Delta CEO's top advice for career advancement: "Be noticed"

To succeed in your career, concentrate on excelling in your present duties without being preoccupied with your next promotion or job opportunity, advises Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian.

Bastian, 67, attributes his professional success, which includes rising from an auditor at PwC to an executive at companies like PepsiCo, Acuity Brands, and Delta, to a straightforward mindset.

"The most important job at that time is the one you have, and do it great," he advised on LinkedIn's "This Is Working" podcast.

While ambition is a valuable trait in employees, it can sometimes lead to taking one's focus away from the job at hand. This can make you seem uninterested or distracted to your boss, which can negatively impact your chances of career advancement.

Bastian's advice is based on his personal experience: He emphasized the importance of doing his best in every job he held and focusing solely on the opportunities immediately ahead of him, which eventually led him to his current position. He pointed out that if he had a dream job early in his career, it was not running Delta.

"I never thought I'd be sitting in this seat," said Bastian. "I didn't set my aspirations to be the CEO of an airline, as I'd never been on an airplane until I was 25."

The 1-word trait successful people share

In essence, Bastian's advice can be summarized in one word: exertion. The amount of effort you put into your job will directly impact the rewards you receive, he emphasized.

Good bosses recognize effort, said Bastian. Bad ones might not, or worse: They could consider you so irreplaceable that they won't promote you out of your current position. If you're in that situation, you can develop your fellow colleagues or interns so your boss eventually recognizes them as able to fill your shoes, advised Jo Miller in a 2015 LinkedIn post.

"Avoid being the person who ascends, then moves the ladder away and lets it fall on others," Miller advised.

Mark Cuban, a billionaire entrepreneur and investor, advises taking initiative to solve problems and exhausting every possible option to find answers, just like Bastian.

"Randall Kaplan, an entrepreneur and VC investor, stated in a LinkedIn video post last year that the only thing in life one can control is their effort. He emphasized that being willing to put in the work is a significant competitive advantage since most individuals are not."

To excel as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy emphasizes the importance of constantly seeking ways to improve. He stated, "You must be insatiable and driven to discover new methods for enhancing your performance." In a recent video posted by Amazon, he shared his thoughts on this topic.

Effort can distinguish you from your peers and enhance your chances of receiving raises or promotions in the future, according to Bastian.

"If you do a great job, I guarantee that you will be seen, heard, and noticed at Delta," he said.

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