I recently had a conversation with someone who was anxious about the timing of her promotion. She was concerned that if she didn’t have the platform, she should be looking to make a move to a new role in time for this year’s process. She was seeing “peers” get promoted. But she has managers who are actively helping her expand her platform.  Some advice I gave her:

1. Don’t worry about how long you’ve been at your current title. Are you still learning? Is your scope expanding? Are you getting better? 2-3 years in a role isn’t a very long time. You want to be really ready….because your new peer group will be people who have already been at that level for awhile.  You don’t want to be the worst at the next level.
2. Ignore your peer promotions. I know it’s annoying. It’s probably the one thing that really frustrates people.  It’s not an indication of who’s winning. Stay focused on you.
3. If you have a manager, either direct or further up the chain who is demonstrably supportive, stick with them. Not all managers are created equal.

Looking back at my career, it didn’t matter how fast I got promoted. No one cares.  It mattered what kind of job I did when I was in the role.