How to Get Promoted Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of How to Get Promoted. In this blog post I share two ways to demonstrate your leadership and prepare for a promotion. These are from my own experience and worked for me. Link to Part 1.
My first recommendation is: decline all non-promotable work.
This one is going to ruffle some feathers. Women are disproportionally assigned non-promotable work that takes up time and energy. Examples can include: taking notes during meetings, planning employee birthday/retirement parties, leading cultural initiatives, leading social committees, coordinating schedules, mentoring and training others, helping with communal projects, and volunteering to do work that no one else wants to do.
All these tasks are important to keep the business running, and someone has to do them. However, they are taking up time and energy without increasing your leadership skills or visibility to top management. They are framing women in the light of a 1950’s secretary who can perform tasks and take the executive functioning (organization and prioritization skills) off the top leader so he can be free to make strategic choices and do high-level projects.
In my own experience, I thought these tasks would help me get promoted. The company would see that I am working extra to make the company a better place. No. None of this work has protected me from reprimand or caused me to be promoted. It didn’t even endear me to other employees. It is not strategic, it does not increase revenue, and it does not decrease costs. It does not enhance efficiency or processes in a measurable way.
This can be hard for women to give up. “But no one will do the birthday parties if I don’t do it! Everyone loves getting recognized on their birthday!” I know, babe. You are providing a fun and encouraging atmosphere, but you have to stop. If everyone wants to keep doing it, someone else will take up the reigns or they need to hire someone to do it. Move your time and energy to high-impact projects with measurable results that will boost your value to the company (in the ways that get recognition from leadership).
My Second Recommendation: Act as though you already have the job above you.
There is an aspect of manifestation here, but the real strategy is a change in mindset which will change your behavior. In all your work, consider the perspective of a person above you or the person who is at the next level up. What is important to their role? What company objectives do they consider? What support do they need from other departments? What are their day-to-day activities? How do they see your work and how it impacts the total business? How is their role different from your role?
Use these strategic questions to inform how you do your own work. It may be beneficial to shadow a few people at a higher level and ask them questions directly to better understand their perspective.
As you change your mindset and make your work even more strategically aligned with managers above you, plan a “wow” project. I define a “wow” project as taking on a responsibility of a person above you. This can be a stretch project that will increase your exposure and reach. DON’T TAKE ON NON-PROMOTABLE WORK like a newsletter, tracking progress of others, etc. This needs to be a valuable, strategic project. Before you take this on, ask for alignment from your manager with a path to promotion. Example: if I get these results on this high-value project, then that will result in a promotion/raise/title change, etc. Projects tied to financial objectives are best: decrease costs, increase revenue, increase efficiency, etc. Something measurable.
This process can also be used for lateral moves, roles equal to your own, but in another department. A lateral move, or simply working to understand a lateral position, can increase your strategic mindset and prepare you for promotion.
Example from my own life: In literally all of my jobs, I have volunteered to train other people. Training and teaching really helped me practice breaking down strategic concepts into real life situations and applications. The questions from new employees tested my knowledge and sent me on a path to learn even more about the subject matter. When new people did well and performed successfully, it was a feather in my cap that I had contributed to their success. I demonstrated my skills at recognizing and coaching others, a key leadership skill. Large companies sometimes find good on-boarding a challenge. New employees really appreciate someone who looks out for them and helps them navigate a new environment. I like to be someone who is open and approachable so that new employees can ask weird or unusual or even inappropriate questions. Everyone needs help. I have been new before, and it was hard! I love easing the transition for people. The Con: new people repeat everything. Especially extroverts. New people don’t know the company culture, and they don’t inherently understand that “nobody talks about bob’s drinking” unless you tell them. So be careful what you say, and if you need to say something that should not be repeated, TELL THEM NOT TO REPEAT IT. You don’t want some new person saying to HR “Lynn said Bob is lazy” or something off-putting.
I hope these help you reflect on your career and job duties. Managing my career has been a challenge, and I am continuing to learn how to navigate large companies. I would love to hear stories from your career.
This is me at a 2025 Conference by Disability:IN for disabled business owners. I learned a lot about making work and opportunities accessible to people who are disabled.