The Times I Made My Team Members Cry - What I Need to See Before I Promote You

Yes, I said “times” - plural - I’ve made my team members cry. Of the most emotional experiences I’ve had with my teams it’s been conversations about their readiness to get promoted. Many PMs believe they deserve a promotion because they’ve had success within a year. I need to see so much more.

The tough truth about getting promoted is that it’s not enough for you to crush it in your current role. You also have to demonstrate competency at the next level. You have to show the organization that you can do the job you want to get promoted into.

What I look for in my team members to get promoted is:

Crush Your Current Role

• Results - I need to see measurable impact on material outcomes, not just superficial outputs

• Consistency - this is one where individuals often lose sight, I need to see results and impact with regularity over time, not just one off impact or a flash in the pan.

• Leadership - regardless of the Product Manager role, you are working with a team in some capacity, I need to see that you are leading others and driving impact through teams

Show Me You Can Do the Next Role

• Exceptional Results - I need to see results that go beyond expectations, or results that are unexpected and attributed directly to the team member’s efforts

• Self-Initiated and Expanding Influence - I need to see the team member influencing others and expanding their ownership organically without me telling them what to do. This shows initiative and natural leadership

• Followership - Finally, I need to see others want to work with you or for you. I need to see that the organization supports your efforts and not just from those who are obligated to do so

Getting promoted isn’t just about delivering results or your roadmap. It’s much more. It is about demonstrating Readiness for the next level - delivering exception results, self initiating and expanding your influence, and creating followership so that you can scale your impact.