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Step 1
Become an expert in a specific aspect of your field. Advance into management by doing great work. Unless you are a prodigy or have preternatural business skills, you probably won't be able to master all areas of your business. So, pick a particular area of your business and become your company's expert on that topic.
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Step 2
Become the go-to guy. Becoming a person in the company whom people feel they should go to for advice or help with solving a problem will do a great deal for your advance into a management position. Once other colleagues start to ask you for help, the upper management will start hearing your name as a reliable and competent employee.
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Step 3
Take a controlled risk--it might be social, such as speaking very candidly with a boss, or it might be more intellectual, like taking the initiative to write a report on a topic or problem in the company that others aren't paying attention to. Either way, taking a risk is a good way to advance yourself into management.
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Step 4
Learn to manage people. All too often, management-hungry employees let their financial eyes get bigger than their business appetites. If you are serious about advancing to a management position then you need to start learning to manage people on a daily basis. Even before you get the position, build teams and work as a team member so your colleagues maintain respect for you as you advance up the food chain.
