What Are Major Steps I Can Take To Get Promoted Sooner?

I was very fortunate during a period of  IBM's fast growth to have 12 level changes over 11 jobs in 10 years. Later, I would be in the position of hiring or advising the hiring of many professionals. The following have been my observation of key factors that help a person's promotability.  Doing everything on this list will be like hitting the missile launch button!

Mastering your current assignment is critical. One tip I would pass on is that I would always try to fundamentally enhance the way the monthly cycle was done (I was an accountant the first several jobs). I would streamline it, shorten it, and make it higher quality. After 3 months I was ready for more challenges. That led to more responsibilities, special projects, and sooner promotions.

 

Special Assignments give you the chance to work with different people in the organization. In a certain sense you are your own harmonious brand. As people get to know you they associate you with hard worker, great team player,  strong idea generator, good communicator, disciplined, and so forth. This builds an inherent consensus in the management and overall community that you are ready for promotion.

On your core and extended teams, be that person that stimulated focused mission advancement and progress. I do not mean be a grandstanding fair-haired child or maverick. But in your practice you become associated with "She really helps get things done around here. She doesn't procrastinate. She sticks her landings."

Those people who essentially spray silicon wherever they work are a joy to be around. They are low maintenance. They have no kelp on their keel, and glide through the water without being impeded. They are efficient and straight-forward. They take responsibility and freely fess-up to mistakes or imperfections.  Believe me, when it comes to promotion time, these folks break ties with that kind if MO.

Many work environments have toxic people and work environments. Every workplace has little pockets of toxicity. Those who are an unobtrusive antacid, deftly dealing with and counteracting certain ones' negativity, reflect some traits critical in promotability, like conflict management, negotiation management, and working with difficult people. These skills become more important as you elevate up an organization. You acknowledge and recognize contributions of others, building a culture of applause in celebrating success.

Not only do you have your core job, but are impacted by and contribute to larger business processes around you. Always be on the lookout for how a process could be made simpler, smoother, shorter, and better. Be sensitive that other people own those processes. Exercise wisdom, but, done the right way, most people appreciate things that make their jobs and work lives better. Management appreciates costs and labor savings. Also, you demonstrate a "big-picture", holistic orientation to business, which is a key promotability skill.

Communications and Implementation rank 15th and 16th out of 16 on Strategia's Strategic Enterprise Assessment, which has been collecting over 250 leadership teams' inputs on all the categories of their companies. Therefore, anyone who is focused on making communication more effective and implementation more disciplined is very valuable to an organization. Common sense is not common enough. Look for simple measures that can really improve the carrying out of work! You will be appreciated as a progress enabler!

There are so many little requests and needs that come our way from people outside of our area. How these requests are handled is like dropping stones into a still pond. The small ripples are unobtrusive but noticed and appreciated over time. Most folks grumble, procrastinate, forget about, and/or grudgingly accommodate others' needs. Often it is not because they are selfish, but BUSY with their core jobs. Therefore those who can take care of others' needs in a good way (timely  and effective) really stand out for all the right reasons.

Everything counts, it is said. The little things become noticeable if they are not done well, like sloppy dress, off-color or out of character comments, lateness, and various peculiarities. This does not argue for everyone being drab, dehumanized automatons, but it does mean that professionalism, maturity, and deportment are counted when management is considering who is ready for the move up.

If a person does not have a curiosity and inquisitiveness about the greater business world in which they work, they may not be considered for a move into that place in the short-run. I had a summer intern once who was amazingly curious and precocious. She completed projects so fast that I had to stay out ahead of her. She would later become one of the 4 very senior-most execs running Hewlett-Packard. I chuckled when I found that out. It is good to learn about all the different organizations and opportunities that are out there! It is good to seek and see the bigger picture.

The stronger a person performs, the more it gives rise to jealosy and resentment from some others. It is important to be aware that your success is not welcomed or wanted by everybody. There are some out there who see your gain as their loss, or your success as their defeat. All I can say is, walk as humbly and quietly as you can, always look to give credit to those helping the team succeed, acknowledge that you have a lot to learn...and move on -- you can't change the hearts of some jaundiced, cynical, insecure, jealous, or politically-motivated people. Don't play their game, don't lower yourself to that level.

Your up-line of management needs to know what are your career aspirations and future assignment and job interests. They will usually tell you to be patient. The first second level manager I had at IBM after a couple of months there said, "Bill, you need to be capped, and I don't mean like an asset, I mean like an oil well." Talk about Debbie Downer (but his name was Ralph). It was interesting that when I left IBM 10 years later he was at the same level, and I had had the good fortune of becoming 4 levels higher than he by that time. It does illustrate about attitude. It also reflects that good companies have fair advancement systems as judged over time. In most cases other than Ralph, my up-line was supportive of my goals. 

Try these strategies in combination. They will definitely position yourself as a more promotable candidate at any level!

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