Most career questions that come my way are from individuals asking about their own careers. But recently I got an inquiry from someone asking me how he could get a job for his boss…so he could take over! What the inquirer really wanted to know is actually a common scenario: you’re ready for a promotion, but that next step is your boss’ job, and s/he shows no signs of leaving. How can you still advance when you feel your path to promotion is blocked?
Elicit your boss’ help.
You may want your boss’ job, but that doesn’t necessarily make you and your boss adversaries. If you two have a good relationship, if your boss is a keen developer of talent, and if you trust your boss to look out for your interests, let him or her know that you feel ready for more. See what s/he suggests as your next move. You might learn things about the promotion process or promotion criteria you didn’t realize were in play. You might not be as ready as you think.
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Shore up gaps with a lateral move.
If you do learn of performance gaps that are keeping you from moving up, an obvious solution would be to get the missing skills, expertise, or experience in the role you have. It could be your boss didn’t realize you wanted more so s/he never gave you the opportunity. But if you’re topped out in the role you have – i.e., you have really taken advantage of everything it offers – all is not lost. Look at other departments for additional opportunities. One HR professional who had extensive employee relations experience already reported to the head of HR so she couldn’t get management experience by moving up, but she was tapped to turn around recruiting, which gave her a new skill to learn plus management of a large team.
Look at subsidiaries, partners or clients.
Another HR professional moved out of HR entirely and into the line of business she was serving (in her case, marketing). She realized that instead of moving up where she was, she really wanted a new career path altogether. Get clear on what you mean by “moving up” – is it a promotion or a different career? If it’s a different career, you’ll have to look outside your own department. But even if it’s a promotion you want, look beyond your immediate department – subsidiaries of your current company or offices in different regions. Or you may need to look beyond your company – this could mean competitors, of course, but don’t forget partners or clients that your company does business with, where you might already have connections (and perhaps some credibility if you’ve been working together).
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Get real about your chances where you are.
Looking outside may be your logical first step if you really are topped out where you are. Some companies aren’t good about promoting from within. One media company I worked with freely acknowledged that they had entry-level roles and very experienced roles but not much in-between. They recognized they were losing talented associates but never created a career path for moving beyond that level. Some companies use tenure and longevity as a key criteria for promotions, meaning that your career path may be blocked simply because of time. One financial firm didn’t put anyone up for a management title before their tenth anniversary. You may decide you like your current role enough to wait. One of my clients actually made the realization that he wouldn’t be promoted for a while but still loved his job, and this acceptance was quite freeing. He became an adjunct at his alma mater and more active in his trade association, enabling him to expand his career anyway despite no formal promotion.
Moving up by title, or by management responsibility or by scope of project is not a guarantee. If these types of promotion opportunities are important to you, research the potential career path before taking your next job. Ask prospective employers what happened to the person in the role you’re looking at – where did they go? Ask your next boss where his or her former direct reports are now. Do they go on to bigger roles, or is your boss proud they stay in the group forever? Before you take a job, look at the trajectory not just your immediate role.
