Promotion: Move up not out

It is one of the unwritten rules of work is that you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate. Yet, while professionals in the corporate world will happily apply this logic to discussing their remuneration during the hiring process, the same rarely applies to promotions, and yet, bosses often need only hear you ask to oblige, even if they will rarely make the first move themselves.

In the delicate professional dance between employee and employer, the worker can often feel like a wallflower in an 80s teen movie, waiting to be asked to the end of year ball by the object of their affections. When it comes to being promoted, to quote the singer Matt Berninger, the average employee, it seems, is waiting for the boss to stop them in the hallway and say, “I’ve been hearing good things.”    

As regards getting promoted, such passivity figures prominently among the list of mistakes workers typically make, according to the author of The New Rules of Influence, Lida Citroën, which are: Not asking for a promotion and thinking good things will come to you; comparing yourself to other people when asking for a promotion; thinking you’ll get a promotion because you get along with your boss; not knowing the state of the business when asking for a promotion; thinking you are somehow entitled to a promotion, and; getting emotional toward your boss if things don’t go your way.

While managers may view hiring from outside the company as less ‘messy’ politically, studies have shown that an external hire is on average around 25% more costly than an internal promotion in terms of annual salary, takes more time to adapt to their new surroundings and role and is at greater risk of getting cold feet and moving on.   

An external hire is on average around 25% more costly than an internal promotion in terms of annual salary, takes more time to adapt to their new surroundings and role and is at greater risk of getting cold feet and moving on

For Déborah Romain-Delacour, “It’s quite odd that a lot of managers and HR directors aren’t more proactive when it comes to finding candidates for promotion at their company. From experience, they tend to wait for the worker to spontaneously apply for a position,” states the social psychologist adding that to fill a vacancy, “many advertise the position or task a headhunter without considering what’s in their own talent pool.” Convention dictates, then, that it’s up to the worker to make the first move? The big question is “how?”

Balancing act
“It’s a delicate balancing act, and one which requires adopting the right posture,” states Karine Doukhan, the CEO of HR consultancy KarEl. To show they are worthy, some staff make it known that they don’t count the hours they work and are 110% invested. Cramming your diary with meetings, affecting an air of perma-busy by striding around the open space and hallways wearing an agitated look, staying at your desk past home-time (even if you are not doing anything that benefits the company at that juncture), deliberately sending emails outside office hours to signal that you are always on the case… for the worker with great expectations, these transparent tactics are no longer enough to secure that coveted promotion.

Projecting an overcommitted image is an error the ambitious often commit, as what boss would want to promote an employee who looks to be on the verge of burning out at their current level of responsibility? At the other end of the scale, coming across as not expending all your effort isn’t a good strategy either. It gives the impression that you are not fully invested in the company. And what boss is going to trust someone with a reputation of being lazy and disinterested?

Hence the need to be a savvy political operator. Contrary to popular belief, buttering up your superiors is no longer a sure-fire way to get on the inside track for a promotion, remarks the former vice-president of Robert Half France, for whom, “It is now very easy to deploy reporting tools to measure actual skills. The master of flattery has, therefore, less of an advantage than before. But beware, just being good at your job is not enough to rise in the ranks. You also need to be an astute politically.”

Charm the higher-ups…
According to Doukhan, there are two essential ingredients for charming the higher-ups, one: “It is essential to show that you understand the company’s philosophy and culture, and that you are determined not to disrupt it.” And two: “Above all, the employee must bring solutions, make themselves indispensable – in short, offer something concrete.”

When it comes to getting promoted, passivity figures prominently among the list of mistakes workers typically make

One secret weapon is the technique known as job crafting, which lets employees go beyond their job description by delivering measurable added-value through concrete initiatives, tangible results and a proactive mindset. The goal is to be recognized as a key contributor whose impact is appreciated by senior leadership, and to be seen as a strategic peer by one’s superiors.

…while remaining well-regarded by existing colleagues
From the employee’s perspective, getting a promotion can have unintended consequences: those who were our peers become, for want of a better word, our subordinates, and there is an inevitable shift in the dynamic of the relationship. Logically, the boss will ask themselves the following questions before signing off on a promotion: how are relations between the candidate and the people they work with? And following on from that: will some avoid working with the person in question if they join the management? Do they have what it takes to run a team, or are they the sort of person that has only ever worked in isolation? Will they be a micromanager or let the power that comes with the new position go to their head? From one day to the next, will they start to ignore colleagues they now view as being beneath their new station?

According to Doukhan, these are crucial aspects and not to be overlooked. “A good manager will always measure the impact of an internal promotion on all teams.” Because, the money you save by hiring from within will count for little, if the choice of the person to promote leads to several of your other experienced staff-members resigning as a result.  

Going to your boss and asking for a promotion is still viewed by many as a transgressive act that goes against the working world’s natural hierarchy, as though we were still living in the Victorian Age. Yet making a promotion request signals to the boss that an employee is ambitious and engaged. There are many more reasons for a manager to say yes to a promotion request than turn it down, and besides, either way, it will make it clear if your future lies at the company... or elsewhere.