Being promoted is something almost every employee wants. Recognition is a great thing, you get a raise, take on more responsibility, feel a heightened sense of self-confidence and self-worth, new doors and learning opportunities get unlocked for you — Who wouldn’t welcome that? What employees sometimes seem to not realize, however, is that getting promoted does not necessarily always come as a natural consequence of a job well done. While a job well done is absolutely the most important thing and is the number 1 pre-requisite, employees often still need to communicate and sell their work to justify their candidacy for promotion to the next level.
While a job well done is absolutely the most important thing and is the number 1 pre-requisite, employees often still need to communicate and sell their work to justify their candidacy for promotion to the next level.
I have been working with one of my coachees on their performance review and promotion rationale recently. They work for a well-known corporate which prides itself to be an equal opportunity employer with robust performance processes. Some of their corporate values are centered around transparency, equity, and diversity. And yet, there seems to be a lot of room for improvement around clarifying expectations and guidance for how to get to the next level. They are not the first person I’ve talked to who is confused about the process at their company and feel stuck within ambiguity, when it comes to the criteria and how to initiate this multi-faceted process. As I went through some of my experiences with my coachee and tried to give direction on how to structure a narrative and build a case for the next level based on their deliverables and impact, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my strategies more widely with a blog post. So here it goes :)
For an employee to be eligible for promotion, two things need to be true:
1. They need to be already consistently performing at the next level.
2. There needs to be business scope for them at the next level.
This might be in the form of a job e.g. if the next level is managing a team and there is already a manager in the team, then even if they are performing at that level, they can’t be promoted unless their manager moves on or they move to another organization.
Or it might be in the form of expanded scope within the same role, e.g. they might move up the ladder from junior consultant to become a senior consultant, taking on more responsibility, more complex clients, projects, etc.
I'll start with elaborating the second point, since it’s a quicker one. It’s important for you to ask your manager, supervisor and/or advisor (whoever is in charge of your performance review) about next level scope.
Is there scope within the team?
If and when you are exceeding expectations and performing at the next level, is it feasible for you to be promoted and take on more responsibility?
This is not only important for the employer, because they will be paying you more so you should, of course, be delivering more. But it's also very important for you. Once you get to the next level, you’ll have to make sure you are delivering at the next level to meet the expectations at your new level. If there is no scope, while you will be happy for a moment there due to your newly attained promotion, you will soon feel stuck as you will not be able to meet the expectations of the new level, as there isn’t enough work (in quantity, nature, or complexity) to deliver. You will, therefore, run the risk of getting a below expectations performance rating next round, which would, of course, be a shame.
Once you have established there is indeed next level scope, then you can focus on continuing to deliver high impact work at your level and accelerate to hit the expectations at the next level. It’s important to be intentional about your deliverables and have your eye on the prize. To that end, I recommend implementing the following steps, starting at the beginning of the performance period and continuing throughout the full cycle (this could be a quarter, half-year, a year, depending on your company and team):
1. Understand Metrics and KPIs (a.k.a. "the WHAT") and check how you are tracking against them throughout the performance cycle: It sounds obvious, but I have heard, “I don’t know” way too many times when I asked individuals, “how does your team measure performance?” It’s important to get an understanding of the metrics that are tracked and the KPIs you are measured against, as well as the overall definition of success. E.g. some metrics and KPIs in a sales team may be revenue attainment, new accounts adopted, upsells, contract renewal, etc. And some other non-numeric indicators of success may be customer success stories and testimonials published, complexity of products sold, complexity of clients adopted. Be sure to also know what the measurement dashboards / data tracking platforms that your company and team use to keep on top of these KPIs so you can see how you are performing at any given point of time.
2. Understand Level Expectations (a.k.a. "the HOW"): Most organizations have level expectations in addition to the business KPIs they calibrate their talent against. Also known as the "HOW," these are often attributes, such as leadership, execution excellence, thought leadership, cross-functional collaboration, communication, product knowledge and certifications, etc. Attain the documentation that lists out the expectation categories, and what in detail is expected at each level for each category bucket. This will give you clarity as to what is expected at your current level and where you would be expected to be delivering to progress.
Discuss with your manager, if it feels realistically ambitious. More specifically, gauge if it's in line with your current skillset - so it’s not way over your head - but also provides the stretch opportunities, the challenges, and the next level scope - so you are not bored, can grow and develop, and eventually deliver at the next level. Where there are gaps, ask your manager and advisor to help fill them.
