Dale Sackrider II

Have you even felt like you were doing your boss’ job? If so, you might be thinking “I deserve a promotion!” I was listening to a colleague complain that they are doing their boss’ job. The complaints were nothing new; “Why am I doing this work when he should do it?”. In fact, it reminded me of my first one on one with a new boss early in my career. She sat me down and told me that I need to promote my work with her peers and make sure they know what I do. My gut reaction was “isn’t that YOUR JOB?” I was wrong then and my colleague is wrong now.

First, let me be clear, if you do all the work on something but your boss presents it as his own, this is unacceptably poor leadership. A good leader shares the credit, a great leader gives credit where its due.

Having said that, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking when your leader takes your presentation into a board meeting without you, “Hey, I did all the work, but my boss got all the glory!” But here’s the thing: building that presentation deck, gathering the data, analyzing the results – that was your job. You were supporting your boss, enabling them to do their job, which in my example involved presenting to higher-ups, securing buy-in from stakeholders, and driving strategic decisions. You each did your own jobs.

Lets look at my specific case where my new leader said I had to promote myself with her peers. You might think, like I did, my job is to do great work and my leader’s job to promote me as their top performer. I hated that she shifted this burden to me, but I later found out how much she was trying to help me. When end of year reviews came around, leaders at that company would go several rounds each presenting their top performer as the next name in a stacked rank system. And every time a leader submitted a name that the rest of their peers didn’t know, they lost. If I didn’t learn who her peers where and how my work impacted the things they care about, nothing she did could get me top scores and promotions. She can’t do that job for me and I can’t do her job for her.

Own Your Role

In any organization, there’s a natural hierarchy. Your boss has different responsibilities than you do. Their focus might be on the bigger picture, while you’re focused on the details. That doesn’t mean your work is less valuable; it simply means you have different roles to play.

The key is to own your role and excel at it. Take pride in your contributions, even if they happen behind the scenes. Be the person your boss can rely on to deliver high-quality work, every time. By understanding your boss’s priorities and challenges, you can anticipate their needs and proactively offer solutions. That’s how you build a reputation as a high performer.

Know When to Step Up

Now, this doesn’t mean you should settle for staying in the same role forever. If you consistently exceed expectations and find yourself hitting a ceiling because of your current position, it’s time to make a case for a promotion.

But here’s the crucial point: you earn a promotion by demonstrating that you’ve outgrown your current role, not by simply doing tasks that you were perfectly capable of doing all along. When you can no longer make progress without pulling in your boss, that’s when you know you’re ready for the next level. I’ve been in meetings where the other attendees are above my level in the leadership chain and as a result, then I made the ask, they said they would connect with my leader. Somethings you can not get done from your chair even if you are capable of doing the work. THAT’S when you ask for a promotion.

The Path to Advancement

Always start by ensuring your leader knows your ambitions well in advance of asking for the promotion. If you want to be a team leader, tell them that’s your goal. If you want to be promoted to expert level, tell them that’s your goal. If you are doing good work, all you future conversations with your leaders can focus on your career path instead of your performance. Your work goals should lead you down a path inline with your ambitions.

But remember, a promotion isn’t an entitlement. Sometimes, even when you’re ready for a promotion, the timing might not be right due to factors outside your control, such as budget constraints or limited openings. In these cases, you’ll have to make a decision to be patient, waiting for an opening in the team/group or to seek opportunity outside the company. Either way, by consistently delivering outstanding work and pushing yourself to learn and develop, you pave the way for future advancement.

AI is the sexy buzzword of the day, but just dropping AI into the discussion isn’t going to get you the results you need. We all find ourselves in conversations that include AI more and more lately. But what do we actually mean when we add “AI”? As leaders, it’s important to understand the practical implementation of this valuable tool.

Vendors understand this too – without a compelling story around how their offerings utilize AI, they risk losing the attention of prospects. To move beyond the vague shiny object stage and into practical implementation, we need to understand our use case for AI.

