Reboot Your Thinking About Getting Promoted

Young professional with feet on desk

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Looking to climb the ladder at work? You may want to expand your thinking about job promotions, which are overrated, argues Julie Winkle Giulioni’s groundbreaking new book, Promotions Are SO Yesterday.

If you’re like thousands of coaching clients I’ve served from multiple industries, you have an almost single-minded drive to get promoted. Some have seen less-capable colleagues leapfrog ahead of them. Some struggle with navigating organizational politics and restructuring. Some are introverts who would rather quietly analyze problems than spend energy gaining visibility and making scads of new “friends” at networking events.

What if a promotion isn’t the panacea you imagined? In her book, Winkle Giulioni contends, “The time-honored tradition of defining career development in terms of promotions, moves, or title changes is dead.” She says that employees want to grow in many ways beyond the upward climb. If it’s time to rethink career enrichment—for you or your team members—read on.

Winkle Giulioni shares the surprising results of a research survey she conducted of 750 working professionals. In aggregate, they ranked the climb up the ladder dead last out of eight criteria—and expressed greater interest in all other dimensions of advancing their careers.

I’m scratching my former corporate head, which used to be filled with thoughts of either climbing or getting left behind. Also, the culture in many organizations is to give and get respect based on one’s organizational title. So I had to interview Winkle Giulioni to learn more about her research and advice for ambitious team members and people managers alike—with special tips for introverts.

NA: What got you to write Promotions Are SO Yesterday? Why do you believe promotions are overrated?

JWG: Despite tremendous organizations’, HR departments’, and managers’ tremendous efforts, satisfaction with career development remains low. Over the past 10 years of consulting, speaking, and training on the topic, I’ve concluded that at least part of the problem is that we measure career growth by the outdated measuring stick of the promotion—something that’s in short supply in most organizations.

So, I developed the multidimensional career framework that expands the definition of development to include contribution, competence, connection, confidence, challenge, contentment, and choice—all of which, unlike that climb up the corporate ladder, are completely within the control of managers and employees.

NA: Here’s to those seven C’s! Still, promotions at many organizations come with an increase in another C, compensation, which helps workers pay their bills and even fund their nest eggs.

JWG: You’re right. Work needs to satisfy an employee’s financial needs. But beyond a certain point, other needs kick in. For instance, an Ivanti study found that 71% of those surveyed would prefer to work from anywhere, anytime, over getting a promotion. And Mercer reports that one out of three people would give up money for greater flexibility. So, promotions and pay alone don’t paint the whole picture in terms of employee motivation.

That said, HR professionals are working on new ways to address the reality that in most organizations, the primary way to increase compensation is through promotions. For example, technical tracks reward and recognize those who don’t want to grow into people management. And there’s experimentation around pay, based upon developing new competencies.

NA: What are your top three tips for advancing one’s career—beyond a promotion?

JWG: First, focus on what you want to do—not what you want to be. Stop obsessing over specific roles and titles, and instead reflect on the kind of work you want to do, contributions you want to make, challenges you want to step up to, and [the] legacy you want to leave. With a little creativity—and in partnership with your manager—you can generally find ways to start doing these things now rather than waiting for some elusive role in the future.

Second, integrate your work with your professional development. Too frequently we wait for classes, conferences, and other events to deliver the learning we want—when it is available within our jobs. Experience is the best teacher, so find ways to invite it into your workflow. Novel challenges. Different collaborations. Unique projects. These count as real work. When you approach them with the intention to learn and the reflection to unpack that learning, you’ll enjoy some of the most effective, efficient, and sustainable development available.

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Third, find win-win ways to grow: Development that also meets a business need is a tough proposition to say “no” to. So, position your goals, and strategies for reaching them, in terms that also benefit your manager and organization.

NA: Well put. As for introverts, I often encourage them to use their strengths to raise their visibility and advance their careers. Those may include conducting research, writing, attending to details, and building their network with individuals, one on one, over time. What tips do you recommend for the quieter half of the population?

Source: Rodnae Productions / Pexels

JWG: Introverts are well served by expanding their definition of career development beyond just vying for promotions. Finding organic opportunities for growth through contribution, leveraging quiet strengths, and taking on meaningful challenges may feel more congruent and comfortable for introverts.

But taking these actions isn’t enough. It’s equally important to ensure that others are aware of what you’re doing and achieving in the process—something that doesn’t come naturally to many introverts. I encourage people to reframe what they might think of as bragging as flagging. We flag information that others need to know all the time. Yet, what’s more important to career development, and organizational results, than a team member’s growth?

NA: Reframing bragging as flagging is a powerful mnemonic device. Thank you for sharing that and your other insights, Julie.

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