3. Plan your Deliverables and Estimate your Impact: Make a list of your deliverables (what you have been assigned or have proactively taken on) and the estimated impact of each deliverable at the beginning of the performance period. What are you expecting to deliver and what is the impact you are forecasting to drive? Not only is this helpful for others in your team, your collaborators, your managers to see, but it’s also a good starting point for yourself to be focused and clear on the plan you are going to execute. Once you have listed these out, align with your manager and/or advisor on what you plan to do for the next term. Check in with them to see if this is in line with their expectations. With the list in front of you, discuss with your manager, if it feels realistically ambitious. More specifically, gauge if it's in line with your current skillset - so it’s not way over your head - but also provides the stretch opportunities, the challenges, and the next level scope - so you are not bored, can grow and develop, and eventually deliver at the next level. Where there are gaps, ask your manager and advisor to help fill them. For instance, if you feel you do not have the skillset to complete a certain project in time, sign up for a training or upskilling workshop. If you feel like you don’t have any stretch opportunities, ask your manager to assign you some or point you to the right direction. If there is a career goal you are working towards, speak to your manager about what would be useful activities to do or trainings to complete to get closer to it. E.g. if you want to become a people manager but are currently a senior individual contributor, it might be appropriate to do some mentoring and coaching for more junior employees or help your manager with business strategy to get ready for that next step. Feel free to download this goals and KPIs table (more topline view) or a more detailed spreadsheet detailing objectives, KPIs, key results and impact to use as inspiration.
It’s important to understand where your organization stands and ask your manager and/or HR about the deadlines and timelines, if they are not readily available.
4. Get a handle on the Process: You don’t want to be running blind so it’s really important to understand the process and most specifically, the timelines and milestones. Some organizations publish the timeline of events (e.g. self-assessments due, promotion rationales submitted, calibration committees meeting, director and VP level calibrations, HR sign off, promotion decision reached, promotion results communicated, etc.); others do not. Therefore, it’s important to understand where your organization stands and ask your manager and/or HR about the deadlines and timelines, if they are not readily available. If there is a specific format and/or a template they’d like you to submit your performance review or promotion rationale in, make sure to have that in hand beforehand. Inquire about the people involved. Who will submit? (in certain organizations, it’s the individual themselves; in others, managers or advisors are the ones that submit the promotion case) Who will present the case? Who will be your point of contact? It’s also important to understand how the organization runs the process as well as the style of your particular manager / advisor. Should you expect regular updates? Or do they run with it themselves after you provide them with the info required, ask you to trust them (and leave them alone) until they have the result. Some managers prefer the latter strategy as it might be more efficient and it might even be less stress and anxiety-inducing for some employees. Some others are regular updaters. It’s important for you to understand where they stand so you know what to expect (and don’t make yourself crazy!) Last but certainly not the least, inquire about and understand if there are any unsaid / non-written pre-requisites to promotion. E.g. some teams / calibration committees expect that you have received two "above expectations" ratings in a row in the last two performance cycles to be able to be put forward for promotion. Some teams / calibration committees expect you to have written feedback in support of your promotion from a senior executive in the organization or on the client side. These may not be written explicitly in company documentation to not rule out the off-chance that some edge case may get promoted without fulfilling these conditions (e.g. if they don't have two above expectations ratings because they were hired 6 months ago but they invented the new company flagship product somehow during that period!) but they are included in the soft criteria and are, therefore, useful to know and keep in mind.
5. Stakeholders and Calibration Committees: This is a sensitive area, because it's sometimes interpreted as a popularity contest. Knowing who sits in the calibration committee and makes decisions can help you understand (hopefully re-affirm, as opposed to finding out from scratch) your stakeholders in your role. Ideally, the people who are assessing your performance and giving you feedback are the same people who you have worked with on projects and who have had exposure to your business scope and have visibility over your work. Now, "visibility for visibility’s sake" is something I am allergic to. I’ve seen people dance like a peacock around me and other managers, because they knew calibrations were coming up (well-done to them on being aware of the timelines and key events!) and we were part of the calibration committee. This strategy is counterproductive for obvious reasons. While I don't want to encourage getting in front of the executives who are clearly relevant to your job and will be assessing your work for visibility’s sake, you might question why you don’t have exposure to them and why they don’t have visibility over your work, if they are in the calibration committee. If that’s the case, either there is something you might question about the set-up (is this really a fair promotion process?), or more often, it might signal this is an area you can look into as part of the gaps in your deliverables and impacts spreadsheet. What projects can you work on to get guidance and learn from other executives in the team? What areas can you lean into more to cross-functionally collaborate more effectively?