Let’s focus on how AI will make operations more cost-effective, reduce or avoid outages, and increase the speed and quality of work. Whether you are inside the company trying to get budget approval or a vendor outside trying to make the sale, if you can’t build the business case around the classic concepts of ‘faster, better, cheaper’, you’re just another shiny object distraction.

What’s one task you’d love to hand over to AI?

We’ve all set goals before, whether it’s to lose weight, save money, or get a promotion. Sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail. But what if I told you that setting goals might not be the most effective way to achieve lasting results?

I’ve struggled with weight loss my entire life. But it wasn’t until my youngest daughter was diagnosed with celiacs (a severe gluten allergy) that I realized the power of forming habits. As a new celiacs dad, I absentmindedly handed her a cupcake at a party. She took two steps and stopped to ask “Dad, does this have gluten?” When I realized my mistake and told her yes it was gluten, she set the cupcake down and walked away. Watching my 5 year old effortlessly say no to a cupcake made me realize that I needed to change my identity from an overweight guy with weight loss goals, to a guy with an “allergy” to sugars, breads and pastas.

By adopting a new mindset, I was forced to form lasting habits instead of setting “SMART goals”. Six months later, I had lost 75lbs and lowered my A1C to 5.8! Instead of setting a goal to eat healthier, I identified as a health conscience eater. This shift in mindset allowed me to make sustainable changes to my diet and lifestyle.

So next time you’re tempted to set a goal, consider forming habits instead. Habits create lasting results, while goals are often forgotten once achieved. Identify as the person you want to be and let your habits guide you towards success.

“We have too much work and not enough people. I’ve asked for more headcount, but it’s not happening. This feels like a no-win situation.”

Sound familiar? If so, let’s explore a different perspective. It’s a common feeling, but constantly focusing on needing more people overlooks other powerful tools within a leader’s control.

If you have already asked for headcount and got rejected or if you didn’t even ask because you know its not an option, you might be temped to ask your team to work longer hours or demanding they “do more with less”. Effective leaders find ways to maximize their existing resources, but looking for heroes among your staff isn’t sustainable. Let’s look at some key strategies you can use:

1) Prioritization

If the blanket isn’t long enough, your shoulders or your feet are going to be in the cold. As a leader, prioritizing work is your responsibility. When your to-do list exceeds your team’s capacity, it means some things won’t happen on time. Your job is to make sure the most important projects get the attention they deserve, to make sure they don’t get left in the cold.

There will be times when negotiation with your peers and leadership is needed, but often, you have the information to make those calls. Don’t expect your boss to solve your team’s workload problems – that’s your role.

2) Employee Engagement

Employee engagement has seen concerning trends, with current levels around 32% according to Gallup. This means, on average, a significant portion of your team’s potential is untapped. While company-wide culture plays a role, you, as the direct leader, have the most influence.

I could write (and have written) many posts dedicated to engagement but here is a cheat sheet: match people to suitable tasks, clear lower priorities off their plate, and show them how their work matters to the bigger picture. If you do just that, you’ll see much higher engagement than the average manager.

3) Clear Objectives

Too often, teams work tirelessly, only to miss the mark because goals were unclear. Before declaring that you need more help, ensure you have a laser-sharp picture of what success looks like. What are the absolute must-haves, and what are the nice-to-haves?

Clarifying expectations not only shows your stakeholders you’re invested in their success but also minimizes time wasted on re-work or misaligned efforts.

… Just the beginning

While the three levers above are important, there are many others – process optimization, automation, skills development, etc. To be fair, in some cases, requesting additional headcount might be the right path – particularly if you’ve diligently employed these other strategies. However, if you aren’t consistently prioritizing, maximizing engagement, and ensuring crystal clear goals, more people aren’t the solution.

Let’s Change the Mindset

Focus on getting the most from the resources you have. True leadership is about maximizing your team’s potential, not just expecting someone else to solve your problems. Defaulting to “I need more people” is often lazy management over true leadership.

Do you disagree? Email me your thoughts: dale.sackrider@gmail.com