Reading Time: 5 mins
Each year around this time, there is an air of anticipation coupled with a wave of expectation.
The nervousness is palpable.
Some will get it.
Others won’t.
It’s as if joy and disappointment are performing an elaborate and passionate tango.
Except this time, there are no scores from the judges.
It is your colleagues who will provide the scores.
Are they pleased for you or are they resentful?
Only time will tell.
There is now only 7 mins until the announcement.
With that, your heartbeat quickens. You can feel each pump of the 4 ventricles through your chest.
It’s not a heart attack although feels like it.
You’ve wanted this for so long and finally it is within your grasp.
The hard work, the prolonged effort, the proverbial blood sweat and tears all climax at this point.
You try to ignore the beating, but it keeps interrupting your thoughts.
You wish you didn’t care this much.
But you do.
Because it matters.
Not to worry, there is only 2 mins until the meeting starts now.
“Is there time to pop to the loo?” you wonder.
Don’t be silly.
You’ve been recently and this is your mind playing tricks on you.
It’s because you’re nervous.
And with that, the promotions announcement meeting starts. You try to stay calm and collective, but your heart is still going like the absolute clappers.
The CEO is giving a quick intro, his voice reverberating around the room, but your’re not paying attention.
You are solely focused on what comes next.
The CEO has finished the pre-amble and now it’s down to business. She starts with some pleasantries before getting down to business.
Here it is, promotion to Director.
Desperately hoping to hear your name you hold your breath…
Securing a promotion can be a stressful experience but I don’t believe it needs to be that way.
There are actions we can take, at any level, to remove the pressures so you don’t need to go through the scenario above.
Here are my 4 simple steps to dramatically increase chances of promotion:
Step 1: Do It Before You Get It
Securing promotion is all about proving you can cope with the stresses, strains and rigours that comes with the next rung of the ladder.
The act of saying “I’m ready” is not enough.
You need to prove it too.
And that’s where the adage of ‘do the role 6 months before you get it’ rings true.
If you are serious about securing that promo, proving you have been performing the role for the last 6 months removes uncertainty.
This is about increasing support.
When it comes to discussing your promotion, you want those involved to be unanimous and unequivocal in their support for you.
If you have been performing the required competencies and capabilities for 180 days, the discussion should be short lived.
In your favour.
This does require forward thinking mind you.
Make sure you know what is expected and then go out and do it well.
Step 2: Run Towards The Fires
This is figuratively speaking of course.
Unless you are a trained firefighter (in that case crack on!).
The implication is that there will always be problems, it’s how you act when these arise that matters.
If the proverbial is hitting the fan, do you shy away and say ‘not my problem’.
Or think ‘stuff it, how can I help?’
By running toward the fire (read: serious business problem that has just been encountered) you will:
* Mark yourself out from the crowd
* Show you can be depended upon in the hour of need
This is not about being a hero.
Rather showing you will do what is required at the moment of need.
Companies need people they can rely on.
If you show willing to do the hard yards when no-one else wants to, leadership will remember this.
This automatically puts you ahead of everyone else.
Step 3: Act On Feedback
Obviously you need to ask for feedback in order to act on it. But there is a tendency to ignore this the higher up the corporate ladder you get.
I firmly believe the inverse should be true.
The higher you get, the more feedback you should receive.
The danger is those in leadership positions surround themselves in echo chambers.
Only to hear the answers they want.
Please don’t let that be you.
Yes asking for feedback is scary but it will be worth it.
You will become aware of any blindspots or areas to work on.
If promotion is your goal, then understanding your weakness' is as important as those areas in which you excel.
Even if you don’t want to ask for feedback.
Do it.
But don’t stop there.
You need to act on this feedback, don’t just sit on it.
Step 4: Manage Upwards (Brilliantly)
This might feel like selling out to the devil.
But if you don’t manage your boss & their counterparts well, you will never secure a promotion.
Being able to make their lives as easy as possible shows you can think ahead.
If you want your boss’s job, knowing what is important to him and proactively dealing with it shows you know what is required.
Put yourself in their shoes and ask yourself:
“What is he worried about right now?”
Use this to pre-empt any questions and ‘get ahead of the curve’.
This is just a fancy way of saying ‘here’s one I prepared earlier’ when asked to take action.
These steps may sound straight forward but require considerable effort.
So don’t delay, start building your case for promotion today.
Thanks for reading!
See you next week.
