How and when you ask for a promotion depends on the current business environment and your impact on the organization. Consider how long you have been in your current role and where your role sits in the organization’s hierarchy. It is customary to remain in an entry level role for two to three years. As roles become more senior, difficult and complex, promotions become less frequent. In addition, organizations often want individuals to perform consistently at the next level before they promote them.
While you might be ready for a promotion, your company’s financial situation, industry ranking, and geography are all practical considerations. Has your industry been impacted by natural disasters or disease and economic changes? If so, it might be unwise to ask for that promotion at this time.
Independent of business context, there are four things you have influence over:
- Role performance. Doing outstanding in your current role is an outward demonstration to others that you are capable of performing in more challenging roles.
- Relationships and Networks. In addition to your boss, the decision to promote individuals often involves getting buy-in from others in the organization such as human resources, finance, and cross-functional leaders. When people enjoy working with you and the work you do is outstanding, promotions are a much easier sell.
- Listening more than you share. While sharing your great ideas will get you noticed, dominating conversations could suggest that you are not collaborative. Listening is a tool of great innovators and leaders.
- Thinking beyond your designated role. What challenges will your company and industry grapple with? How might you contribute to the company’s preparedness or evolution? What additional knowledge, skills and experiences could you acquire in support? Executing your current role with excellence and expanding your capabilities to align with anticipated business needs shows commitment to your craft and the company.
Even if you embrace and deliver on the items you can influence, the contextual side of a promotion can’t be ignored. Many organizations have annual processes designed to assess performance. If an organization is interested in performance consistency, calibration meetings will occur to ensure that all colleagues are being assessed using the same standard. This helps to prevent individual managers from rating their direct reports harder or easier than other managers. Promotions are often directly or indirectly tied to this process, and there is often a yearly promotional budget for the organization that can’t be exceeded.
Many elements of the promotional process are not in your control, yet there are parts that you can influence. Take charge of the factors you can control so that you are in the best position to be promoted when the business factors are in alignment.