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https://www.parityconsulting.com.au/Career-Lifecycle-Series/how-to-get-promoted

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (00:05):

Hi Linda and welcome.

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (00:07):

Hi. Be lovely to be here.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (00:08):

Good to have you here. Thank you. Why do you think it’s hard for people to ask for a promotion? So many people come to us and talk about how it’s difficult for them to ask the question, but they’re happy to tell us that they want a promotion.

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (00:23):

Yeah, I think nine times out of 10, it comes down to fear. Really that’s what gets in the way of us doing most things in life. I think it’s fear of rejection, fear of being judged, fear of would this be a career limiting move if they say no. And then there’s that whole piece of imposter syndrome. Am I actually up for this? I might feel pressure that I should get a promotion or everyone around me is, but do I feel like I’ve got it in me? Am I good enough to do it? And then probably the last one is just that the increased responsibility that would come if I get the promotion, how do I feel about that?

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (01:00):

So almost looking in the future

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (01:02):

And worrying about what could be

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (01:04):

Okay.

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (01:05):

Yeah, so people tend to stay in that comfort zone.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (01:08):

So Linda, in your experience, are there particular attributes that you see in people that are super successful securing their next promotion? And if so, if you can use an example of where you have had a client who’s done this and give us that example as well, that would be great.

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (01:26):

Sure. An attribute I think is obviously self-belief, if you’ve got it. Having said that, getting a promotion is no guarantee. And so the way to maximize the chance of you getting the promotion is to really think strategically, have a plan, build a business case if you like. So I often say to clients, fear can get us in the way of us going for a promotion. So how do we step out of that emotional decision into a more cognitive or strategic headspace? Absolutely. So what would the business owner be thinking? Where’s the return on investment of you getting the promotion? It’s not just because you ask, it’s got to be beneficial commercially for the organization as well. What are you doing to have that structured plan, to have the conversation at the right time to have done your homework and to make it a longer term campaign if you like?

(02:17):

So you asked about a client, even just recently, I had a client who there had been conversations about a promotion earlier in the year, and then in the back half of 2024, of course there’s been concern and nervousness about the economy and a lot has gone on ice. And so rather than sitting and waiting because her leader never brought it up again, we talked about it and we actually came up with that strategic thinking, why might her leader be concerned about giving her a promotion at this time? What is their pipeline like? What’s the economy likely to do their business? But then how could her promotion actually help appease some of those risks? How could it lead to a small organizational restructure so that they can be better resourced for what 2025 is going to look like? And then obviously talking ROI in terms of her salary and making sure we’re pitching that correctly for the market. So the

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (03:13):

Work we do here plays an executives into critical positions. What we’ve found of late is that there seems to be a reticence to not just ask for the promotion, but actually push for the remuneration in line with the external market. In your opinion and what you’ve seen with your clients, why do you think there is a reticence to not just ask for the promotion and there’s a fear, and you’ve mentioned that around that, but what about the remuneration and the salary piece that comes with that? What’s your kind of view and perspective on that?

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (03:51):

None enough. People actually do the homework to know their worth. And I think coming to an organization like Parity, seeking out executive search and headhunters to help people understand what their actual worth is and their value. I think also putting together evidence as to why you are worth a certain amount. So it’s interesting that you say they’ve got a reticence, they know what the market’s paying, yet they still feel concerned to ask. It’s like, well, how can you prove it to not only the organization, but also to yourself that that is the value that you represent? So often we look at all the things that we don’t do right or what we could have done better, but we don’t take the same time to almost collect evidence or create a vault of the successes that we’ve had, what have been the risks that we’ve taken and how’s that paid off? How are we making a positive difference? And then turning that future focus into how am I going to add even greater value next year, the year after? How am I future proofing myself and the organization? All of that can get wrapped up in someone’s value that they can then talk to.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (04:59):

One of the most common things that we see are career plateaus that can perhaps be overlooked. What’s your advice for someone that perhaps has reached a career plateau and not ready yet for a promotion, but how can they really push through that plateau?

