63 Six Steps to Prove You're Ready for a Promotion

Welcome to Joyfully Unstoppable, the podcast for women who are ready to succeed without the stress. Whether you're leading a team, a classroom, a boardroom, or your own big, beautiful life, I am so glad you found us. I'm your host, Becky Hamm, executive coach, speaker, and founder of Women Lead Well. Join me each week for straight talk, practical tips, and a dash of encouragement.

Hello, friend. I hope you're having a great day. Today, we are gonna talk about the signals that senior leaders look for when evaluating executive potential. And we're gonna identify an action you can take to make your readiness more visible.

I have said it before, and I will say it again. I know that you deliver excellent work. I know that you are phenomenal at solving difficult, challenging, complex problems. I know that your colleagues trust you, and I know that your organization relies on you.

But does that mean that you get the promotion when it comes available? It is tempting to believe that your work should speak for itself. The problem is that excellent work usually speaks to your performance in the role that you're in today, but a promotion decision asks a different question. It asks whether this person, you, can create value at the next level.

Senior leaders can't promote potential that they don't see, and so if your contributions are visible only through the completed projects, and those solved problems, and the dependable execution, then the decision-makers, the leaders who are gonna make the decision about the promotion, they see you as essential exactly where you are. Now, is that great on their part? No, ma'am. No, it is not.

But is it what happens a lot of the time? Yes. And let me push it a little bit further because here I'm pretty hard over on this piece. It's your life, it's your career, it is nobody's responsibility but yours to position yourself to be the obvious choice for a promotion or a new job.

And so yes, should the leaders, should your bosses, whoever's at that l- level above you, should they be looking for your potential? Of course they should. But at the end of the day, it is your responsibility to make it crystal clear to them. And so that's what we're talking about today.

Today we're gonna talk about why it is that doing great work isn't enough to earn your next promotion. We're gonna talk about what leaders are actually evaluating behind closed doors, and then how to demonstrate that you are actually prepared for greater responsibility. And I'm gonna start by unpacking an unwritten promotion rule, and I'm gonna name the assumption that a lot of successful women carry throughout our careers, and that is, if I work hard, if I produce the results, if I prove I'm capable, then the right people will recognize it And look, I've said on other podcasts, I said it just last week, what got you here ain't gonna get you there.

It is probably true that when you were more junior, that your performance created credibility. I talked about the expertise creating credibility, that it earned trust, and it opened the door to initial opportunities because probably your bosses or the leadership around you when you were more junior, they saw the initiative, they saw the competence, and they said, "Yes, we need to promote this person." However, as you move toward the director, the VP, the C-suite roles, promotion decisions become increasingly focused on your future scope and your ability to handle challenges and be diplomatic under pressure and weather the stress that comes with those more senior roles.

And so decision-makers, the people who are deciding on the promotion, they consider whether a candidate can operate with the greater ambiguity, with the influence instead of the authority, whether they have the presence, the ability to influence a greater number of people outside of their direct area of control, and to create value across the organization. So again, if you haven't listened to last week's episode, go back and listen. I walk you through all these stages of leadership growth, and today we're really getting clear about the formal promotion of a job from one role to the next.

Last week we spoke more conceptually. And so if you are the kind of person who does amazing work, then you might be asking yourself the question of how well do you perform in your current role? Are you crushing it? And undoubtedly, you probably are.

But the promotion question is, what evidence shows that you can succeed with the broader responsibility and the greater pressure and the greater complexity and the greater ambiguity in that next-level position? And the things that you're doing in your current job today should be telegraphing, I am ready, I can handle the ambiguity, I can handle the complexity or the stress or the whatever it is. And so your strong performance establishes your credibility. That opens the door.

But if you want to walk through the door, you have to demonstrate your readiness for that larger, more difficult scope. The decision-makers, the people who make decisions about the promotion, they need to see evidence in what you do day in and day out that you can contribute at that next level, and that you can serve the organization at the next level. There's always a learning curve, but of course you want that learning curve to be as short and as flat as possible. And so just because you have received stellar performance reviews, that doesn't mean that your boss or that next level in your organization thinks that you're ready for promotion.

Your performance review measures what you have already accomplished. A promotion decision predicts what you can accomplish at the next level with greater scope and responsibility. And now here's where it gets dicey, and I've talked about this on the podcast before, that that there is a hidden negative consequence of becoming the person that everybody relies on. If you are a highly capable leader, you might solve the hardest problems, and you personally, not your team, you don't work the solution, you just provide the solution.

