Scoring a Promotion in 2013: 7 Tips for Making Your Case

“How do you position yourself for a promotion?” is one of the most frequent questions that I’m asked whenever I speak about career and leadership. Not surprising, this tends to be a particularly hot-button topic each January as many – myself included – prepare for their annual performance review. I recently spoke with five workplace experts – Lindsey Pollak, Selena Rezvani, Raleigh Mayer, Cary Broussard, and Leslie Grossman – who offered these seven practical steps for putting yourself on the path to a promotion:

1. Observe: Study what other people in your organization have done to get promotions. Learn from their successes and follow their lead. Look and act your future role by observing what people 2-3 levels senior to you are wearing and how they engage with others.
2. Over-deliver: When you ask for a promotion, it’s critical you demonstrate how what you’re delivering is above and beyond that which you’ve been asked to do. Explain the extent to which you are depended on to perform your tasks, underscoring your value and contribution to the company.
3. Keep Your Head Up: If you keep your head down and work 24/7, you will never know what is going on in the world, let alone in your industry and company. You'll be making decisions with an “information deficit.” By keeping your head up and pulse on what is going on, you can bring a fresh, more valuable perspective to your work and stay relevant by aligning your skills and experiences with where your organization is heading versus where it was yesterday.
4. Cultivate Allies: It’s much easier to ask for and get a promotion if you have champions around the company who are co-invested in your success. This is where being a wallflower who keeps her head down will do you no favors. Instead, invest time to cultivate key relationships with sponsors and calling on others’ clout. You can do this by engaging in mentoring meetings with top leaders, offering to help them on critical, high-visibility projects, or by asking them to lunch to “talk careers.” Be vocal about exactly where you want to go in the company and how you plan to contribute.
5. Frame the Picture: Build a portfolio of accomplishments and volunteer for reach – sometimes referred to as “stretch” – assignments to show that you are capable of doing work above your current position. It can help others picture you in the more senior role before you even have it, which makes the promotion feel less risky for them.
6. Make it Hard to Say “No”: Is there a way you can wrap your boss’ goals, passions, or struggles into your promotion request? Look for ways to build a custom job request that will either alleviate a pain point or motivate the other side by achieving a goal or otherwise satisfying a need or desire.
7. Manage Your Brand: Remember, every day you have the ability to either support your current brand or enhance its power. It’s critical to keep checking the value of your brand. This can be done by formal methods such as 360° feedback or informally, by asking people around you for honest and constructive feedback on your performance.