How To Get Promoted

Establish the Goalposts. Perform Accordingly.

Ideally, you’d start earning a promotion during your interview. Yep, before you’ve even secured a role.

When given the chance to ask interviewers questions, you should always inquire about what success looks like in this role. Take notes here.

Most of you are already in a role, so this might not apply. That said, this is always a fair question. One that you should reaffirm routinely. End-of-year assessment time and objective setting time are two logical times to inquire.

The point is that you need to know what is expected in the role. And if you want to be promoted, you must exceed those expectations. Consistently.

Another way to approach this is to ask about the performance expectations of the level you’re trying to get promoted to. If you’re an Associate Director and aim to be promoted to Director, you need to demonstrate you are performing at that level. Sometimes, the expectations are more straightforward than others, but always seek clarity.

While much of this can be ascertained via the job description, you’ll understand that some things are more important to your manager and the organization than others over time. Focus your attention on what matters.

The most common reasons employees fail to get promoted are that they don’t understand what is required or they aren’t being objective about their performance.

Again, establish the criteria for success in your current role, then execute. Once you’ve done that, figure out the expectations of the role you’d like to get and start performing at that level.

Finally, you must become proficient in documenting your successes. On a monthly basis (minimum), you need to summarize your accomplishments. Doing this regularly ensures you include details that might get fuzzy if you only do it annually. Your goal is to create something that helps your manager showcase your wins. Make it easy for them, and it’ll benefit you.

Get on the Right Radars

You’re performing at a level worthy of promotion and have the support of your manager but still haven’t been promoted - what gives?

It might be the peers of your manager that are preventing your advancement. Not necessarily arguing against promotion. They’re just not vocally supporting it.

While your manager is critical in helping you secure a promotion, it’s typically not their decision alone. Often, promotions are discussed in a group setting, and your manager's peers might have a say. With that in mind, you need to ensure they know who you are. And ideally, can advocate for you based on their direct experience.

This means you should look for assignments that offer exposure to other departments or teams. You need to show value beyond the confines of your job description and the team you’re on. This is easier in some roles than others based on reporting dynamics, organization structure, etc. Still, look for opportunities.

In my experience, most people misunderstand the value that Human Resources partners can offer. While each company handles things differently, they are there to support the development of people. And they can be helpful allies as they’re a big part of the promotion process.

While you want to be aware of company norms, having a semi-regular touch point with the person (or people) supporting Medical Affairs is generally a good idea. If nothing else, you need to make your goals known and seek their feedback on how to get there.

Identify a Sponsor

Most people have a handful of mentors, but few have a sponsor. And they’re not synonymous. You could likely benefit from having a sponsor.

A sponsor might be your manager, but it could be another leader within the organization. Concerning promotions, they help ensure you’re aware of opportunities that fit your development plan, and they use their organizational clout to advocate for you.

This is similar to the section above but a more precise version. You want to foster this relationship and ensure you’re proactively equipping them with things they can communicate on your behalf.

While it’s good to have multiple people to advocate for your performance generally, a sponsor will be able to articulate specific examples that demonstrate your impact. They’ll go to bat for you.

Develop a Plan. Then Execute.

If you want to get promoted, it makes sense to develop a roadmap. Getting promoted is typically not a passive activity. It doesn’t just happen without some intentionality.

Now is probably a good time to point out the two promotion types. Perhaps the most obvious type of promotion is when someone moves into people leadership. But it’s important not to forget the technical promotion track. You’re performing the same or similar role with enhanced responsibilities AND expectations.

Which track you pursue is ultimately up to you, but it’s essential to be realistic with your skills and desires. It will also factor into the plan you need to create.

I realize I might have skipped over an essential part of the process. You should communicate your desire to get promoted. While it shouldn’t be the focus of every discussion, it is worth discussing. The right people should know you want it and are working toward it.

Your roadmap needs to consist of a timeline and layout of activities that will adequately demonstrate that you’re deserving of a promotion. Your manager can help establish a reasonable timeline, and hopefully, they’ll be able to identify various projects or initiatives that will give you the platform to demonstrate your impact.

Become the Harshest Critic

Nearly every role I can think of in Medical Affairs has a strategy and execution element. There is tremendous upside in being the harshest critic - while the strategy is being developed. But understand that you’re playing with fire here.

For this strategy to benefit your career, two things must occur.

1. You must deliver all critiques professionally and tactfully AND in the right setting.

2. You must come prepared with alternatives or at least be willing to help develop them.

The idea here is that you want success. You are thinking through the potential pitfalls and anticipating ways things could go wrong. And you elevate these concerns so they can be addressed before implementation. You’re striving to improve the team and organization.

For this tactic to be successfully employed, it must be clear that how you show up with customers is different. I see this as an extension of the management philosophy of praise in public and correct in private.

There is a fine line between serving as the “Healthy Skeptic” and leaving people wondering whose team you’re on. Tread carefully.

Change Functions

Most of the topics we’ve discussed so far can be applied to any situation, but they’re directed more to those wanting to stay in the same functional area.

The truth is, sometimes, changing functions is the easiest path to promotion.

But, caveat emptor. I would caution against making a role change solely (or even mostly?) based on the prospect of gaining a promotion.

You must ensure that the new function and skills you employ contribute to your long-term development plan.

Taking a role for a specific title or promotion is a recipe for dissatisfaction.

Change Companies

Similarly, sometimes it’s possible to gain a promotion by changing companies.

Again, proceed with caution here - if promotion is your primary motivator.

Sometimes, there are no alternatives. I get it. You’ve done everything you can, and you’re repeatedly overlooked for whatever reason. Maybe a change is needed at that point.

Still, it’s prudent to ensure your title and theoretical promotion are substantive. There are plenty of examples where people have left for a particular title only to have less responsibility, visibility, and ability to drive results.