I have spent a lot of time in one-on-one informal coaching
discussions with professionals who were frustrated with the lack of upward
movement in their careers. The key theme
that I picked up in those discussions was that the professionals’ perception
of promotion readiness were misaligned with their employers/superiors’ definition. Today, I want to share a few things
that I discussed in those informal discussions.
I know that context matters. So,
please consider these ideas against your own realities.
1. Don’t hate the player
nor the game. The most common thing
I heard from professionals was that promotions were all about politics. Hiring managers played favorites and the person
did not get promoted because he or she did not play the game. Office politics is actually a good view into
the corporate culture and values of your employer. If favoritism is indeed what drives
promotions at your workplace, then you need to dig deeper and find out what
makes that person a favorite over you.
If you discover that discrimination or unethical behaviors are commonplace,
then you should question whether or not you want to work there at all.
The more common thing I encountered was that the
individual did not see what was really happening. Companies, leaders and managers recruit and
promote people whom they feel are a match for their cultures and values. At times, this becomes more important than
the technical capabilities or performance history of individuals. If you are passed up for a promotion, then you
should explore the reasons behind the decision. If you
are not getting good answers, then spend time reflecting on your differences,
and how those differences may have signaled the other candidate’s readiness
over you. You can use published company values
and career level specific behaviors to assess how you stacked up against your competition.
I learned to trust that people are trying to set me up for
success and would never promote me if they felt that I would fail shortly
thereafter. The tactics that seem like “office
politics,” such as being a self-promoter and spending a lot of time with the
boss, may actually be the types of things that one should be doing to demonstrate
they have the capabilities for the next job.
Soft skills associated with value articulation and relationship building
are critical for executives.
2. Being a “Top
Performer” is a trap. I have
witnessed one too many professionals who had high performance ratings
completely meltdown because they were passed up for promotion. Year-end evaluations typically carry two
dimensions. A.) Performance and B.) Promotion Readiness. The performance part focus on how well the
individual performed their job. The
readiness is about whether or not they demonstrated behaviors consistent of the
next job. The two use very different metrics
and yet, more often than not, are lumped together in one conversation leading to
misconceptions that A leads to B.
Often, Top Performers end up being
less attractive candidates for promotion because they were overly focused on
performing well, and not focused enough on the other dimensions necessary to
demonstrate promotion readiness. In some
cases, that could be Top Performers did not lift as they climb and trained
their replacements. In other cases, they
were heads down performing and did not look around for opportunities to make an
impact for their team and company in other ways.
If you find yourself in the situation of being a Top
Performer but passed up for promotion, then you will need to regroup. It likely bruised to your ego and you were
probably angry. You
cannot lash out and complain to whoever will listen. You cannot retaliate by taking a back seat on
your performance. You need to take a
breath, then find out where you came up short.
Rally the decision makers to coach you through the next cycle so they
have skin in the game for your success.
Create believers and advocates by demonstrating you are not only a top
performer but you are also ready to move up.
3. Change what gets you
up in the morning. There is a thing
in consulting where we always ask our clients, “What is keeping you up at
night?” A positive spin on that question
is, “What makes you get up in the morning?”
Either way, you need to keep in mind that what you focus on to be
successful for your current job is too narrow for a promotion.
In math, the term “dynamical systems” refer to the
similarities of micro and macro systems – a piece of broccoli looks like the
whole broccoli, the solar system is a small version of the galaxy, etc. The metrics that matter to your job are a
subset of larger metrics that matter to your boss. The priorities that you follow are a subset
of the priorities that your boss follows.
Therefore, if you are able to align your thoughts and actions with the
bigger picture, then you will demonstrate that you are performing at that next
level.
For your next conversation with your boss, try to understand
how your performance ties into the bigger picture, what keeps he/she up at
night, what gets he/she out of bed in the morning. Then articulate how your performance supports
those things in your subsequent conversations so that they start to see you caring
about right things for promotion. It
helps to dust off what you learned about business imperatives in your MBA
programs (or learn about them). I got my
MBA shortly after my undergrad degree. I
did not have the job experience to fully appreciate what I was learning. After years of being heads down and focusing
on my technical skills, I had to relearn all those business concepts to get
ahead.
4. How are you an equal? Would your boss enjoy doing the things with
you that you enjoy doing with your peers, such as sharing a meal or catching up
over drinks? Do you look, act, and sound the part? I spent a lot of my
career being subservient and respectful to the hierarchy. It was part of my upbringing and culture as
an Asian. I still catch myself doing this with clients or superiors. I find
myself excessively expressing my gratitude for their time and sometimes lost
for words leading to awkward silences. Worst,
when my boss was looking for me to demonstrate that I could be strong and equal
in handling my clients, I only showed them that I was good at being their ”Yes
Man” in a cape.
Part of being promotion ready is being seen as a peer to
your superiors. You have to help your
boss and their peers “experience” you as ready to be one of their peers. This means you need to prioritize the right
things, use appropriate tone for that level of authority, and show that you can
walk in their shoes without tripping over yourself or needing a lot of hand
holding.
The “Dab” seems to be a popular dance move these days. However, I will say that you cannot dance
your way to the top by burying your eyes into your arm and ignoring what the
universe is trying to tell you. There
are many signposts for success and many more people who are willing to help you
get there. If you become frustrated and
do not learn from the experience, then you will only slow down your momentum. Quitting just takes your problems to your
next job.
That’s all from me today.
I hope you have found these points to be useful. Please comment if you want to share your
insights and experiences, and share with your networks if you enjoyed the post. For all of those who are celebrating, Happy
Lunar New Year. May prosperity,
happiness, and good health find their way to your homes.
Stay Cheesy,
The Rambunctious Rat
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