You might step in whenever quality begins to decline, 'cause you're the person who gets it done, and you're not gonna let people fail, and you're the, you're committed to the mission, you're the team player. You probably hold critical institutional knowledge. You probably are great at maintaining important stakeholder relationships. You protect your team from making mistakes, and you keep the high-priority work moving through your personal effort.

These behaviors are amazing, and they create great short-term value. But they also cause senior leaders to associate you with execution in your current function. And so if work slows down whenever you step away, that signals dependence on you, then you become a critical point of failure. And decision-makers, rightly or wrongly, can question whether the team can function without you, or they might question whether you've developed anyone who can assume your current responsibilities.

And they're not gonna promote you out of a position to create a gap that is unfillable. And so if you are, in fact, essential to current operations in your current role, that can hinder you as being seen viable for promotion because it's gonna create a prob - it solves one problem in the organization, creates a new problem in the organization. And leaders often are gonna pick the individual that solves problems without creating new problems. And so you, as you develop people on your team to step in in your absence, once you are no longer the bottleneck, that, one, solves the problem.

There's no problem created by you promoting 'cause there's not gonna be a gap. You've prepared your successor. But two, also, you will be able to demonstrate to other people that you can effectively cultivate leadership at scale, right? You have prepared leaders to come in behind you, and that is a phenomenal future-focused action that signals that you're ready for promotion.

And so a quick question you can ask yourself is if you were promoted tomorrow, who could assume your most important responsibilities? And if nobody comes to mind, then you want to start thinking about who you can begin to develop toward that responsibility. Your organization needs evidence that you can leave the role you're in today stronger than you found it, that you can leave this role today without creating a big problem for the organization. Otherwise, again, for better or for worse, I'm not saying this is right, I'm saying this is how it works.

If they think that it's gonna create a problem for you to leave your current role, they ain't gonna move you. They're just not. All right, next up, let's talk about what senior leaders actually evaluate when they're making these promotion decisions. And I've been in a lot of promotion conversations, so I'm speaking from experience, but you can also test this with individuals within your organization, individuals senior to you who are in the promotion decisions at your organization.

And man, reach out. I'm at @womenleadwell across all social platforms, and let me know if I'm wrong, 'cause I'm not wrong. Signal number one is strategic judgment. And so the decision-makers are asking themselves, can you distinguish between urgent activity and organizational priority?

Do your decisions reflect an understanding of the broader strategy? And I talk about this constantly here on the podcast and inside my community, the Women's Executive Leadership Lab, focusing on the work that is important, not necessarily the work that is urgent, and doing only the work that only you can do. That's your job. You can delegate.

You can ditch, delegate, or delay the rest. And again, inside of the Women's Executive Leadership Lab, I walk you through that 4D framework on how to prioritize your time and energy so that you can be most effective at those executive level tasks and responsibilities that you need to be effective at if you wanna succeed at the executive level. And that's what that's signal number one. Are you showing that you can do that?

Signal number two, leadership capacity. Can you achieve results through other people, or is it just you can do a lot, but you can't work a team? Have you built a team that demonstrates ownership, sound judgment, consistent execution? And again, we're gonna talk about ownership next week on the podcast.

There's a whole module inside the content library of the Women's Executive Leadership Lab to talk about building ownership. Signal number three, enterprise perspective. Can you consider the needs of the entire organization? Do you understand how decisions in your particular function affect other teams, customers, stakeholders, resources, long-term priorities?

With the decisions that you currently have under your purview, are you making the short-term decisions, the long-term decisions, or some combination of the two? How do you handle that. Signal number four, influence. Can you build alignment across functions, especially when you have limited formal authority?

And I'll try to remember, I've got a podcast episode on this, how to lead with responsibility but no authority. I'll try to remember to link that so you've got it. Do people trust your judgment outside of your immediate team? I'm gonna hope your immediate team trusts your judgment.

If not, man, reach out, let's have a conversation. I would love to gift you a free 60-minute coaching call. Um, but if you wanna move up, if you wanna continue to promote, it's gotta be the people who don't know you Do the people who don't see your day-to-day operations, do they find you trustworthy? Do they listen when you speak?

That's what the decision-makers are evaluating when they determine your readiness for promotion. So to wrap that part up, executive potential includes the judgment, the leadership capacity, the enterprise perspective, and the influence. Technical proficiency, that I am the trusted expert, that remains valuable, but it only represents one dimension of your readiness. So I'm not saying to chuck expertise out the window and you no longer have to stay current in your field.

