One of the greatest determinants of career growth is your leadership skills. The people who make it to the top of their field have not only honed technical skills but also worked on their soft skills.

As one of the top global companies, Amazon is a result-driven organization. The work culture is centered mostly on productivity and innovation. To grow your Amazon career, you must be proactive and goal-driven.

Amazon’s Leadership Principles

Amazon’s success can be attributed to visionary leadership, and it’s no wonder more businesses are learning from the company. To rise through the ranks at Amazon, you must adhere to the following key leadership principles:

• Be obsessed with the customer
• Take ownership of your actions
• Be innovative
• Have good judgment
• Have curiosity and a desire to learn
• Hire and develop talent
• Establish and maintain the highest standards
• Always think big
• Act rapidly
• Use resources wisely
• Earn the trust of your colleagues
• Attention to detail
• Have a backbone
• Deliver results

Amazon swears by these leadership principles, and they will serve as your guide to decision-making and career progression. Every decision and action made by Amazon revolves around these principles, and they have helped many define their success at Amazon and other organizations.

Develop a growth mindset

Your mindset is the tool you use to interpret the vents around you, and this determines how you will respond. As a leader, having a growth mindset is paramount. You will face many challenges as a leader, and how you respond to them will determine how far you go.

• Learning from your failures is one of the best ways to grow in any capacity. Some of the best inventions were born out of countless failures.
• These are some strategies you can use to cultivate a growth mindset:
• View each failure as an opportunity to learn
• Embrace challenges that come your way
• Put in time and effort to improve yourself
• Reflect regularly on how you can improve
• Understand your strengths and limitations
• Identify opportunities to celebrate your milestones and those of others

Enhance your decision-making and problem-solving abilities

The role of data in Amazon’s decision-making process cannot be overstated. Amazon uses consumer data to predict what consumers will buy and when. Big data drives the company, with insights such as inventory levels, customer orders, and shipping routes guiding every decision for maximum efficiency.

As such, to grow your career and become a leader at Amazon, you must develop and improve your analytical and critical thinking skills. One day to develop these skills is to take Data analytics courses through Amazon partners like Pathstream. This way, you can enhance your skills and grow your career at no cost.

There are many other ways to improve your critical thinking and analytical skills, including the following:

• Read widely
• Always consider opposing viewpoints
• Engage deeply with data
• Incorporate analytical tools into your daily life
• Keep a journal for reflection

Improve your communication and collaboration skills

Leaders with great communication and collaboration skills see improved relationships and higher productivity in the workplace. Clear, concise, and effective communication is the key to smooth operations. At Amazon, it is communication and collaboration that helps the employees scale and improve their employee experience.

As a leader, you must work on your interpersonal and teamwork abilities, as they will help you motivate your team, encourage collaboration, and foster a strong engagement. Here are some tips to help strengthen your interpersonal skills:

• Assess your current strengths and weaknesses so you know where to start
• Cultivate a positive mindset
• Be assertive  
• Show interest in your colleagues
• Practice active listening
• Practice empathy

Take ownership and accountability

Effective leaders can hold themselves accountable for their actions and decisions. Demonstrating initiative and responsibility in projects sets you apart and gets you noticed by upper management.

Accountability spurs innovation among your team, which leads to better success and increased productivity in the long run. Taking ownership also means the ability to manage priorities and resources effectively. Strategies for proper management and prioritization include the following:

• Visualize every project before starting
• Keep projects on track
• Build a work/life balance for your team to avoid burnout
• Use triage tasks to give priority to the most important
• Use data-driven resource allocation
• Plan for uncertainty
• Always optimize resources

Build emotional intelligence

The ability to control and manage your emotions and those of others will help foster long-term relationships built on trust. Emotional intelligence is one of the most critical skills to help you recognize and solve problems.

Empathy and self-awareness are an inevitable part of your skill set as a leader. They help you foster a positive work culture, which has a direct impact on productivity and efficiency. Some of the techniques you can use to develop emotional intelligence in the workplace are:

• Building self-awareness
• Practicing empathy
• Recognizing and appreciating your colleagues’ efforts
• Embracing constructive conflict
• Practicing active listening

Seek mentorship and learn from others

Whether you’re just getting started or an experienced worker looking to climb the corporate ladder, finding a mentor is an essential step to help you in your journey. Mentors help provide real-life insight to help you in your personal and professional development.

A mentor will guide you toward achieving the goals you set for yourself, encourage you every step of the way through constructive feedback, and hold you accountable. Their experience will help steer you away from the mistakes they made so you can speed up your professional advancement.

You can establish and maintain a mentorship relationship by demonstrating interest, communicating openly, connecting often, and setting SMART goals. When you’re honest and clearly define your expectations, achieving the set goals is easier.

Leverage Amazon’s resources for leadership development

There are many leadership development resources and opportunities available to you as an Amazon worker. You can effectively leverage these resources by taking Amazon-sponsored courses and training programs, and even internal networking opportunities and employee resource groups.

These programs and resources are there specifically for you, and you should take full advantage of them to advance your career.

Key Takeaway

There are no downsides to developing your leadership skills to advance at Amazon. Besides rising through the ranks at Amazon, you can use your developed skills to land a job elsewhere. You can take full charge of your career growth at Amazon by taking full advantage of the available resources.

 

How Pathstream can help you advance your career at Amazon?

Pathstream’s course offerings directly address the skills employees will need to thrive in one of Amazon’s many high-paying jobs.

Dive into Pathstream’s meticulously curated courses, strategically designed to target and develop the precise skill sets demanded by Amazon’s high-paying positions. Discover the key areas of focus within Pathstream’s comprehensive curriculum, ensuring a seamless, effective, and rewarding upskilling experience like no other. 

Elevate your career prospects and unlock a world of possibilities with Pathstream’s specialized courses.