Stephanie Klein, president and CEO of the Experience Factor, is a regular columnist for the Denver Business Journal. Her most recent column, reposted here, focuses on the mindset you need to get a promotion.
An experienced, midlevel professional with several years at her company wants to find a new job. That’s because she’s frustrated and exasperated because once again, she had been passed over for an internal promotion.
When her department needed a new director, she was certain that her skills and job performance were strong enough to ensure she would be selected. But senior executives hired from the outside instead. Sound familiar? Here’s advice for those who have felt the same disappointment.
First, show decision makers at your company that you understand the real responsibilities of the new role and the skill set required. Tell them you’ve been taking on new projects to learn more.
Think about your own strengths and weaknesses, and be willing to honestly and objectively discuss them. Own up to your abilities and be able to talk about the situations you might find challenging in the new position.
Don’t presume that what made you successful is enough to take on the new role. Be ready for an honest conversation about expectations, your ability to adapt to the new situation and the level of support you can expect.
Tenure and a good attitude aren’t enough. The problem is that most people, like this woman, aren’t willing to have the tough conversations with their boss about their skills and abilities.
This isn’t about your grade from your last performance review. It’s a more difficult, deeper, more vulnerable discussion about challenges and obstacles. Most think these types of conversations would further underscore and highlight weaknesses, not really understanding they’re conversations of strength.
Next, map out your strategy for success in the first 90 days. Most people think this is only what outside candidates think about, but it’s just as important, if not more so, for a recently promoted incumbent.
Do your research. Start by diagnosing the business situation you’ll be stepping into, and list the opportunities and challenges. Next, focus on what you’ll need to learn and how you’ll do it most efficiently. Identify ways to create value and improve results for the team, department or company.
Once you’re in your new role, you won’t have a lot of time to thoughtfully assess the problems and opportunities. Being prepared will boost your credibility with teammates and your boss, and give you momentum to move through challenges more quickly.
When positioning for a promotion, there is a requisite change in mindset. Senior executives, even CEOs, have failed when they haven’t been able to let go of their past role and embrace the new one.
Prepare for the new role by imagining yourself in it. Consider how you’ll have to think and act differently. Don’t go through this process alone; get feedback. It helps to have informal advisers, an internal mentor or an outside coach.
Getting external feedback and support can help you better see around your own blind spots, find better strategies for roadblocks and help you grow faster. Letting people know you’re open to feedback, then changing your behavior before you get a new job will make you more desirable for a promotion.
Typically, companies don’t promote those who just have loyalty and good attendance. They promote those who have ideas and plans to move the business forward.
Finally, once you’re prepared to take on a new role, understand there will be others who might want to hold you back. Be prepared to work with subordinates, peers and vendors who feel abandoned by your new promotion. Consider how you’ll handle challenges to your authority if you’re hired.
Anyone vying for a promotion should keep in mind what HR managers know: There is a strong case to be made for hiring from within. The research shows that 40 to 50 percent of outside hires fail to achieve desired results.
Internal candidates have some distinct advantages:
• They’re already familiar with the corporate culture.
• They know the informal communication networks that exist.
• They know the office politics.
Outside hires will take more time building lines of communication, assimilating, and earning the trust and respect of people at each level of the organization. When a senior-level hire doesn’t work out, there’s a huge cost. Important projects are delayed and credibility is damaged inside and outside the organization.
If you’re a hiring manager, and have the knee-jerk reaction of always looking outside your firm, take a breath.
You may not know the employees that are two tiers down on the organizational chart. That’s why when the departure of a key player is imminent, it’s important to talk to your employees. You may uncover a potential rock star who needs some support, but would work really hard to close any real or perceived gaps in their skill set.
You’ll save money and time, and send a powerful message to your team that you’ve conscientiously evaluated, and appreciate the hard work of, those who want to take on more responsibility.