Career advancement strategy

Visibility is not the same as self-promotion

Making sure the right people know what you have contributed is not the same as constant self-promotion, and confusing the two is why some strong performers avoid visibility altogether. Regularly and specifically communicating impact, in team meetings, in written updates, in one-on-ones, ensures that decision-makers actually know what happened rather than having to guess or find out secondhand.

Build the skills the next role actually requires

Excelling at the current role and being ready for the next one are related but different things. Advancement strategy means identifying, specifically, what skills or experience the next level requires that the current role does not naturally build, and deliberately seeking opportunities, a stretch project, a cross-functional assignment, to build them before the promotion conversation happens, not after.

Position the case before you need it

Waiting for an annual review to make the case for advancement means waiting for one conversation a year to represent an entire year of growth. A running record of accomplishments and impact, referenced in real time rather than reconstructed from memory at review time, makes a stronger and more specific case than most people manage when they try to build it retroactively.

Ask directly what is required for the next level, rather than assuming. Managers are not always forthcoming with that information unprompted, and a direct, specific question usually gets a direct, specific answer.