That is not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is you've gotta broaden your scope. You've already got the expertise. Now it is a matter of demonstrating these other capabilities so that the decision-makers, the individuals senior to you in the organization, see it.

And that leads us to the next topic, which is often there's a visibility problem. You maybe are doing these things, but people aren't seeing you do these things. And so let's break down how to make your higher level leadership more visible to the people who decide on promotions. And I'm talking about promotions because this is a career ladder within an organization, but if you are looking to leave your organization to go to another organization, the same principles apply.

A lot of us assume that the decision-makers, the people who would decide on our promotion, understand how difficult a project was, what obstacles you resolved in order to achieve success on the project or the program, whatever it is you're working on, that they would understand how the decisions that you made protected revenue, reduced risk, or improved performance, how much cross-functional coordination, collaboration was required to achieve the result, how your team contributed to an organizational priority.

And you maybe even, in updates, in emails, in slide decks, have communicated that. But that doesn't mean that the people at the higher level received the message, because they got a lot on their plate, and they are skimming for bottom lines. And even if you communicate it, it doesn't mean that they received it. And so visibility, what we're talking about right now, that means he- intentionally helping other people understand your value, the strength of your judgment, the leadership that's involved in delivering the results that you deliver, and that includes communicating your contributions in terms that matter for the organization.

And so let me break down what this might look like. So a task-focused update might sound like, "We completed the new onboarding process and trained all the regional managers." Phenomenal. An executive-level update might sound like, "The new onboarding process reduces the time required for regional managers to bring employees to full productivity.

Early implementation data shows fewer errors during the first 30 days, supporting our retention and operational efficiency goals." Okay. You are really focused on the value of the action to the organization and its existing goals. You're connecting the work to organizational values.

And again, you are responsible for your growth in the organization, not your boss, not the leaders at the next higher level. And so it is not a one and done. I am not saying you say that one time, and then you check it off your list like, "Yes, they understood it." What I am saying is that you are intentional in how you communicate to individuals across the organization, across the enterprise, across your industry, in terms of the value that you and your team are providing.

And if that feels self-aggrandizing, then that feels self-aggrandizing. Again, let's jump on a coaching call, and let's talk it out why that feels uncomfortable to you, because it, it doesn't have to feel uncomfortable. You can feel comfortable doing it. It doesn't make you like a, a self-promoter.

But I'm also gonna say there ain't nothing wrong with being a self-promoter if you are doing quality work. And if you already have a team, then I'm gonna say your self-promotion doesn't just elevate you, it elevates every member of your team, right? Because you are not gonna take credit for work that your team did. You are gonna sing the praises of the team.

And what made that team so good? Well, I don't know, maybe it was you. Maybe you're effective at how you lead it, right? And so again, if this feels uncomfortable for you, oh my goodness, reach out and let's have a conversation 'cause it doesn't have to.

And you don't have to do it in a s- in a sleazy way. But you can't expect people to know things that you haven't told them. And you know this from the teams that you lead currently, you gotta repeat yourself a lot for people to hear you. The noise is so loud, and so that means that you have to be intentional and consistent And so what I would recommend is to think of whatever the most important current project or program that you're working on, is just to, to complete the sentence, this work matters to the organization because...

Fill that out. Use that answer in the next update or stakeholder conversation, meeting, whatever, and then use it again, and then use it again, and just use that framework. This matters to the organization because we collaborated this way. And you can even frame it this way, right?

Through collaboration with blah, blah, blah, we were able to deliver this result for the organization. Now you've got a twofer. You can show that you've got that cross-fu- co- I hate that... I fumble this every time I say it.

You can demonstrate you've got that cross-functional collaboration in order to deliver value to the organization. Your work cannot speak for itself because nobody in the organization has the time or energy to decipher the implications of the work itself. You gotta tell them All right, next up, we're gonna talk sponsorship, we're gonna talk advocacy, reputation, those conversations you're not in. You guys know how important this is.

And you also probably know, though people don't often talk about it out loud, that many promotion decisions begin long before any position is formally posted, right? Senior leaders discuss amongst themselves who is ready for more responsibility, who can lead a high visibility initiative, who understands the organization beyond her current function, who can be trusted with greater risk, right? Who handles risk well? Woo, that person's gonna promote.

Who should be included in succession planning? I talked in the last podcast episode, this is part of the executive leadership continuum, this idea of building leaders and how strategic executives have the responsibility for developing the leaders that come after them. That's what these conversations are. These are strategic executives talking about who...

