The Three Levels of the Promotion Pyramid

The Promotion Pyramid by ManagerCandour

We all enter our careers with different goals but want to feel we are progressing. As we start to master our roles, we then wait for recognition and then a promotion.

Promotions are an exciting paradigm; they can look different depending on the organisation and the manager. Aside from your achievements and your manager's standards, another critical factor plays a role. That factor is how your organisation works, its needs, and how that influences your promotion.

Having had many conversations with team members and mentees on the topic. I learned it best to first talk about the Career Pyramid instead of discussing it as a ladder. The career pyramid is a framework to align your mindset when working towards a promotion.

Promotions do not come from tenure alone; instead, they come from your impact to date and future impact from your responsibility. Moving to the next level must benefit you and your organisation.

In this article, I discuss the three main tiers of the career pyramid.

Level Me. This is the stage of your role where the outcomes of your actions directly relate to the effort you apply. For example, a customer has sent an email with a question you need help with. You know part of the answer, search for another piece, and respond, completing the action.

While this is a simplified example, it illustrates the fundamental building blocks of "Level Me" and the tasks that take up most of your time. The impact of this level comes from the collective efforts of all individuals working together to drive the organisation forward. This is reflected as being the broad base of the Pyramid.

As an individual, your responsibility is part of the overall impact. The negative impact would be contained if one person cannot perform their role effectively.

As you deliver exceptional results, the organisation builds trust in your skills. You are promoted to more senior versions of the role, handling more complex tasks.

Level Team. At this stage, your responsibility spans many people, a team, or many teams. Your work at this level could range from reviewing the work of others for approval and sharing your expertise, creating best practice documents for others to follow, and hiring the right people with the right skills to continue driving the business forward.

The individuals on this level help the organisations scale. There are fewer individuals in these roles, which is reflected by the width of the middle of the Pyramid. It is a one-to-many type of role with a heavier set of responsibilities. Compared to Level Me, these roles focus more on the team than yourself. Your impact is multiplied through the decisions and actions you take on the people you are responsible for.

As you deliver exceptional results, the organisation builds trust in your skills. You are promoted to run bigger teams or more critical business areas. In non-high-growth companies, these roles are more often available when people leave. In high-growth companies, they are created more often to continue the company's growth.

Level Org. This level consists of senior members of your organisation—roles like CEO, CCO, CFO, CPO, GM and others. Only a small number of them are represented by the tip of the Pyramid.

These roles manage teams of teams or hold critical positions influencing the direction of the business. They are responsible for creating the vision and strategy and analysing competitors and threats. They carry the heavy responsibility to lead the organisation, identify opportunities and eliminate threats. At the same time, they keep all the organisation's individuals motivated and productive.

Any errors at this level have a snowball impact on the organisation and everyone in it.

Growth opportunities in these roles look different to the other levels. They are further apart or require moving companies that require a new senior position.

In Summary, when setting your career goals, you should label them as Me, Team or Org impacting. Consider the business needs and if there is the capacity for a more senior role. Align with your manager to know your efforts will be recognised and focused in the right areas.

Then go out and execute exceptionally, allow the leaders to build trust in you and wait for an opportunity to open up or be created.

Opinions expressed are solely my own and do not represent the views or opinions of my employer.

Title Image: Photo by Ruben Hanssen on Unsplash