5 Top Tips for Developing a Promotion Plan

Are you ready to take the next step in your career?

A well-crafted promotion plan can significantly increase your chances of securing that coveted promotion. 

As a Career Navigation Specialist, I've helped countless professionals achieve their career goals. Here are my top five tips for developing a successful promotion plan:

1. Understand your future role in detail

It’s important to truly understand in detail the role you're aiming to be promoted into. 

You will of course have a sense of what's involved, but since you have never truly lived a day in the life of your more senior colleague, you need to be sure you have a true grasp of the everyday tasks involved and the skills needed for the role. 

You can do this through networking with those who are in that role currently, especially those who have recently been promoted so they can tell you more about their journey to help you understand the pitfalls they've recently gone through. 

2. Seek Feedback

Feedback comes in all shapes and sizes, be it in real-time related to tasks or as part of your performance review cycle. 

One of the biggest opportunities to understand your promotion readiness is by seeking feedback specific to the topic & separate to the normal feedback channels. 

For some reason, we often hold back on talking to others about our desire to progress, but understanding other people's perception of your promotion readiness helps you to form your promotion plan. 

You can arrange meetings with your line manager, as well as their line manager to determine their perspective on your strengths and development areas. 

You can also speak to your peers. This is one I personally held back on for a long time during my most recent promotion experience, but it turned out to be the most insightful part of the process! 

3. Determine what your strengths and development areas are. 

Bearing in mind the role you are aiming to get promoted to, consider the elements where you feel you are performing at that level and the areas where you feel like you need to focus your development. 

It's important to be really self-aware around your performance, so ensure that your strengths and development areas are solidly based on the consistent themes that you've received through your feedback Vs your own perception of things. If you disagree with the feedback, consider things differently. If others think of you a certain way, you need to prove to them your level of competency. 

4. Develop an action plan

You have done the research into the role, you have received the feedback and you have determined your strengths and development areas. Now it's time to address them! 

Understand how you can showcase your strengths in new ways, for example, upskilling peers to work at your expert level or taking on a champion role to show how you can operate at the next level.

Seek opportunities to gain experience in your development areas. Consider specific tasks or projects which gives you the chance to develop these skills with the support of subject matter experts in these fields. 

Prioritise these accordingly and do not take on too much at once. You still need to deliver your core role and these objectives so do not put yourself at risk of burnout or at risk of failing to deliver on your core responsibilities. 

5. Seek a mentor

It is easy to become distracted on your path, or to focus on a path which sends you round in circles. 

Having a mentor in place can help you to own your promotion plan and hold you to account on a regular basis to ensure you are progressing in the right direction towards your goals. 

Whilst you should work with your line manager and peers to achieve your goals, having someone independent who is focused solely on your career progression can really accelerate your ability to focus on the goal of getting promoted. 

By following these tips and consistently working towards your goals, you can significantly increase your chances of securing a well-deserved promotion. 

Remember, a successful promotion plan requires dedication, perseverance, and a proactive approach.

Need more personalised guidance?

Book a consultation to discuss your specific career goals and develop a tailored promotion plan.