6. Solicit Feedback and Keep a "YAY Me" Folder: As you are working through your deliverables, ask your customers, your peers, your managers for feedback. When something that you do impresses someone, gets them a good ROI or when a project reaches a major milestone, take a moment and celebrate yourself, and collect others’ feedback. It's a good idea to keep what I call a "YAY Me" folder, because then when the performance review time comes, you have the feedback ready to go, and you don't have to ask and collect feedback when everyone is feeling overwhelmed already. The folder is also good for your self-esteem. If something discouraging happens at work, you can always pop into the folder, read a couple of the notes, and feel better. During the performance review process, add these pieces of feedback to your rationale and ask for additional peer reviews, where appropriate. Make sure to include a diverse panel of feedback givers, i.e. see that they are talking about different projects, different deliverables, they are from different departments, companies, and / or levels (e.g. people who are senior or junior to you as well as those who are at your seniority) to provide a holistic picture of your deliverables and impact.
7. Prepare your Promotion Rationale and Case Submission: With the above in tact, prepare your promotion rationale or self-assessment in the desired format and submit to your manager / advisor before the deadline so they can ask you questions, give you feedback, and ask for edits or more information, where relevant. I suggest you prepare your own case with examples and impact you have delivered even if your manager does not ask you for it or the company doesn't require it. The reason for that recommendation is because you know your work better than anyone and by putting in the work and advocating yourself, you are taking control of the process. Your manager might submit it as is or add their color on it before submission. In any case, you will have made their lives easier and they will be thankful for it. Make sure the rationale is succinct (once again so that you can make their job easier by not requiring them to read long essays) and well-structured (e.g. in bullet points or spreadsheet format with buckets as opposed to open prose).
If you can build a genuine connection with someone with political capital in the organization who can guide and sponsor you, doors will open for you more easily.
8. A word on sponsorship: A sponsor is someone who has seen your work and is impressed by you, someone you naturally have built a relationship and a bond. A sponsor will actively advocate for you in rooms you are not present in, and put your name forward for high-profile assignments that win notice and promotion. If you can build a genuine connection with someone with political capital in the organization who can guide and sponsor you, doors will open for you more easily. There is no one path to finding a sponsor, and unlike a mentor or a coach, you can’t really ask someone to be your sponsor. Setting yourself apart by working hard and taking on diverse responsibilties, being open to feedback and new opportunities as well as, being an active presence at work are great ways to set yourself to not only grow, learn, and gain new experiences but also build a network of upper managers and potential sponsors. Having your sponsor in the calibration room will greatly increase your chances of getting the promotion.
9. Follow up and Identify Next Steps: Once your promotion has been submitted, make sure to thank and follow up with your manager / advisor to see if there is anything else you can do to help the process. Don’t be or come across as promo-obsessed as that can be off-putting. I once had a report who asked me about the status of their promotion submission in every weekly 1:1 for 3 months, even though I had told them I would be updating them with news whenever I had an update. I said “No news is good news” every time they asked, but they kept asking. (They did get the promotion in the end, and it was a relief for everyone involved!) The process can be very long and dragged out, especially in big corporates, and it’s hard not to get impatient and antsy. However, it’s important to take a step back after the submission and focus on continuing to deliver good work. It’s out of your hands now, so let the process play out, and you will hear the results when they are ready to be communicated. Once the verdict is in, if it’s positive, thank your manager and those who have supported your case (your sponsors, advisors, mentors, peer reviewers etc.), and then align with your manager on the new expectations for the next term. If the verdict is negative, thank your manager and those who have supported your case, and inquire about the reasons and feedback. Then, work with your manager to put together a plan for the next round to work on the feedback, focus and accelerate AIs where there are gaps based on the feedback you've received during the process.
10. Relax and Tune into what grounds you: I know this is so easy to say and super hard to do, but it's a very important one. I've seen so many people drive themselves crazy, be so stressed and so focused on the promotion that they lose sight of what is actually important in life. Of course promotions are nice and feeling valued is a must in organizations, however losing your health, your fitness, your relationships over it is not worth it. Once you have done your best during the performance period and then followed the steps to advocate for yourself and submit your case, try to leave it to the system and almost forget it for a while as the process plays out. During the case preparation process, you might be working overtime to meet deadlines (Even though presumably if you set up your structure and system as described above, all you'll have to do is collect all inputs and summarize them in a promo rationale template), make sure you also make time for what makes you relax and content, e.g. yoga, dinner with friends, sleep, a nature walk or reading a book!
Connect with me at leadrisecoaching@gmail.com if you have any questions / comments / experiences you would like to share on how to prepare for a promotion
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