They're prospecting, who in this organization do we wanna cultivate for additional responsibility? Your professional reputation walks into rooms before you do. You know it. And so having a sponsor helps decision-makers understand your potential by advocating for you during these conversations.

And I wanna take a second to clarify the distinction between mentorship, which you should also have, and sponsorship. A mentor is gonna give you advice, guidance. They're gonna give you their perspective as someone who has been there and done that. A sponsor uses their influence to increase your access, your visibility, your opportunity.

They say, "Hey, come with me to this meeting," or, "I want you at this conference," and then they talk you up at the conference, or they talk about you at the table when a conversation turns to potential, right? To future opportunities. They bring your name up in that conversation. That's a sponsor.

A mentor works with you, right? Focused on you as the person. A sponsor works... They're your promoter, right?

They're your hype man or your hype woman. They talk you up outside. And so your sponsor helps other people see your readiness for opportunities that, that you maybe just don't have access to because you're not in the room, you're not at that table yet. But your sponsor needs direct evidence of your judgment and your ambition and your results.

They need to know that you wanna operate at the next level. And so building relationships across the organization expands the number of leaders who understand your capability, and that amplifies, that multiplies the number of potential sponsors that you have got. And so here I would ask yourself, who understands my work well enough to describe my executive potential when I'm not there to answer questions? And again, it's your career.

You don't have to do this if it feels uncomfortable to you, but I'm telling you, you want to pick one senior stakeholder who needs a clearer view of your contributions, one senior leader who would benefit from knowing more about you and what you do. Look for a legitimate reason to give them an update. Ask, you can m- a, a mentor can be a sponsor. I'm just specifying these are two different functions, right?

Two different tasks. Could be in the same person. And so you can ask for some mentorship. You can ask for them to share their perspective on something that you're noodling through.

You can offer to contribute to a priority connected to their work, again, cross-functional collaboration. All of that is important. Be intentional about cultivating your sponsors. Working near senior leaders does not guarantee that they understand your leadership, and it doesn't guarantee that they're gonna advocate for you.

You are responsible for cultivating that in a human, sincere way, right? Don't be a schmuck. But you don't have to be a schmuck. You can ad- you can self-advocate to build their sponsorship while still being the amazing woman that you are.

And now here's the final thing that I'm gonna say before we wrap up, and that is that you wanna have the promotion conversation. There are so many of us who wait for our manager to initiate a career development conversation, and I'm gonna say nuh-uh. Again, who is responsible for your career, sweet woman, is you. They need to know that you want to promote, and so communicate with your first line supervisor very clearly your aspiration.

Do it directly. Ask for specific feedback. You wanna say something like, "I'm interested in preparing for greater leadership responsibility. You know me.

Based on what you've observed, what evidence would senior leaders need to see to consider me ready for the next level?" And look, you might have a dirt bag supervisor who wants to keep you exactly where you are, and if you do, reach out and let's have a conversation about it because there are ways around that. But most times, most supervisors who are worth anything are gonna give you a sincere and direct response. A second question that you can ask is, "What experiences or relationships would strengthen my readiness over the next six to 12 months?"

These are good questions to ask because they invite specific, actionable information, and they signal ambition, self-awareness, commitment to continued growth, and your professional ownership. All of that is important. And so as we wrap up, I just wanna leave you with this: doing great work has earned you credibility, trust, and influence. That is amazing.

Those assets form the foundation for your next level of leadership. Your next promotion is gonna depend on whether decision-makers can see evidence of what you will continue to contribute with greater scope, complexity, stress, and ambiguity. Can you lead through others? Can you think across the organization and potentially across the industry?

Can you influence beyond your authority? Can you connect your work to enterprise-level value? And are the right people able to describe that value in your absence? And so I would say choose one of those areas and take action on it this week.

Develop somebody from your team so they can backfill when you move, reframe a project update around organizational value, strengthen a relationship with a senior stakeholder, ask your manager what evidence would demonstrate your readiness to promote. Your work matters. Again, you are already good. I am confident that you're already good at what you do.

Make the strategic value clear. Now, if this episode spoke to you, I would love for you to share it with a friend. We need more women leading from alignment, not adrenaline. And if you haven't already, please make sure to like and subscribe so you don't miss next week's drop.

Remember, joyful, sustainable, and authentic leadership is possible, and you deserve to enjoy every minute of it. Until next time, I'm Becky Hamm, and this is Joyfully Unstoppable.