Boost Your Career Fast: 4 Catapult Moves for Executives
The fastest way to boost your career at the senior level is not another certification or a slightly bigger title. It is taking on the kind of assignment that compresses years of experience into one or two: building something from scratch, stepping up before you feel ready, or fixing something that is broken. Then you make sure the market can see what you did. Those four moves are what recruiters and boards actually notice.
Key Takeaways:
- Research from the CEO Genome Project found the average CEO took 24 years from first job to the top role, and the fastest risers got there through bold moves, not perfect pedigrees.
- Three "career catapults" showed up again and again: going small or sideways to build something, making a big leap, and inheriting a big mess.
- 97% of the fastest risers had at least one of those experiences. Only 24% had elite MBAs.
- The fourth way is the one most executives skip: translating the catapult into a story, a resume and a network that the market can price.
- Speed comes from the size of the problem you own, not the number of years you put in.
Table of Contents
- Why Some Executive Careers Move Faster
- Way 1: Go Small or Sideways to Go Big
- Way 2: Take the Big Leap Before You Feel Ready
- Way 3: Volunteer for the Mess
- Way 4: Make the Market See It
- How to Choose Your Next Catapult
- Recruiter's Take
- FAQ
- Sources
Why Some Executive Careers Move Faster
Most senior professionals assume careers advance on a schedule: put in the years, hit the numbers, wait for the next level to open. Plenty of strong leaders then stall at director or VP for years.
The CEO Genome Project, a 10 year study by the leadership advisory firm ghSMART that drew on more than 17,000 C suite executive assessments, looked closely at "CEO sprinters," leaders who reached the CEO role faster than the average of 24 years from their first job. The researchers found that sprinters did not accelerate by collecting the perfect resume. They made bold career moves that catapulted them forward. Three types of moves were most common, and 97% of the sprinters had at least one of them. Close to half had at least two. Only 24% held elite MBAs.
You do not have to want the CEO job for this to apply. The same logic holds for the move from director to VP, or from VP to the C suite. Hiring committees promote people who have already done a smaller version of the next job. Catapult experiences are how you get that proof quickly.
Way 1: Go Small or Sideways to Go Big
More than 60% of the sprinters in the study took a smaller role at some point. That meant launching a new product or division inside their company, moving to a smaller company where they could carry more responsibility, or starting a business. In each case, they built something from the ground up and made an outsized impact.
What this looks like for a senior professional
- Leaving a large functional role to run a full P&L at a smaller business unit or company.
- Raising your hand to lead a new market entry, a new product line or a new shared services function.
- Taking a lateral move into a function you have never run (for example, operations to commercial) so you become a general manager candidate.
The trap to avoid
"Smaller" has to mean broader scope, not just a smaller logo. If the new role gives you the same slice of work at a company with less brand recognition, you have not gained anything. If you will own more of the outcome than you do today, a step that looks backward on paper can be the fastest step forward.
Way 2: Take the Big Leap Before You Feel Ready
More than a third of the sprinters made a very big leap, often in the first decade of their careers, skipping a level (sometimes two) even when they felt unready. One example from the research: a 24 year old senior accountant at a $200 million business was offered the CFO role eight months after joining, vaulting past the controller who hired him.
That sounds like luck. The researchers argue sprinters make their own luck: they seek out cross functional projects, get involved in merger integrations, ask for more responsibility, take on hard problems and say yes to bigger opportunities, ready or not.
How to create the opening
- Tell your boss and your sponsor what job you want next. Leaders cannot advocate for a leap they do not know you want. If you are unsure of the difference between a mentor and a sponsor, read sponsorship vs. mentorship.
- Take the interim role. When a leader above you leaves, offer to cover. Interim periods are auditions with real stakes.
- Say yes to the integration. Mergers, carve outs and system replacements touch every function and put you in rooms with the executive team.
A script for asking
"I want to be considered for [role] when it opens, and I know there are gaps between where I am and what that job needs. What would you need to see from me in the next six months to put my name forward? If there is a project that would close that gap, I want it."
