In a world of inspirational memes and #girlpost Instagram posts, it’s easy to forget that we all get stuck at work, or feel like we can’t find a way forward at times. Sue Unerman is the Chief Transformation Officer at MediaCom and Kathryn Jacob OBE is the Chief Executive at Pearl and Dean. Together they wrote The Glass Wall: Success Strategies For Women At Work And Businesses That Mean Business. Each week answer your work questions with pragmatic, honest advice that’s proven to work…
Q: I think I have been working really hard in my role, and I have shown that I am committed to the company but in the recent round of promotions, I didn’t get promoted, how do I get the next one?
KJ: How disappointing for you. However, why not see this as an opportunity to find out why you did not get the role and what you need to do to place yourself as the obvious choice when the next round of promotions comes.
What questions would you ask Sue?
SU: You are entitled to a clear career path. A good manager will be able to give you guidance on what you missed out on, and with prompting, what training and development you need to achieve the next promotion. If this is task based and is clearly described, then you will come out of this discussion with a firm idea of what you need to do. There is one criteria though, which is frequently cited as a development barrier for women, which is a lack of gravitas. It comes up quite often in our talks about our book The Glass Wall, success strategies for women at work and business that mean business. Particularly youngish attendees at these talks will mention the fact that however good they are at the tasks that they are set, or efficient in the workplace, a so-called lack of gravitas is given as a reason for lack of progress. Frankly, if this is mentioned, then you may have more issues to unpick than you currently realise.
KJ: Interesting. I think that sometimes “gravitas” is a catch all phrase used to deflect young women, and I would closely question what they mean by it. The gravitas of a barrister for instance will be somewhat different to that of a designer. I don’t think it is unreasonable to ask what the measures and behaviours are that they see as demonstrating gravitas.
As we always say, you shouldn’t supress your real self to fit in if it compromises your true self.
SU: Sometimes gravitas is just used to fob you off. They mean, couldn’t you just get 5 years older suddenly. Well obviously not. What you can do is amplify those parts of your personality that show that you take responsibility very seriously and that you can flex your style to suit your situation at work from one type of interaction to another.
For example, when you’re greeting people in the morning and chatting about the weekend, that might well be a very different persona from what is expected when you’re reassuring the customer about a design spec. Authenticity is important, but so too is flexibility. However, this might not be what’s holding you back.
Kathryn, what else might you advise our questioner today?
KJ: Firstly, don’t be afraid of the feedback and don’t be defensive when you receive it. Re-iterate your enjoyment and commitment to your job and ask your manager to help you achieve your next step. That way you’re both in it together.
Secondly, check in at frequent intervals with your manager to chart your progress and or to seek more support or information. Don’t be afraid to ask when you can expect to be considered for your promotion. And ask your manager if you can regularly update them on your progress against all of the goals that you have reached to achieve the required standard.
Ask open ended questions that require feedback and commitment from your manager. For instance, what training is available to help me? Then when can I get the training? How do we show that I have achieved the key stages – how can you help me get noticed for this?
SU: Whatever you do, don’t wait until you have fulfilled all the criteria before you go back to your boss. You absolutely don’t have to, they will be interested in your progress as you go along, but also, if you don’t stay in touch with them on this issue, if you leave it for weeks or even months, then you will go out of their view. And people who are out of view, don’t usually get promoted as quickly as those who are front of mind. Having said this, keep them on your side, don’t drive them away by being too persistent. The day they had to tell you that you weren’t promoted this time, was probably one of their worst days at work. Having tough conversations is very rarely what any manager wants to spend time doing. So, the more empathy you can show them the better. It is one of the unspoken truths of the work place that everyone has to manage their boss. You have to manage your direct reports, you have to manage your co-workers and you have, above all, to manage your manager. Work out how to get the best from them, and they will be better at managing you.
However, what if your manager has no intention of promoting you. What do you do then?
KJ: It is key that you build your brand outside of your day to day sphere. Use opportunities to establish connections within your company to develop your own cheerleaders and a wide range of sponsors. That way when your name comes up, if your boss says that you are still not ready, you will have a chorus of people questioning that assertion. In that circumstance your boss won’t be able to dismiss your claim for the next step up.
SU: If possible build your brand outside your own company too. There’s much more about how to do this in our book, but the broader your reputation is, the stronger your likelihood of progression. Good luck and don’t give up
Sue and Kathryn’s book The Glass Wall, Success Strategies For Women At Work And Businesses That Mean Business is available from Amazon.
Have you got a question you’d like Sue and Kathryn to answer? Email your questions to feedback@graziamagazine.co.uk. Please note, we will be unable to respond to every single question we receive, and will not be able to respond to any questions personally