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (05:15):

Yeah, good question. I think there’s a few things going on here. So career plateau could be structural. They just simply aren’t the roles that they’re looking for above them, but it could also be more personal than that. And so what that can look like is sort of disengagement, bit of stagnation, maybe even missing opportunities that are in front of them, but they’re just not grabbing them. So I think if you sense that if a bit of a plateau is to first of all just self-reflect and maybe even a bit of self-care, have you plateaued mentally, as in you’re no longer challenged and you need that next thing. Have you plateaued physically? Are you burnt out? Yeah, absolutely. A lot of people are really struggling. So the last thing they have the energy to do is go for a bigger role. Or is it emotional? Is it that mindset piece where you are doubting yourself?

(06:04):

So that’s what I do first. Where’s this stagnation or this plateau coming from? Then I reassess my goals. What is it that I want out of my career? Has that changed? What are the skills that I need to actually get me to where I want to go? Then I would probably turn my attention to my network. I’d start thinking about who do I need to talk to? Do I need to get some feedback from my leader or a mentor? Is it building out my network and actually seeking some sponsors and advocates to really get me in positions that will help reenergize my career, if you like. And when I talk about sponsors, that doesn’t mean that they put you into a role. It could be an introduction. It could be that they open up an opportunity, they could take you into a meeting that would be just enough to see what’s going on in a different business area. So all these things just sort of re-energize that career plateau.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (06:59):

Great, thank you. I find with the people that I identify as career plateaus is that they seem quite disenfranchised,

(07:08):

Lack in energy, disenfranchised. And so it’s actually very difficult, I believe for people to take a step back when they’ve invested so much time and energy into their organization, they’ve given it, they’re all, they’ve probably prioritized it more than their, not necessarily family, but certainly their friends and their wellbeing. And so how do people like yourself have this conversation with individuals that you can clearly see a disenfranchised burnt out over it, whatever you want to do that probably really not serving them in the corporate world. How do you call them to account and say, Hey, my observation is that you’re just a bit pissed off or you see or you’re coming across like that. How do you approach those conversations

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (07:58):

At that point? I think it comes down to brand. So what we want to make sure is, even if you’re feeling that way right now, and we can talk to that in a moment, but let’s mitigate any brand

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (08:07):

Damage,

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (08:08):

Right? Recency bias is a thing. People remember their most recent experiences of you, so you might’ve been fantastic for 10 years in that organization. Don’t blow it up at the end because you’re disenfranchised. So that would be the first, I guess thing I’d put them on notice for. The other thing is to look and go, okay, what is actually going on? How can you reenergize? And also with a career plateau, sometimes it’s actually okay just to sit. We’ve gone through covid, we’ve gone through economic upturn. There’s been a lot going on. Organizations have needed people to do a lot more with a lot less people are genuinely tired. So that can be another opportunity to say, are you happy just to sit? And how do we use this time as almost not a waste of time, but foundational to other

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (08:56):

Things. Just

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (08:58):

Recalibrate, reprioritize. Take a

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (09:01):

Moment

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (09:01):

And reconnect with your network. Internal and external, just have coffees. Just keep your fingers on the ground, understand what’s going on in the business, but with no real intention that you’re going to jump on it. But just to remain aware, remain visible, and keep protecting your brand. And as I say, most of all, don’t become contagious in any negativity.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (09:23):

Yes, okay.

(09:24):

At parity, we support our candidates a significant amount. When it comes to promotions specifically to do with a roadmap and a plan, we call it the heist because it’s a bit of fun. So what the heist is is a nine to 12 month process of before you’re looking to get that promotion. We really love supporting people in terms of that period of time and making sure like a heist, like a planning a heist, that you actually have stages in that process where you can influence the outcome right at the end. But really recognizing that is a nine to 12 month process before you really do pull the trigger and actually complete the heist itself. Linda, what’s your advice or any key points in that process that you think you can talk to?

