Path to promotion - Part 4

Well here we are at the close of another mini-series on getting the career going and specifically getting promoted. It has been enjoyable to write and has triggered some actions from me to get things moving in a few areas

This last part is just some closing thoughts to consider which I hope is helpful on your path to promotion

Part 4 – Closing thoughts

It has been a strange year

There are so many terms or saying floating around about COVID and 2020, most of which trigger me when they come from a sales rep. However, this is an unusual year and it’s highly likely that some of your goals have slipped off the back. That’s ok, however, you need to focus on having justification on the missed goal(s) – why couldn’t you achieve it, what higher priority came in instead and what did you achieve instead. This is a great time to show how you reacted to the pressure of staff going remote or furlough, did you sit and play PlayStation, or did you develop yourself? A note of caution, don’t use COVID as an excuse for not doing something if you could have, this generally gets found out

Get a coach or mentor

This one has been hugely successful for me. Finding the right coach is difficult but it’s important to get one that aligns with your personality and need, I needed a very direct coach who challenges me all the time and this works for me, others require something else. A coach or mentor gives you laser focus on what you want, support and an external source of accountability. Additionally, if done right at the start there should be an agreement with the coach and your manager on what you want to achieve from the sessions e.g. promotion. Finally, as it’s a formal arrangement there is often a review at the end and your improvements made are generally more obvious due to expense paid and the structured process

Make it a simple answer that is impossible to say no

This last one is my personal view; well they all are but hey it’s my newsletter. If you’re pushing for a promotion you want to make it a no-brainer. Sometimes there will be the HR rules or budget conditions that stop a promotion, but you need to have done everything required and then 20% more. You need to be excelling, you need to be known as the go to in your area and areas that aren’t yours, you need to be operating at the next level up, fixing problems and getting sh*t done!

Well that’s a wrap, I’ve emptied out all my approaches that have served me and many others well over the years to get the promotion you DESERVE and the career you want