How to Move up the Ladder

We all struggle when it comes to convincing management for our promotion. I think this is same even for annual appraisal, which more or less defines and creates your path to success and promotions. How do we ask for a promotion? I think it is not enough to just ask for a promotion, but rather build a platform and make your managers/management see that you are ready for the next level.

Here are some pointers to help you:

 You can never get a promotion by threatening your manager, who himself is insecure. Rather, it would be good to help them get what they want.

 The worst thing to do is to threaten to leave. You will lose all chances that you may have and it might work against you.

 Never say you are better than your superiors, it might insult your management.

 It is not a good idea to make negative comparisons with your colleagues. It would be difficult to manage them if they become your team members and even more difficult if they become your superior.

 Just because you feel you are doing a great job, you don’t get entitled to a promotion. Work for it, create a visibility for yourself and create a platform.

 You should start preparing before even you start talking to your manager. As mentioned earlier, create a visibility for yourself and give indications to your superiors that you want to move up.

 It’s always about the organization and not about you. You need to help the organization reach its objectives and superiors should see your promotion as a step towards it.

 Always look out for opportunity to earn extra brownie points and look out for opportunity to move up the ladder.

 Go that extra mile.

 Set specific and measurable goals and behaviors with your manager.

 Setup time with your manager to discuss specifically on your plan to move up, but don’t keep the discussion too frequent, once a quarter is a good time I guess.

 If you feel there are no opportunities in the team and there are no chances of upward movement, start looking out for new position, internally in the organization or externally.

 Build a network of people who believe in you and who can guide you in the right direction. Let them know your goals so that they can support you and provide you inputs to move in the right direction.

I say this time and again; create a visibility for you. This will provide you the required platform. Remember, you not only need to demonstrate that you understand the challenges and opportunities your organization faces, but you also need to show that your work is adding value to the organization and is helping the organization grow. Don’t limit yourself just to your team, work across organizations. This will once again help you in creating visibility.