It may sound counterintuitive, but my first piece of advice for employees seeking a promotion is don’t trust your manager with your career development. The truth is that there are very few managers who will truly be a coach and advocate for you, so there is little sense in asking them to independently define your goals. And I say this as a leader who believes in the value of mentorship.
Of course, you must still invest in a positive relationship with your manager. Indeed, making your boss look good is a key part of what will help employees ascend to the next level. Why? Because it’s proof that you are in service to others and to the company. Think about the qualities that make someone leadership material: Selflessness, self-sufficiency, influence, and a strategic mindset. You can demonstrate these attributes by taking ownership of your career right now.
Build an Advisory Network
Some managers may have your back, but others will hand assignments down without caring whether they will set you up for promotion. The reasons are less relevant than what you are going to do about it. So many people are caught in the hamster wheel of just getting things done, but those who are successful stand out because they invest in building a brand for themselves both inside and outside the company.
The idea is to have a track record of delivering at the scope and complexity of the positions at the next level. But you cannot do this without first building advocates across the company, which may or may not include your manager (although they may include their manager). When you have more and more stakeholders listening, liking, and acknowledging your ideas — and then repeating them — it creates a multiplier effect. Your voice and the shadow you cast in the organization become much larger than you might realize.
Your personal advisory board doesn’t have to be comprised exclusively of company colleagues, either. So many valuable ideas, practices, and pieces of advice come from the outside. As your contributions are recognized by your advisors over time, it becomes the foundation of your brand.
Once you have your support network established and have identified a big goal, you need to switch from the tactical focus of individual effort to thinking strategically. This means bringing on board another key group of people, the stakeholders, throughout the lifecycle of the project.
Relationships Matter
Here’s another thing you cannot trust: Status reports. Yes, you need to provide updates, but relationships are really built on emotional connections. Meet your stakeholders on their terms and work around their schedule to make yourself available for an ongoing conversation. Practice selflessness and put their needs first.
The value of these one-on-one touchpoints is that stakeholders come to understand not only what was developed but feel good about the role you played, how well you communicated, and how you engaged others across the scope of the project. In other words, it’s not just about what you do anymore but how you do it. Prioritize documenting and codifying your agreements, and you will have a paper trail of feedback in the language of the company’s values and principles.
If you do encounter negative feedback, instead of getting frustrated or angry that your aspirations may have to wait another semester, get curious. Play the detective. Where did the misalignment occur? Often it’s because there was resistance or people pulling in different directions that were not addressed. Coaching would help, but it may not be available. In this case, managing relationships is the steepest part of your learning curve.
People on this journey often don’t realize that building their network and investing the time to build trust and reliability among stakeholders is greater than individual accomplishments. That got you to this point in your career, but it won’t take you further. You still have to dig into the detail and deliver, but now you have to delegate and spend time across the company to cast a shadow. No one cares more about your career than you, so the best thing you can do is show that you are ready for the transition.