Work for your Growth
Hey!
Welcome back to another week of musings. I hope you had a great weekend.
The past week was rainy due to a storm around the Bay Area. I got to meet a friend for dinner, and I'll see another friend this coming week!
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Onwards to this week's issue!
Over the years, I've encountered people who want to get promoted and get frustrated when they put in so much effort but don't get it.
When we meet, I generally walk them through the following questions or exercises so they can determine if what they're looking for is available.
Do you clearly understand what growth means for you?
Before even looking for promotions or salary increases, I ask people what growth means for them.
Generally, people are looking for a promotion or a salary raise. In other instances, they might want to be an executive, have access to investing, be on a board, etc.
Understand where your manager stands
First, get a clear picture if your manager is interested in your growth, their own, or nothing at all. An excellent first step is to explicitly ask for a promotion, which will start a conversation about what you need to work on to get a promotion.
If you don't receive an encouraging response, it's better to have it clear. Some managers are focused on their growth and don't tend to dedicate time to their reports. If you're on your own, there might be other options around the company, like switching teams.
Understand your company stands
Second, understand if the company has growth in the spaces you're looking for. If you want to be a principal, but there's only one principal, and it's not growing as fast, that might not be feasible in the short term.
As you go higher, there's less work of that scope for the available pool of people. Another thing I've seen is people who want to have an "architect" role, but in practice, the company doesn't employ that role, so expectations might never match.
Understand who gets promoted
You need to understand which skills, roles, or archetypes your organization rewards. This also means investing in them to get the advancement you want, but also, if you're not interested in those areas, you'll have it clear.
There might still be exciting problems to solve at your current company, but you'll have a clear picture of whether that will get rewarded.
Your one job
With regards to understanding who or what gets rewarded, if you find alignment on that front, then it's time to invest in doing your "one job".
Relentlessly chase impact in your "one job," and be ruthless with prioritization. Understand how to break down problems to deliver quick wins and keep on delivering results.
Communicate how awesome you are
If you're doing your "one job" and delivering results, the next aspect to cover is communicating this as constantly and openly as possible.
Make your manager, peers, and skip level understand how you're delivering results in the form of growth of users, revenue, savings, etc.
Cut One's Losses
If, after doing all of these, you figure out that you won't get rewarded in the shape or form you want. It might be time to look and determine if it's time to cut your losses and change teams or companies.
Manage your expectations
Sometimes people say, "I don't want to do all that; I'm doing great work, doesn't it count?". Well, yes and no.
If you're happy with what you're doing, solving interesting problems, and staying engaged, I'm happy for you! But, if you're looking to climb the ladder, as they say. Or, look for growth in other areas of your career. You'll need to participate in management.
Being intentional about what you want will reap the most benefit!
Conclusion
If you're looking to grow at your current company, you'll need to understand how the company works. On top of delivering value and doing your "one job" to the best of your abilities, you'll need to engage with management and peers.
Being clear about what you want and if it's possible at your current team or employer will help you determine what action to take.
Your turn!
Let me know how you've handled growth (promotions, salary increase, etc) at your company! If you have other tips or anecdotes, let me know by replying to this email!
Happy coding!
Things I discovered in the past week
- TBM 274: How Capable Leaders Navigate Uncertainty and Ambiguity a newsletter issue in collaboration between John Cutler, and Tom Kerwin on effective leaders navigating uncertainty and ambiguity.
- Creating, writing & delivering awesome technical talks. It's a great post with details on how to deliver technical talks! If you're on the fence, first, you should do it! Second, read these tips to get good at it!
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