Thursday, August 16, 2012
You got the promotion and now have the new “Vice President” title. You’ve worked hard to get where you are and feel very proud of your accomplishment. Your new boss, new team, and all your peers immediately start working with you at your new level; the new level of work, new responsibilities and new stressors all arrive as soon as you take the new role. Yes, everyone has promoted you. Question is: have you promoted yourself?
Often times leaders get promoted to new levels yet don’t let go of their prior level. They still operate and act as if they are in their previous role. They take on the new level of responsibility and work that comes along with it but intellectually remain at their prior level. What I mean here is they don’t fully step into what it means to be at the higher level; they don’t promote themselves. Promoting yourself is about your mindset. It’s your perception of yourself in the new role. You know you deserve the higher-level position so now must act accordingly.
Often times, when leaders are promoted they are still intimidated to sit at the executive table because in their mind, they are still in their prior (lower level) position. Instead, they need to remind themselves that they are supposed to be at the executive table and should remind themselves to act with the confidence and conviction that got them promoted. Sometimes it takes constant repetitive reminders like these to shift your mindset to one that supports your new level. And sometimes it takes something more action-oriented, like getting to know each person sitting around that executive table on a personal level so that you’re no longer intimidated by them. Once you spend time with each of them, one-on-one, and realize that they are people, just like you, and that you are as smart as (and in many cases smarter than) they are, your comfort level increases, intimidation decreases, and mindset begins to shift. They all promoted you when they offered you the job; they know you’re capable of doing it. You know you’re capable of doing it. The question is: how long will it take you to promote yourself?
