How Transparent Is The Promotion Process In Your Team?

One of the primary reasons people seek out other work or meet with a recruiter is that they feel like they’ve hit a ceiling in their current role.  Sometimes this is a genuine ceiling, however, just as often, it’s the result of poor internal processes. These issues can leave you feeling ambiguous about how to take the next internal step (or if the step is even there to take).

Navigating the conversation on how to progress in your organisation can be daunting. Championing our own needs and spruiking our own results doesn’t come naturally to most of us. There’s often the dreaded fear of rejection, not being good enough, or hearing ‘you’re just not quite ready yet’.

If you need a permission slip to have the awkward conversation, this is it. Don’t let ambiguity or doubt set the tone in your organisation.

From where we sit, most people in ecommerce are innately growth oriented.  We select businesses with solid growth opportunities, and we enjoy watching the scoreboard for instant results.  We also know more broadly that people are most joyful & fulfilled when they’re making progress towards a goal.

So it couldn’t be more natural to want to better understand your own goal posts and what the metrics to success are.

My top 3 pointers on navigating this often awkward conversation are:

1. Go into the conversation knowing that your employer wants both you and the business to grow.  A win for you is a win for the team.

2. Align your deliverables with the company growth goals. Where possible set your goals with your manager, and continuously look for ways to add value beyond your JD.

3. Take the feedback and apply it. Be prepared that sometimes we ask for feedback & what we really want is affirmation. You might get actual feedback, be prepared to sit with it, digest it, and apply it.

Already doing the role above yours and not acknowledged in title or salary? That’s a whole other conversation.