Knocking on the Door ... on the Upper floor

I recently answered a question on LinkedIn in response to a question by Doyle Slayton of SalesBlogcast (http://www.salesblogcast.com ). I am reproducing that answer almost verbatim here, since I want to put this question and my thoughts to this forum as well.


The Question – How do you know when you are qualified for that next promotion?

My Answer - I love this question. This is a question I get from team members all the time and one that I love to answer. I have a simple take on this one:

You are ready for your promotion when you have made yourself redundant in the current role.

Surprised? Let me explain.

If you are doing your job too well and no one else around you can do it better, then you are too important for the job, and no one can do it better. And if you are so important, then how can the company ever move you?


But then does this mean you should not do a great job? Absolutely not. But any position should go through 3 phases:


Phase 1 - Learning the Job. In this phase, you are exploring your job, continuously trying to understand the role and expectations better, and importantly, finding opportunities to improve continuously.

Phase 2 - Consolidation. In this phase, you put your learning to use. You implement the changes which are necessary to keep pace with the changing times and business scenarios. You also use this time to do talent spotting and identifying people who are the clear growth stars in your team.

Phase 3: Redundancy. In this phase, you have build strong systems and work practices, which are solid, but which at the same time give enough flexibility for your team to use their own initiative and make things happen. You vigorously delegate larger opportunities to the identified stars and consciously build the next line. You keep demonstrating your thirst for newer and more challenging tasks and assignments, taking on difficult challenges. At this time, the strong team you have built has the independence to execute the regular tasks themselves, and the whole unit is working like a beautifully oiled machine. You have many team members who continuously think they can do a better job then you can, and you clearly demonstrate to the organization that you are clearly "available" for the next challenge. You have built a team which is raring to go and will do exceedingly well, and in-fact at times better, once you are out of the way.


When you demonstrate this to your organization, the organization clearly sees that you are ready for new opportunities.


It has worked for me so far. I have endeavored to leave an assignment in a much stronger position, and built future leaders who are well developed to take up the role. They are budding with newer and better ideas, and will surely take the organization to the next level.

You know and the organization knows then, that you are ready.

Promotions have to be earned, by contributing to the growth of the organization, and not just by doing your job well. This is all the more applicable for earning promotions in a Sales Role. Not every good salesman becomes a good sales manager, and not every good sales manager has been a "Great Salesman".

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