PROMOTIONS

Promotions shouldn’t be a mystery. Typically, management will look for three factors:

1. Is there a sustained business need for this role at the next level?

2. Has the individual demonstrated sustained deliverables at the next level’s expectations?

3. Is this the right person to assume the additional responsibilities?

Promotions are a company discussion and should not rely solely on the direct manager. This is important as each promotion has business ramifications:

1. Leveling guidelines need to stay fair and calibrated across similar functions

2. A promotion increases an individual’s ownership, accountability, and deliverables which will have large benefit or detriment to the business depending on if deliverables are met, or not

3. Promotions should be mindful of implicit bias

As levels scale, the responsibilities will generally exponentially scale as well. This is something important to note as you reflect on if a promotion is really what you want out of your next career journey. This leveling can be visualized in the following graph for a level range of 1-8.

Reflecting on the above promotion criteria, it is important to find sustained opportunities to make impact at the higher expectations. This not only signals your competence to achieve these results, but will also demonstrate that the business does have a need for this promotion. In the absence of sustained business need or capability, the impact at a higher expectation will predominantly be spikes of increased deliverables; typically resulting in increased recognition during a performance assessment. 

Visually this can be seen as:

If you are looking at that next step in your career, here are some items to consider:

1. [table stakes] Discuss clear expectations with your manager on your role, responsibilities, and deliverables.

2. [understand] Understand why your role was leveled X when you started and not X+1.

3. [next steps] Discuss if there is a business need for your role at the next level, X+1. The answer may be “no”.

4. [next steps] Discuss what the additional expectations for your role at the next level are.

5. [identify] Identify opportunities for you to demonstrate your ability to execute at the next level.

6. [feedback] Ask for feedback from your manager and upward peers as you navigate additional responsibilities.

7. [grow] Internalize the feedback and leverage it for growth.

I’ve navigated many promotions in my career for myself (4 during my 8 year tenure at Meta), mentees, and employees. I would love to assist you on your career journey.