Getting Ready for a Promotion
Rotterdam, Netherlands
I learned an uncomfortable truth about career progression from a long-time client recently. For years, he had been doing everything right: hitting targets, mentoring his team, and consistently being the go-to person. Yet, he never got his promotion.
When we finally sat down to figure out why, the answer was startling: he was too good at his current job.
He thought being the best operator in the room was his ticket to success. But to the executive team, that made him indispensable specifically in his current role. By making himself the only person who could solve certain problems, he had inadvertently capped his own ceiling.
He was being evaluated not on his technical output, but on his Executive Presence, a variable he had not fully invested in. It is a common paradox: we get promoted to our current level because of our mastery and attention to detail, but we often fail to recognize that the skills required to get there are rarely the same skills required to go further.
To move to the next level, you have to shift from doing to deciding.
When you are a subject matter expert, your value is rooted in being the smartest person in the room. That works when you are an individual contributor. But as a leader, your job changes. You are not paid to solve every problem; you are paid to build the environment where the problems get solved by the team.
This is where the transition toward Vision becomes critical. Decision-makers are not mind readers. They are busy managing their own scope and organizational headwinds. They are not tracking your day-to-day wins unless you make it easy for them to see the strategic impact of your work.
If you cannot summarize your contribution in two sentences, focusing on strategy, revenue, or team health, you likely need to polish your narrative.
In many organizations, promotions are not decided by your direct manager alone. They are decided in rooms you are not in, by a committee of superiors. This is where sponsorship becomes the real currency of career progression.
The question is not just ‘What have I done?’ But also, ‘Who knows about what I have done?’ I have seen clients transform their trajectory by moving from waiting for an annual review to owning the narrative year-round.
Creating a promo package can change the dynamic. It is not about asking for it, but about providing evidence. A clear, concise summary of your impact should include:
Data: Revenue growth, costs saved, scale achieved
Leadership: Moments where you influenced with authority
Growth: Being honest about what has failed, what you have learned, and how you have evolved
This shifts the conversation from Do I deserve a promotion? to How do we strategically prepare me for the next layer of complexity?
Promotion is ultimately an exercise in confidence. It is the organization deciding that you are ready to handle more ambiguity than you do today.
If you feel like your progression has stalled, do not wait for a formal cycle to start the conversation. Start early. Ask your manager and potential sponsors a simple, clarifying question: What are the specific gaps between where I am and where I need to be for that next level? If they cannot give you an answer, it is a strong signal that you need to refocus on your Self-Awareness and Communication skills to bridge that gap.
It is about showing up with a mindset that is already performing at the next level, demonstrating Confidence and Executive Presence long before the title change actually arrives.
Next Steps: If you are feeling stuck or want to evaluate where you stand against the 12 Pillars of Executive Leadership, I am happy to discuss it. Feel free to book a 1:1 chemistry session.