The Road to Promotability

There are two critical components of promotability:

1. You have to be the best you can be.

2. Your best must be exactly what is needed, and wanted, in your current organization. If it is not, then it may be time to move on (see Chapter 13).

Let’s check on the first component: Are you the best you can be right now? To gain a sense of your starting point, determine your Promotability Quotient (Exhibit 12-1), and then analyze your score.

Exhibit 12-1: Promotability Quotient

What is your Promotability Quotient? The following questions relate to your visibility, reputation, values, skills, and strengths—and the more honest you are with your answers, the more quickly you will recognize your next steps.

Yes No

1. Do you have a written career strategy for the next

a. ___ ___ 1 year

b. ___ ___ 5 years

c. ___ ___ None

2. Have you completed a written version of your

a. ___ ___ Values

b. ___ ___ Needs

c. ___ ___ Strengths and skills

3. ___ ___ Do you know what your next logical step is with your current company?

4. ___ ___ Have you identified the skill set required for the next level?

5. ___ ___ Do you have those required skills?

6. ___ ___ Do you have a record of success in your current job, including taking smart risks?

7. ___ ___ Have you been assigned to participate in or head up important projects and task forces that are visible within the company?

8. ___ ___ Are you known to be respectful, knowledgeable, influential, and productive within your organization?

9. ___ ___ Do you work well with your boss?

10. ___ ___ Are you known to your boss and his peers as the “go to” person when extra brainpower is needed?

11. ___ ___ Is your company financially healthy?

12. ___ ___ Are you aware of the history of promotions in your company?

13. ___ ___ Do you fit the profile?

14. ___ ___ Do you have a solid network of peers, subordinates, and managers within your organization?

15. ___ ___ Are you a knowledge broker, with resources and experts available to you?

16. Would you be called

a. ___ ___ A gossip

b. ___ ___ An egomaniac

c. ___ ___ A control freak

d. ___ ___ Out of it

e. ___ ___ Inflexible

f. ___ ___ Unreliable

g. ___ ___ Irresponsible

h. ___ ___ Uncooperative

i. ___ ___ None of these, nor any other negative tag

17. Do you read trade papers or magazines to keep up with your industry?

a. ___ ___ Once per week

b. ___ ___ Once per month

c. ___ ___ Once in a while

d. ___ ___ Never

18. When was the last time you attended a class to brush up your skills (or learn new ones) outside of the office?

a. ___ ___ Within the last 6 months

b. ___ ___ Within the last 12 months

c. ___ ___ Never

19. When was the last time you asked your boss about the skills or talents necessary for success and promotion?

a. ___ ___ Within the last 6 months

b. ___ ___ Within the last 12 months

c. ___ ___ Never

Score:

		Yes	No
1.	a.	10
	b.		–5
	c.		–15
2.	a.	10	–10
	b.	10	–10
	c.	10	–10
3.		10	0
4.		10	0
5.		10	0
6.		10	0
7.		10	0
8.		10	–10
9.		10	–10
10.		10	–5
11.		10	–10
12.		10	–10
13.		10	–10
14.		10	–10
15.		10	–10
16.	a.	–10
	b.	–10
	c.	–10
	d.	–10
	e.	–10
	f.	–10
	g.	–10
	h.	–10
	i.	10
17.	a.	10
		b.	5
		c.	1
		d.	–15
18.	a.	10
		b.	5
		c.	–15
19.	a.	10
		b.	5
		c.	–15

__________ Total Score

Scoring Key

0–50 You may be working at a job, but you have not yet defined a career. Roll up your sleeves and go back to the basics. You will need a genuine desire to succeed, a lot of hard work, and the strategies that follow.

51–100 You may know the general direction of your career, but your foundation is unsteady. Again, go back to basics (strengths, skills, needs, and values) and redefine the gap between where you are right now and where you want to be.

101–150 You have identified a more specific direction for yourself and your career, and you are ready to focus and move ahead. Identify the categories in the assessment where you scored the lowest and honestly identify what it will take to learn those skills or shift your reputation in those areas.

151–200 You are right on track in developing a reputation and a career that will set you apart in a competitive marketplace. Upgrading some areas will drive you forward more quickly. Check your lowest scores and work to improve in those areas as you prepare to ask for your promotion.

201–220 Congratulations! You have a strong sense of self-awareness, you know your strengths and limitations, you have a solid reputation, you understand the expectations of your company and your boss, and you can quickly implement your strategy for being promoted.

Prepare for Action

Gather the following worksheets from earlier in this book:

• Values Worksheet (Exhibit 1-3), completed

• Enjoy–Tolerate–Dislike (Exhibit 10-1), completed

• Results Profile (Exhibit 10-4), a fresh blank form

• Goal Worksheet (Exhibit 6-4), several blank forms