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Career progression: how to move up in your career

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Career progression: Quick summary

  • Career progression means advancing professionally by developing skills, achieving goals and taking on more responsibility.
  • Creating a clear progression plan provides direction, motivation and may sometimes help you build a case for promotion.
  • Skills that can drive career growth are leadership, strategic thinking, commercial awareness and communication.
  • Qualifications and postgraduate study could support progression through building leadership skills, confidence, and subject knowledge.
  • An online MBA qualification with Walbrook means you can study and prioritise self-development alongside working.

Taking the right steps towards career progression

Are you looking to progress in your current role or career? A 2025 academic research paper shows that being proactive in the workplace can significantly contribute to career advancement. This could include building up your leadership and management skills, and investing in professional development.

By the end of this guide, you'll have a clear picture of the steps to take towards career progression, the skills that matter, and the benefits of qualifications and postgraduate study.

What is career progression?

Career progression means moving forward in your career, usually by taking on more responsibility, increasing your salary or stepping into a more senior position. You might progress from an experienced team member into management, or from managing a small team to leading a larger department.

Progression can be vertical, where you move into a more senior role, or horizontal, where you move into a different role or specialism at a similar level. In some cases, a horizontal move may help you gain the experience that supports your longer-term goals.

While a career change involves moving into a different profession or industry, progression usually means moving forward within your current field.

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Career progression vs career development

You've likely come across both of these terms if you've done some research into career progression. While career development focuses on building your skills, knowledge and experience, career progression is about using them to move forward. The two often go hand in hand, as developing your skills can help you prepare for your next step.

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Why a career progression plan matters

Are you unsure how to progress your career, and where to start? Creating a progression plan provides you with direction and motivation. It can also help you make a case for promotion, as you have something to look back on as evidence of milestones you have achieved or the effort you have put into further development and learning.

How to create a career progression plan

Progression looks different for everyone, and it can help to create a plan that you can track and review. Here are our top tips on creating your clear progression plan template:

  • 1. Set your career goal

    What does progression look like for you? Perhaps you want to move into your first management role, take responsibility for a larger team or work towards a senior leadership position. Set goals that will keep you motivated and give you a clear direction to work towards.

    Try to make your long-term goals specific if possible, and identify the type of role you want and the level of responsibility you're working towards. Look at job descriptions for roles that interest you and note down what employers are looking for.

  • 2. Identify skills you want to develop

    Once you know where you want to go, compare the skills and experience you already have with those required for your target role. Do you need to develop in particular areas? Maybe you need to improve your skills in strategic thinking, financial management, leadership or decision-making.

    While your long-term goal is likely the role you want to move into, short-term goals are useful for tracking your skills development over time. This could include volunteering in relevant areas in your workplace or developing a skill set and confidence through a short course or postgraduate degree. For example, if you're aiming for a senior business or management role, you could also consider whether an MBA or MSc in Business and Management would be relevant to your goals.

  • 3. Set realistic milestones

    A longer-term career goal will feel much more manageable if you break it into small milestones. You might aim to lead a project within the next six months, or apply for management positions once you've gained a particular area of experience.

    Create realistic time periods for each milestone to avoid becoming overwhelmed, and consider other factors like family commitments, financial considerations and your lifestyle. If you're struggling to find time to prioritise your progression goals, you might want to consider an online postgraduate course that provides more flexibility.

  • 4. Review your progress

    Check in with yourself and take some time to review your goals. You might find other areas of interest along the way, or other qualifications you want to take on. Your progression plan doesn't need to be concrete, so celebrate the small wins and make sure you look back at your plan regularly.

Skills that drive career growth

What skills could you work on developing to help you in your progression path? Valuable skills depend on the role you want to progress to, however the following skills are typically valuable in more senior roles:

Leadership skills

The UK Standard Skills Classification, published by Skills England in 2026, defines leadership as “inspiring, motivating and guiding others to work towards a common objective.” These traits may help you to climb the career ladder and show that you're able to take ownership and lead others.

In their Future of Jobs Report 2025, the World Economic Forum (WEF) found that 61% of UK employers find leadership to be a core skill for their workforce. You could improve your leadership and management skills through taking initiative in leading tasks and guiding others, or through relevant qualifications and training.

