Tag Archives: promotion

You didn’t get promoted…now what?

Nothing is more disappointing than not getting something you were expecting/hoping for.

In my career, I have had many people come to my office upset because they didn’t get promoted. I always ask the one question:

“Did you have a conversation with your manager about promotion?”

Every time, the answer is no.

I know everyone wants to believe that their works speaks for itself. That it will come to them because they deserve it. That it’s impolite to bring it up if your manager hasn’t.

Nope. Here’s the reason why: your manager may think you’re not interested.

Once you have the conversation, a couple of things will happen:

1. Your manager will be supportive: you’ll work on a plan together to make it happen.  If your manager is supportive, you’ll probably see the change right away. Someone I spoke to who did this saw that she was given much more exposure, invited to more meetings, and given the ball more frequently. That’s exactly what should happen.

2. Your manager might be surprised and not think you’re ready. The question you need to ask is “Is my promotion an if or a when question”?   Someday is different than never.

If the answer is “when”, you need to have a frank conversation about what you need to work on. Is it platform, perception, or performance? (see LL#24)  Create a set of action steps with your manager, and schedule a quarterly touch base on how the plan is progressing. Don’t get too hung up on timeframes: you want to be ready when it happens.

If the answer is “if”, meaning they’re not convinced you can operate at the next level, you need to ask yourself the hard question: “Is my manager right?”

I have had many conversations in my career with people who thought they were ready to be promoted, but I didn’t agree. Often it’s a timing issue. But sometimes, it’s not, especially at the more senior level. It’s a hard conversation to have because the individual compares themselves to other people at that level, or because they are strong performers in their current role.  But that’s not the only thing needed. So here are two things to think about:

1. Do you trust your manager’s opinion?  If your manager is telling you you’re not ready, are they specific with your areas of weakness? Is your manager respected within his or her peer group?  Have you heard this feedback before? Do you think other people you respect would agree with your manager’s assessment? Do you respect your manager’s opinion? Do you think it can be changed?

2. Why do you think you should be promoted? Will you be able to meet the criteria of the new role? Have you demonstrated that consistently to a meaningful population? Why does your opinion differ from your manager’s?

Keep in mind: it’s easy for a manager to put a candidate forward, and let the process weed weak candidates out. It’s a lot harder for a manager to have the honest conversation. It may not be what you want to hear, but at least they told you the truth from their perspective. There is nothing worse than 1) the promotion that clearly was too early, or 2) the loss of a talented person who didn’t realize they were on the promotion track.

So in order to prevent those two things from happening, have the conversation before you decide what to do next.

 

You got promoted…now what?

So some of you may have gotten promoted with the New Year. Congratulations!

Here are some of my lessons learned.

1. Thank the folks who got you there. I’m talking about the people who really championed you, advised you, were there when you needed them. It’s not always your manager. Either call them or write them a note.  Or bring them a bottle of champagne. It’s a big deal for someone to support you: think of the hundreds of people they come across. They picked you.

2. Be appropriately humble. Remember when Kevin Costner was coaching Tim Robbins on what to say to the press in Bull Durham..”We gotta play it one day at a time”? Yes, it’s boring. But saying things like “you knew this was the year”, “if I didn’t get it this year, I was leaving” or anything like that isn’t what you want repeated around the water cooler.

3. Take a hard and honest look at yourself. What things do you want to get better at? You’re going to be measured against a higher standard, and a more senior peer group. What made you the top of the class before has gotten you to the next level, but at the entry level. Unless you have been way overdue for a promotion, you’re starting at the bottom again. Be honest about what you need to work on to stay at the next level. A big mistake to make is to assume what got you here is what’s going to keep you there.  I have seen situations where newly promoted people weren’t able to keep up with their new peer group.

4. Keep in touch with your mentors. You’re going to be challenged in many different ways than you had been before, and you’re going to need their advice more than ever. Now is not the time to lose them.

5. Take a moment and enjoy what this means. You’ll feel exhilarated, proud, excited, as well as scared, overwhelmed, and nervous. All normal reactions. But before the reality of what it all means sets in, have a 30 second dance party.

 

24. Myth: “My work stands for itself”….

Myth: “my work stands for itself…so I don’t need to do anything. They’ll recognize that I am promotion material.”

Getting the balance between being humble but still advocating for yourself is hard. It’s hard not to take it personally when you’re not promoted, and you expected it. It’s even harder if you see peers getting promoted. So how do you navigate this space? Continue reading →