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (10:20):

Yeah, sure. I loved the heist, by the way. I think that’s so cool. So definitely having a plan, and certainly for a lot of your candidates, they’re in project roles, they’re in transformation marketing. Think of your career in the same way that you would a campaign or a project. You wouldn’t just launch in, you would have that strategic plan with the milestones, et cetera. So to have that mindset, I think one of the key things you speak about nine to 12 months in that period, know your hrs remuneration calendar. When are these key decisions actually made? Because you need to be aligning your heist or your plan. With that, really thinking about what are the organization’s goals, what’s the vision? What are they focusing on in the next 12 months, and how are you going to actually align your promotion to making that more successful for the organization?

(11:12):

I would think about communicating your goals and aspirations. There’s no point only you knowing that you are going for a promotional, that you’ve got your sites on a particular role or opportunity. So who are the key people that you need to communicate that to be role ready? And so what I mean by that is really think about what are the skills and qualities that I need when I get the role and to be successful in it, but also don’t wait till you’re a hundred percent there. I see people, especially women, really hold off until they’re a hundred percent ready for the role. And then of course they get it and they’re bored within three to six months. There’s nothing more to stretch. So be enough and know that you’ve got the resources around you to be able to build on that.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (11:58):

And what percentage is ready enough? I completely agree with you. What percentage is ready enough If I’m sitting here saying, I want that promotion, but my instincts are suggesting I need to be fully ready,

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (12:10):

What do I need to get to? Look, we’ve all heard probably the most overused stat ever of women need eight out of 10, men need three out of 10. I would say the gap is sufficient enough that you feel mildly uncomfortable, but that you are furnishing yourself with the resources around you that you are going to need, right? So do you have a mentor who’s been there before? Do you have the right brand in the organization and the right network and influences to be able to support you? Have you got the right team to be able to achieve this success? So it’s partly knowing that you’re already enough, but also knowing that when you are in that gap is something that you can at least semi confidently lean into. Great. So I’d love

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (12:56):

To talk now about feedback and my favorite expression at the moment is feedback is a gift. However, I have been on the recipient or the receiving end of some bad feedback early on in my career and it really knocks my confidence and my confidence for six quite a lot. So what’s your perspective on asking leaders for feedback? And once you do that, what’s the next stages from there? How do you implement that feedback and handle it?

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (13:28):

It’s funny, isn’t it? I think it is 1 0 1 of leadership and career, and yet it is something that we shy away from feedback or the F word as I sometimes call it. So I’ve got this negative connotation and yet it is the essential ingredient that we need to keep learning and growing and developing. So I think feedback shouldn’t be part of the heist. It should be all the time.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (13:49):

Yes,

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (13:50):

We shouldn’t be starting to ask for feedback when we’re looking to get a promotion. We should already know the gift, even if it’s a nasty surprise to me. Often. I think ideally there wouldn’t be surprises with feedback because if you’ve got a leader who gives quality feedback and you are seeking it regularly, there should be less surprises. So I think in how to definitely be asking for it, and I think be quite specific with your ask.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (14:18):

That’s the thing, isn’t it? It’s that broad, lofty give feedback can feel very personal when it is probably quite personal if it’s so

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (14:28):

Vague. Exactly. And also a lot of people shy away because they don’t want to embarrass someone or they don’t want to feel like they’re criticizing. So if you are very clear, here’s what I’m trying to achieve. I’m really curious to know what are three things that you think might slow me down or get in my way? And if you can, some examples would be great and let them think about it like overnight. So I think don’t just spring the feedback conversation on someone. Ask your leader again, this is where I’m going. Can we have a feedback conversation? How’s next Wednesday? Don’t tack it onto your weekly WIP meeting or your BAU meeting. Make it allocated time for that with questions in advance so that your leader can come prepared with something that’s productive but feels safe for them. So this

