Getting promoted, Part Deux
I wrote an article way back in September of 2020 about what you need to do to get promoted. Only a handful of people read it, and since none of them got a promotion, I figured it was time to update my advice.
Just for the record, all of the old advice is still relevant, especially the part about giving yourself a cool nickname. In the hustle and bustle of our times however, people just don’t want to do 5 things. They only want to do one thing for that sweet, sweet instant gratification. If your face lit up when you read there was only one thing, then this article is for you.
You want to get promoted? There’s only one thing you have to do: ensure you are seen as someone who can handle bigger assignments.
Yeah, that’s it. The people who get promoted are the ones who engender a sense of assurance they can handle their shit. It doesn’t matter if they actually can handle said shit. The people who get promoted appear they can, and then they get a chance to prove it.
I can hear you asking — okay, wise guy, so how do I make it happen? It’s simple enough, although you’re going to be mad since I’ll need to split the one thing into three steps. I can already hear your nostrils flaring and your eyes bugging out. It’s going to be okay. Lots of simple things require multiple steps. You can’t just eat a sandwich in one step. You’d have to make or buy a sandwich first, and either those options require prior steps as well. Let’s treat your future promotion with at least the same amount of planning as eating a sandwich.
Back to our steps. I know, now I’m hungry too. Focus on this, and then we’ll all go have a sandwich. Let’s break down the idea of being seen as someone who can handle more into manageable chunks.
Be seen.
Our perception is not necessarily reality, but perception is all we have to go on. Do you know someone who got promoted from outside your company? Probably seemed like a bunch of crap at the time. Management perceived them as better able to handle the role than someone on the inside. If you want them to give you the nod next time, then you need to be seen. Change your perception, change your prospects.
While we’re on the subject of you, does your company’s management know who you are? The second thing they teach you in business school is to only promote people you know exist. (The first thing they teach you is how to slip the fact you went to business school into every conversation). You will want to be known (only for good reasons) if you’re going to get the boss’s attention. Show up at those company functions you’ve been too cool to attend. Offer to help out with volunteering events or just cleaning out the office kitchen. Stand out and be seen.
Handle what you have.
This is a biggie. Management wants to feel confident their employees can successfully complete the work they have on their plates. I’m not talking about bad managers (that’s another article). I’m talking about the overall concept of people running companies. Companies operate by completing and selling something worth paying for. Emphasis on completing (because you can’t sell something that doesn’t exist, unless we’re talking about cryptocurrency).
Finishing projects on time, accurately, and with a bit of pizazz goes a long way towards building confidence in your ability to handle yourself. Pizazz might be too far for some of you. Instead, let’s say finishing projects with only a modicum of bitching about the work. Quiet bitching, of course. Refrain from telling your boss some jackass is going to make you work overtime again.
Demonstrate your ability to stretch.
You’re nearly there. You’ve demonstrated you can handle your current workload, and people know you exist. Now you just have to step a little further out of your comfort zone. Ask to take on a project that isn’t part of your normal task list. It doesn’t have to be big. It could be planning a team event or volunteering to tackle something that is a pain in the collective team’s backside. The point is to ask for and complete the new project successfully.
Successfully showing you can maintain your current to do list and a little more is a very positive sign to managers. Bonus points if the new project requires you to influence others to help you succeed. Most times, all it takes to get things done is for someone to lay the groundwork and tell others what they want them to do. You don’t have to be a manager to do that.
There you go. Just one thing in three parts. You’ll need to stay patient and maintain your newfound approach to work before you see results. If you have been known to hate everything and everyone, it may take a bit longer for the group in charge to start paying attention to you again. It’s a lot easier to ignore the loud, unproductive loner than to justify rewarding them.
You don’t have to stop after you get promoted either. This advice works at every level of an organization. There’s always one more rung on the ladder, one more function to try, or one more company to jump to. You didn’t think this advice only worked at one company, did you? Having a reputation as someone who can handle their shit (with pizazz) will help you go anywhere. Stay visible and productive, and the world’s your oyster. Or your sandwich as it were.
-Philip