Way 3: Volunteer for the Mess
Over 30% of the sprinters led a team through a big mess: a failing unit, a crisis, a turnaround. The researchers point out that a crisis gives emerging leaders a chance to show they can assess a situation calmly, make decisions under pressure, take calculated risks, rally people and persevere. In other words, it is preparation for the top job.
From the hiring side, this is the experience boards and search firms ask about most directly. Some version of "Tell me about the hardest situation you inherited" comes up in a large share of senior interviews.
| Type of mess | What it proves | How to describe it on a resume |
|---|---|---|
| Underperforming region or unit | Turnaround judgment and P&L ownership | Starting metric, ending metric, timeframe |
| Failed system or program rollout | Execution and cross functional influence | What was broken, what you changed, adoption or cost result |
| Post acquisition integration | Change leadership and retention of talent | Synergies delivered, people retained, deadlines met |
| Regulatory, quality or customer crisis | Composure and stakeholder management | Scope of the issue, decisions made, outcome |
A word of caution: choose messes where you will have real authority and support. A turnaround without the budget or decision rights to fix it can stall a career instead of speeding it up.
Way 4: Make the Market See It
This is the step I see senior professionals skip most often. They do the hard assignment, then describe it on their resume as "Responsible for operations of the Northeast region." The catapult happened, but nobody outside the building can see it.
Visibility is how the external market prices your experience. Spencer Stuart's study of 300 CEO transitions at S&P 500 companies from 2004 to 2008 found that insiders and outsiders performed about the same. Boards hire from outside regularly, which means your next leap may come from a company that has never worked with you. They only know what you show them.
Three ways to make a catapult visible
- Rewrite the resume around the problem, not the title. Lead with what was broken or missing, what you did and the measurable result. See executive resume achievements recruiters notice for examples.
- Turn it into one interview story. Two minutes: situation, the decision you made, what it cost, and what changed.
- Update LinkedIn and tell five people. Your headline and About section should name the type of problem you solve. Then tell the recruiters and former colleagues who would refer you.
How to Choose Your Next Catapult
You do not need all four at once. Pick the one that fills the biggest gap between your current record and the job you want next.
- Never owned a full P&L? Go small or sideways to get one.
- Been "almost ready" for two promotion cycles? Push for the big leap or an interim role.
- Only led healthy, growing teams? Look for a turnaround or integration.
- Already have the experience but no calls? Your problem is visibility, not capability. Start with Way 4.
For a broader plan that ties these moves to a timeline, read our career advancement strategy for executives.
Recruiter's Take
When I review a senior candidate, I am scanning for one thing: has this person already done a harder version of what we need? Years of service do not answer that. A turnaround, a build or a jump in scope does.
The executives who move fastest are rarely the ones who waited to be ready. They took the uncomfortable assignment, delivered something they could measure, and then made sure the right people heard about it. If you have the experience but your materials and network are not showing it, that is a fixable problem. It is exactly what we work on with leaders in Elevate, our 1:1 executive job search coaching.
Want a recruiter in your corner for your next senior role? Book a free call with Resume Wiz and we will map out your next move together.
FAQ
What is the fastest way to boost your career as an executive?
Take on an assignment that expands your scope quickly: building a new business or function, stepping up a level, or leading a turnaround. Then document the results so recruiters and decision makers can see them.
Is taking a lateral move bad for my career?
Not if it gives you broader ownership. In the CEO Genome Project research, more than 60% of the fastest rising CEOs took a smaller role at some point, usually to build something from the ground up.
Should I take a promotion I do not feel ready for?
Often, yes, if you have support and clear success measures. More than a third of the fastest risers in the study made a big leap before they felt fully prepared and learned on the job.
Do I need an MBA to move up faster?
Not necessarily. Only 24% of the CEO sprinters in the study had elite MBAs, while 97% had at least one catapult experience.
How do I show a turnaround on my resume?
State the starting point, what you changed and the result, with numbers and a timeframe. Lead the bullet with the problem you inherited, not your job title.
Sources
- ghSMART: The Fastest Path to the CEO Job, According to a 10 Year Study (published in Harvard Business Review)
- CNBC Make It: 10 year study finds that this is the fastest way to become a CEO
- The Globe and Mail: Three steps to becoming a CEO
- Spencer Stuart: Succeeding at Succession (Harvard Business Review)