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (15:15):

Is very interesting. So don’t tack it onto a WIP meeting. So this is, it’s always tacked onto a WIP meeting,

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (15:22):

Right? Correct. Correct. So talk to me about

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (15:24):

Why not

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (15:26):

Two things. One, it often doesn’t happen at all or two, even if it does, it gets this much airtime at the end of the meeting. So I think it deserves its own allocated time slot because it’s different. It has a completely different context to whatever it is you’re talking about in the wip. It is a dedicated career and performance conversation. What I also see, and you probably hear this too, is that feedback conversation is booked and then we get started and it instantly becomes a WIP meeting,

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (15:58):

Right? So it the other way

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (16:00):

Around as well. No, you want to talk about that, but before we do, can we just have a look at where this project’s at, something super

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (16:05):

Urgent that has come up.

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (16:07):

Yeah, exactly. So I think it is important to have the confidence to keep the conversation as it was meant to be. And even say to your leader, understand that that’s important. Happy to talk about this in this meeting. Can we please do the feedback bit first and then we’ll finish off with the WIP part? Because the WIP part will always happen. The feedback part will not always happen.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (16:30):

Awesome.

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (16:30):

So just prioritize it. It goes first.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (16:32):

Yeah. Great. So I think we all recognize that networking externally is super important. I think the audience here would be very, very clear on that. But I’d like to talk about the difference between the external networking and the importance of internal networking. Specifically when it is regarding getting a promotion. What are the differences and what are the things that people need to keep in mind?

Linda Murray – Athena Leadership Academy (16:55):

Absolutely assuming we love the organization that we’re working in, because we are going for a promotion, your internal network is obviously going to be more important to that than an external network. I also like the fact that internal networking, it’s more deliberate. You’re actually looking around your organization, you’re highlighting or pointing to key people who will be able to support you in that. With external networking, for example, going to an event, I think of it as a bit more spray and pray. It’s a bit more organic and you’re hoping to meet the right people. So internal is actually easier, I believe. And also, especially for introverts who the thought of going to a hundred person event would be horrific. Lean on your internal network because you’re building these deeper, more connected relationships. So again, I think get into that strategic headspace. You’re going for a promotion who can help you with information.

(17:48):

You might not be privy to who’s walked this course and might be able to fast track whether it’s your introductions or advice. Are there certain sponsors? So these are the people who are in those key decision-making rooms that you are not in. Who are those raving fans and what do they need to know about you? Right? So let’s say you worked with someone who could be a sponsor five years ago. Again, they remember that version of you. So are you keeping them up to date on what your aspirations are, what you’ve been achieving, where it is you are wanting to go, so that when they’re hearing opportunities, they’re thinking of the current and future version of you, not the past version who they’ve experienced before.

Victoria Butt – Parity Consulting (18:30):

A huge thank you to Linda for sharing her wisdom in this interview. I thoroughly enjoyed doing it and spending time with Linda, especially loved the section on feedback. I hope you also enjoyed this time. I please contact myself or Linda if you’d like further information or a discussion. But some of my key takeaways are here. The first one is have a planned approach when approaching pay rise or promotions. And just don’t be clumsy with asking. Just make sure you approach it like you would any work meeting or business case, because that would mean your success will be much higher. The second is align the timing of your promotional pay rise discussion discussions with the company’s remuneration cycle and their goals and visions. It’s certainly the smartest way to get a great result. The third is continuously ask for specific feedback with examples and ensure this time is separated from your one-on-one or your WIP meetings. And finally, ensure your sponsors are clear about your ambitions and career pathway. Don’t assume that they will remember what you have said and just make it easy for them to be your raving fan. I hope this has been a really great interview for you to watch and absorb. And as I mentioned earlier, please do contact myself or Linda if you’d like further information. Take care.

Originally published on – https://www.parityconsulting.com.au/Career-Lifecycle-Series/how-to-get-promoted