Hey there! 👋🏼
In this week's issue, I want to share my view on the word that will be the centre of conversations: promotions.
Most tech companies start their performance review by the end of the year.
As leaders, you're expected to do reviews, write performance reports, propose promotions and, eventually, salary bumps.
Let's focus on promotions.
"Mom, dad! I've been promoted!"
Wow, that has a nice ringer to it, doesn't it?
But my question today is, what does it take to be promoted?
In my perspective, two things: individual eligibility and business need/capacity.
Individual Eligibility
It all starts here.
Are they ready? Have they shown consistent characteristics that make you comfortable with proposing their promotion?
Have they followed the company's career path, carefully working with their manager to advance in technical and soft skills?
Have they started mentoring others in their position?
I've always been told, and always say, that if we want to move forward, we need to have a plan for a substitute. We can't leave a gap that can't be filled. Mentoring is critical.
But I also want to highlight something. Think of the word consistency.
Since we're proposing promotions late in the year or sometimes even early in the next year, we tend to remember the fourth quarter vividly, the third quarter not so much, and our memory tends to fade away until we're back into January. When we try to remember that far back, we have no idea what happened.
This is why keeping tidy notes, brag documents and documented 1:1s are essential for the end-of-year review.
Being eligible for a promotion requires consistent behaviour or trend. Keep that in mind since so many people think the only part of the year that count is September to November.
Business Need / Capacity
But it all doesn't depend on the individual. Sometimes, the eligibility is there, but from a business standpoint, promoting isn't possible.
The area may not be expanding to require someone in a new role. Perhaps more funding is needed for salaries. For some reason, the business can't support the decision to promote this person.
For example, suppose you're an Engineering Lead, leading a team of individual contributors, aspiring to be an Engineering Manager, leading a team of Engineering Leads. In that case, a spot for that position must be open. If you are the only one in your area, there's no objective justification to promote you just in title but your role to be the same.
Or let's say you're a Mid Software Engineer that wants to be promoted to a Senior Engineer role. Due to the current macroeconomic conditions, the company froze all raises. This means that the lack of funding will freeze all promotions as well. Due to a lack of capacity to raise your salary, you will be held back as a Mid Software Engineer.
Something fundamental to note is that this comes with risks.
Having someone eligible for a promotion but now awarding them due to business needs can create one of the following three situations:
Person is unhappy but understands. Patiently waits for the next opportunity, which could lead to 2 or 3.
Person is in the first scenario and wants to move to an Engineering Manager position. They will try to find an open place, a horizontal transition, within the company but outside your department, to proceed with their career. If this is unavailable, then scenario three might happen.
Person is unhappy since they feel they're not progressing. They start taking interviews and eventually leave the company.
If you're not promoting someone due to a lack of business need or capacity, be transparent and tell them what to expect.
Be open and explain what you can do for them. If absolutely nothing, then be honest about it.
A lack of transparency and maturity from both parties will create a gap between the two that will rarely be repaired.
Types of Promotions
It's interesting. When we think of promoting someone, we don't consider different types of promotions. Let's see:
The "I'm sure this will pay off."
This person shows the qualities you need for the next role.
They're not there just yet.
They've consistently shown an upwards trend.
If everything goes in the same direction, this person will be right at home within a couple of months.
The "they deserve it."
This person has shown over and over again the qualities you need for the next role.
They're right at the perfect spot, able to welcome the new role's responsibilities.
They've consistently shown this behaviour throughout the year.
This person will have no problem fitting into the new position if promoted.
The "was about time."
This person has shown over and over again the qualities you need for the next role.
They've been ready for quite a long time, not being promoted before due to external constraints like lack of business needs/capacity.
They've consistently shown this behaviour throughout the year.
This person will have no problem fitting into the new role if promoted.
Note that not promoting this person at this time will most definitely cause them to leave the company.
Well, that's it from me. I hope you have a fantastic weekend and that this issue helps you review the promotions you want to propose to your team.
Engineering Lead vs Engineering Manager
First of all, thank you for participating in last week's survey. I've done it here in the newsletter and over on LinkedIn.
The results are:
You lead a team of Individual Contributors. What is your title?
Lead/Leader - 55%
Manager - 32%
Other - 13%
With this, I've adjusted my headline to:
I help you become a better Engineering Leader through a culture of empowerment, feedback and accountability.
Still has work to be done here, but in terms of audience, it helps me niche it down.
Again, thank you all for helping me out with this!
If you need to know what I'm talking about, check out last week's issue.
⏱ TL;DR
When considering a promotion, make sure it fulfils these requirements:
The person is eligible for the promotion. They've consistently shown the desired skills or have a consistent upward trend in skills.
The business supports this decision. This promotion makes sense from a financial to a strategic point of view.
Above all, be transparent with your reports. Sometimes these won't be the happiest conversations, but transparency is always key.
If you're not finding value in this newsletter, please consider unsubscribing. There are no hard feelings, and I appreciate your part in my journey. Perhaps in the future, we'll meet again!
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Thank you for being part of my journey!
Have an incredible week! 💪🏼
Parada 👊🏼 A Leader's Mindset