I want a promotion!

I started working with one of my clients who was a Sr. Director. They were running the show and really felt like what they were doing warranted a VP title and the salary that goes with it. Part of the problem was that the group had gone through a serious restructuring and they had a brand new boss.

New bosses aren’t a bad thing. It just needs to be acknowledged as a new relationship. This person doesn’t have any history. You don’t know their working style. And there’s no trust in this brand-new relationship.

So if you have a new relationship with your manager a few things to keep in mind (these also pretty much apply to existing managers):

• Interview with your boss – Find an opportunity as you get to know them to sell your experience like you would in an interview. What’s your background, what are some specific wins, and add some personal information.
• Ask and listen – What are they prioritizing based on what’s being asked of them? What are they prioritizing in their ask for you?
• Show authority – They might be very knowledgeable but you have the situational knowledge. What is your team doing well, what are areas of challenge, and what do you need to be successful with those challenges? Do not get in the weeds, start with a 10k-foot view and let them know more details as needed.
• Quick successes – First impressions last so ensure that your initial focus is on delivering well what’s being asked of you.
• Focus on other relationships – You’ve been there for a while so don’t forget to nurture your other relationships like your skip manager and other team leads so you’re not dependent on your manager to sing your praises.
• Outline your growth plan – Talking about your career path is a part of your job, get clear on what your expectations are, and sell it. Get on the same page as to what’s realistic (and needed to be so) and what the timeline looks like.

And you can probably guess because I’m telling this story that my client was promoted to VP. Their new manager sang their praises and went to the mat on title and money. This of course opened a new can of challenges so we still meet biweekly.

If you’re looking to move up in your world get on my calendar to talk about whether coaching should be a key ingredient (spoiler alert, it would be really beneficial).