ad agency Whybin TBWA.

Recently he has attracted fame (or notoriety - take your pick) by heading the BlackHearts group against Kiwi sailors in foreign America's Cup syndicates.

Advertising evokes images of highly individualistic people jostling against one another for big accounts and extravagant pay packets. Yet Walden values teamwork most of all.

"Advertising is very tribal. You are in the Whybin team or some other, and the ability to collaborate is important. I'm happiest with people when I see them working well within the team."

And these are the sorts of things he says will enhance your pay packet in the ad world:

* Show curiosity.

"You can always teach skills but you cannot teach attitude. A curious person is engaged in their work. They have an attitude 'how can we do it?' and not 'why we can't'. Talk about the next deal, not the last one.

"Don't go on and on about your past successes. To the person who says, 'I got this account last year', I just say, 'that was last year, what are you doing now?' Lots of people talk the talk, but you also have to deliver."

* Don't whinge.

"I worry when I see people going off on their own or sitting in a corner, whinging and moaning, becoming isolated and divorced from what is going on.

"Their heart isn't in the job. They are either going to leave or just do not contribute to the team."

Show you have an open mind.

"I like to see people who go into an account with no preconceived ideas. If there is a common theme amongst people who do not get ahead in advertising, it is that they don't listen to others, including the client."

* Show some humility.

"When I've been at other agencies, I've seen people who believe that because they work for this agency or that agency they have a right to behave how they like. It goes against them."

THE INVESTMENT COMPANY

Alan Bradley, 61, joined Royal and SunAlliance as a young man in his native England and describes himself as a 40-year man.

After several years in the No 2 post, for the past five years he has been chief executive of New Zealand's biggest insurance group, including the investment and funds management arms Guardian Trust and Guardian Trust Funds Management.

Bradley says the company looks for leaders rather than managers.

"We found 10 years ago, staff considered our executives were good managers but not good leaders, and we've sought to change that," he says.

If you're seeking a promotion in finance, he says, bear these points in mind:

* Listen to what others say about you.

"Seven or eight years ago as part our internal assessments I was told that I was too decisive and that I needed to take time to listen to people more.

"I was seen as too busy. These are things I worked on and I believe helped me."

* Feel good about what you do and realistic about your limits.

"One of the saddest things is people who have ambitions way beyond their ability."

* Banish back-stabbing.

"In a healthy organisation you have a subtle blend of ambition and teamwork.

"But if I were to see people stabbing others in the back to get ahead, then it would be a black mark against them."

* Don't tread on people on the way to the top.

"To be successful you do not need to be hard as nails. Just because there may be a difficult job that needs to be done doesn't mean you have to be unpleasant about it."

* Show you have a strategy.

"Have a good idea on what you want to do. Show that you have put some thought into your career."

* Do some self-promotion - but take it easy.

"You need to let people know your ambitions, but personally, I get irritated by people who push their own barrow all the time."