So many people aspire to be promoted. Whether they want to be CEO or President of a company, or the head of sales, marketing, operations or finance. I have to ask, what is their motivation? Are they qualified, or is it to make more money, to show progression in their career, to impress their friends or colleagues or, because they are sure that they deserve it? Maybe they think they can do a better job than the current incumbent.
I’ve seen far too many get promoted into a position, without any detail from their boss as to what is expected of them. Expectations that are different from their previous position.
That may sound counterintuitive, but I have seen it many times.
I had one client who called me after being promoted to President of his organization. Previously he was in both operations and sales and upon the departure of the previous president, was given the position of president. No detail at all about how it would be different and what the expectations were of him in his new position. He called me because he recognized he needed an outside coach to help him with the transition.
After asking him many questions about the organization, his boss, his direct reports, how his success would be measured, etc., I quickly saw that he was not set up for success. In fact, I advised him to start looking for a new position as it was evident to me that the culture of the company was not a fit for him and that he was in a no-win situation. Not a surprise, 6 months later, he told me he had parted ways with his employer. I spent time with him that day asking him what he loved doing and what he felt his strengths and weaknesses were and we agreed that he really wasn’t cut out to be president of a company and he took a more suitable next position somewhere else.
But not many people are willing to admit that, once they’ve had the taste of a higher-level position.
So, if you are offered a promotion in a company or a new, higher position in a firm, be sure you ask for a job description for the new position. What are the main roles and responsibilities in this new role, who will you report to, and how will you be evaluated? What autonomy in decision making will you have, and what are the guardrails?
Don’t be afraid to ask these questions and pay attention to the answers you get.
If your new potential employer doesn’t have a job description – that will tell you a lot about the organization. Do they have well-established systems and processes for hiring, training and promotions that one needs to be successful? Or are they offering you a bigger title to get you to join the company or if it’s your current employer, to get you to stay with them?
If you are offered a new position in a company (let’s say moving from being an individual contributor to that of a manager, director or vice president), is there a plan to backfill your current position? Or will you be expected to do both jobs – your previous position plus your new one? That is a recipe for disaster.
When being offered a promotion, I suspect that anyone would be thrilled and wouldn’t consider pausing and asking questions about the next steps, the thought process and what will be different. It is not a sign of weakness or a lack of self-confidence to ask clarifying questions. It actually shows a lot of respect and thoughtfulness for the organization and your boss to be self-confident enough to initiate a discussion.
You don’t want to be like my client above, who was so excited to be promoted (and get a raise), that he didn’t take a pause to ask himself if this is what he really wanted and what it would take for him to be successful in this new position.
Sometimes it is better to say “no” or “not at this time” or “I would prefer to stay in my current position as it is more aligned with my talents and capabilities” than to accept a promotion that is destined for failure.
Remember, preparation and focus precede success. And it is always better to ask questions sooner than later. Especially when your own career is at stake.
Onward and upward,
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