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Communication

Good communication is an important transferable skill, especially if you are interested in reaching management roles where you'll be expected to communicate confidently in meetings and manage difficult conversations. UK government research found that 89% of employers surveyed considered communication important when working with data, while 84% said the same for data literacy.

Practice sharing your ideas in meetings and suggesting improvements when you spot an opportunity. You can also build your communication skills by asking for feedback and listening to different viewpoints in your workplace.

Analytical thinking

Being able to assess information, identify problems and use evidence to reach a decision is extremely valuable in senior roles. The World Economic Forum's report findings showed analytical thinking among the most important skills for employers. Courses such as an MBA in business or a related field often encourage you to use analytical thinking, and you may also want to complete short courses that prepare you for analytical thinking in the workplace.

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Commercial awareness

Additionally, understanding how your company operates, including its customers, competitors and finances, can show employers that you understand its wider commercial goals. You may then want to build a case on how you can add value and help them achieve more revenue if you're given greater responsibility.

Moving from doing to leading: progressing into management

What can you expect to change when you progress in your career? Many working professionals find themselves in more of a leadership role that involves motivating and guiding others when they take that next step. Depending on the role, you might also expect to have more of a significant impact on the direction of the business, making more senior decisions and working alongside directors. Or, you might take on more responsibility and lead larger projects, depending on the role.

Barriers to career progression

Even with a clear plan for progression, some people still come across hurdles or factors that make them doubt their path. Here are some common barriers that can sometimes prevent career progression:

  • Lack of stretch opportunities

    You might feel that your efforts or personal strengths aren't visible to others in your workplace. Or, perhaps there aren't a lot of opportunities to progress in your workplace, and you may not have frequent performance reviews. Recent Department for Work and Pensions research found that UK workers can face limited opportunities to move into more senior roles with their current companies.

    If you feel that your current role doesn't show your skills, look for opportunities to share your results, ask to contribute to wider projects and build relationships beyond your immediate team. Could you lead a project, or take responsibility for a new area of work that interests you? If there are few opportunities to progress in your current organisation, looking for a more senior role elsewhere can also be a practical next step.

    If appropriate, it might help to talk to your line manager about your career goals too, so they can consider you when relevant opportunities come up.

  • Skills gaps

    Research also shows a link between skills gaps and progression. In the government's 2025 Adult Social Care Workforce Skills Survey, 19.9% of respondents said skills gaps resulted in limited opportunities for career progression.

    Not sure if you have the skills needed to progress? Look at job descriptions for the roles you want and compare the requirements with your current skills and experience. This helps you identify where to focus your development, whether that's through experience at work, training courses or further study such as an MBA.

  • Lack of confidence

    If you don't feel you're ready for a more senior role, you might hesitate to apply for a leadership role or talk to your manager about promotion. Or, you might feel nervous or unsure about leading a team or making more important business decisions. Research published by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found that confidence is an important part of progression at work, including feeling confident enough to discuss progression opportunities, search for a new role and complete job applications.

    Completing a postgraduate qualification that involves improving your management and leadership skills may help you to build confidence as you prepare for your next role.

How qualifications and postgraduate study can support your career path

Qualifications are an exciting way to develop or deepen knowledge and learn new skills that may be helpful for new opportunities. For professionals moving towards management or leadership, postgraduate study can also provide a structured way to prepare you for mentoring and guiding others. Completing a relevant qualification may also be helpful when making a case on how you can add more value to a business. If you have a busy lifestyle and work commitments, you could consider an online study option for additional flexibility.

When choosing a programme, consider how the course content fits the skills you need for your next step and the direction you want your career to take. For example, the Walbrook online MBA programmes allow you to choose a specialism, such as AI, healthcare management, HR, marketing, cyber security or project management. This means you can build on your leadership skills while also improving your specialist subject knowledge.

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Start your professional development journey with a Walbrook degree

Develop your skills as a leader with a Walbrook master's course. Our MBA courses are accredited by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which is the only UK chartered body for management and leadership. You can study 100% online, with full and part-time study options. You'll also enjoy monthly start dates and the option to graduate in as little as one year.

Completing this MBA Banking & Finance, it was an opportunity for me to bring my skills up to date with what the current job market is requiring. It was really handy to find a programme that I was able to accommodate with my busy lifestyle because I have crazy hours.

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Stan ZakpaWalbrook MBA Banking and Finance Student

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