Never, ever have a career plan that depends on someone else for your plan to be successful.
“Choose Me!” “Pick Me!” If your plan requires this to be successful, you need a different and better plan; one that puts YOU in the driver's seat, not someone else.
Start right now, sit down and plan it out, don’t wait—never wait.
Develop your skills, bring ideas to your department/organization, be an incredible employee, get along with people, and always go above and beyond what is expected of you. Build your reputation and branding for a year and you will find that you won’t be asking them to pick you, they will be asking you to pick them. They will realize that you will be successful regardless of whether they are involved or not.
Yes, even in your corporate job.
There is so much mediocrity, laziness, non-creativity, and a glaring lack of ideas in the working world. There are more than enough robots going to work to do the same thing day after day, never caring to make a difference.
Be the one who cares, who does, who thinks, and then when you are offered a promotion you will have negotiating power. The leaders of your company will soon realize they need you more than you need them. Excellence is a highly sought-after commodity and companies and leaders want to invest in excellence. (Because it is rare!)
So right now, today, make a plan that depends on you: your behavior, your actions, your brilliant thinking, and your ideas.