Life & Living:  How to raise your probability of getting promoted. #Career

I’m often asked for advice on getting promoted. 

There’s no silver bullet.  There are no guarantees.  It may not be ”fair.”  I’ve seen a lot of people who deserved a promotion and didn’t get one … and a few people who got promoted and flamed out.

At some point, we all stop getting promoted.  End your career being respected and valued for your excellence instead of having your mediocrity tolerated.

Here’s my “checklist” of things that will increase your “promotion probability.”  They are not based on any research.  They are based on 50+ years of getting promoted (and not) … and watching others getting promoted (and not).  Depending on how you count it, I got promoted 7 times and observed probably hundreds of promotions of people I knew well.

 

Be careful what you wish for.  Don’t kid yourself.  The higher you go, the harder it gets:  longer hours, harder problems, more conflicting and seemingly irreconcilable demands, more stuff outside your control, and more stress.  Do a periodic and thoughtful “gut check” to make sure you have the appetite for a more challenging and demanding work life.

Deliver exemplary results.  Commit to challenging objectives.  Deliver on (most of) them.  This is table stakes.

After that, in no particular order …

Have a passion for what you do.  Love it.  First, this makes it “painless” to put in the hours necessary to produce stand-out results and output.  Second, your passion and enthusiasm will be contagious.  They will inspire at least some of your peers, team, and bosses, at least a little bit, at least some of the time.  It’s a lot more pleasurable than being a Debbie Downer.  Third, I knew an expert who tracked the progress of a large sample of people for decades after they were hired.  I asked what the single best predictor of success was when hiring college grads.  Answer:  GPA, regardless of major.  “GPA” made sense to me, but “regardless of major” didn’t.”  We were an organization that depended on technology and financial acumen.  So, I asked why.  Answer:  People who have high GPAs have figured out what they are good at … and what they love doing.  It doesn’t seem to matter whether you major in music or engineering or English or accounting.  Fourth, if you don’t love what you are doing, find something else.  Life is too short.  No matter what, you’ll spend most of your life’s hours at work.  I have a friend who spent his life gritting his teeth on a boring (for him) assembly job at Mack Truck so he could provide for his family.  That’s both courageous and sad.

Put in the hours.  Again, don’t kid yourself.  Suppose there are 2 people who have both worked for 10 years.  One has worked 40-hour weeks.  The other, 60-hour weeks.  All other things equal, the “workaholic” has produced 50% more output and effectively has 5 years more experience.

Work on important stuff, stuff that is impactful, stuff where your effort will make a difference.  It’s easy to get distracted and drained by trivia or “impossible dreams.”  Don’t confuse activity with output and results.  Doing email is an activity, not a result.

Go anywhere, do anything.  Don’t limit yourself to a particular place or a particular function.  Make sure your boss knows you are open to jobs in new functions and places.  Why?  Doing so gives you a shot at the largest number of opportunities.    More on Anywhere:   Think about your work life balance.  When our daughter was in high school, I took myself out of play for jobs requiring us to move.  I missed out on some opportunities.  For me, it was worth it.  More on Anything:  This is especially important early in your career before you and your company have found your professional niche.  You are still discovering what you like (and don’t) … and what you are good at (and not).  Multi-functional experience and expertise is important.  It will make you a better a general manager or a higher-level functional leader, e.g., CIO.  I’m also a big fan of taking jobs at small “outposts” early in your career.  You will be rubbing elbows with a lot of different functions.  You will learn how all the business functions work together (or don’t).  You will see up close how actions in one function impact another.

Raise your hand.  Volunteer to take on the important, impactful task that no one else wants to do.  It will be over above and outside your job description.  It will be more work.  It will not earn you more money.  But you’ll learn something, and you’ll be appreciated.

Think and operate as if you were already at the next higher level.  Caution:  This is a little tricky; you don’t want to be perceived as over-reaching.  One of my observations when someone near me got promoted was that they had already been operating and behaving with the characteristics I saw in others at their new level.  Try to think bigger and broader.  Try to take on bigger and broader projects.  Try to lead your peers.  Think about the factors that people at the next higher level consider when making decisions or tackling a problem … and make those part of your SOP.  Think about how they work with their peers and bosses … and emulate them.

Luck and serendipity.  Sometimes I advanced thanks to the dumb luck of being in the right place at the right time.  I was lucky to get assigned to a long string of bosses who were great role models … who cared about me … who bet on my potential … and who understood my strengths and weaknesses.  Note:  If you want to be a great boss, this is a pretty good checklist!

Because I’m always trying to learn, I’d love to hear my readers’ thoughts.  I’d also love readers’ feedback on how I can make my writing more useful.  (Hmmm, maybe these belong on the checklist too.)