How To Get a Promotion

Growth is a very strong human need. The order can be debated and contested, but the need to "move up" indisputable. This phenomenon is all the more visible when human beings participate in a vocation, and get rewarded for deploying their skills and knowledge. ‘Growth’ in this context is signified by career movement or promotions and represents a need of better financial health and security, through to power and status needs, and right up to higher order needs of external equity and actualization. Indeed, as research establishes, promotions have a huge role to play in our emotional well being. It makes sense then to follow a smart, well crafted strategy to achieve the desired career goals for yourself and make the right career moves to put your career on the fast track. Here are the key steps to build and execute this strategy:

1. Build a simple career map for yourself. Track your growth path hypothetically, right up to the end of your career. This introspection-based exercise is called "Life Career Goal" mapping.
2. Now critique this map; try to challenge each move in the track you have outlined. This is a strong self-critical exercise. It helps remove elements of desirability and build realism into the map.
3. Validate this final map with a colleague (whom you trust), a close professional friend or a mentor and go through a final level of critique and 'challenge'. This process is called “Career Map Validation".
4. Make this your reference document to plan your career and be intentional about your moves. Work backwards from the "end state" down to the "current state”, tracing the intermediate steps. This process of "Critical Career Path tracking" will help you nail down the key career milestones for yourself.
5. Focus on the next two milestones. Identify the roles you need to go after to achieve those milestones.
6. Examine the roles deeply; try to identify key skills, knowledge and experience requirements for getting there. Research the role through job descriptions and intense discussions with successful incumbents. Do a critical self assessment and identify your "current state”, with respect to the "desired state" for the role.
7. Identify your key strengths (based on natural talents) and skills/knowledge/experience/proficiency that will allow you to position yourself well for the role, as well as help you succeed.
8. Build your "brand description" highlighting your key strengths that will allow you to succeed in the role.
9. Identify the gaps (areas where you need to put in more work) and natural weaknesses, which need to be managed to achieve success.
10. Put in a 3-6 month plan to plug the skill/knowledge gaps and identify support systems and strategies to manage around natural weaknesses and leverage strengths.
11. Scan the environment and identify key stakeholders who will influence the growth decision. Establish contact through smart means, making it subtle and not very overt.
12. Be intentional about communicating your aspiration for a particular role clearly and strongly. Clarity and confidence helps build a positive pre-disposition and also places you in the radar. This is how successful professionals build their "constituency" and position their brand very strongly.
13. Communication of aspirations needs to be supported by a strong case, which is where you need to smartly and subtly articulate why you can succeed in the target role. This is where all the aforementioned work comes into place and your “brand” positioning comes into play.
14. Finally, remember you need to be intentional, smart and relentless here. With the right mix of research, preparation, brand positioning and persuasion/influence, you can get the nod from the decision-making "panel".

In conclusion, it is critical to understand and remember that promotions and growth are your ‘needs’ and hence you should never externalize control. Take the reigns in your hands, get intentional and crack the "promotion code". Speed and time are of extreme essence, so don’t delay the move. Start now!!