Lost in translation
I recently met up with a friend who needed to vent. That morning, she had received a somewhat lengthy email from her direct report, “DR,” outlining why she deserved promotion. And by the deeply annoyed look on my friend’s face, I could tell that DR wasn’t getting promoted any time soon.
Now my friend is not some cold-hearted boss who enjoys withholding opportunities from her team, so I asked her what was bothering her so much about this request.
Here are some of the grievances she shared:
“DR is clueless about the budget constraints I’m dealing with right now.”
“DR claims to have led two major launches this past year, but many people, including myself, had to get involved to make sure they were successful!”
“Honestly, there have been issues with DR’s performance and motivation for some time. She seems to only care about her own success, not the team’s. Perhaps it’s time for me to minimize her role or start looking for a replacement.”
My friend was clearly frustrated. This promotion request could not have come at a worse time — her budget was shrinking and she was still dealing with many outstanding issues related to DR’s performance. And in the midst of busy stretch at work, she now had to squeeze in the time to have a tough conversation with DR.
And while I could see how DR didn’t read the room correctly and probably shouldn’t have tried to negotiate over email, I could also acknowledge the courage it took for her to to make her request. A rejection from the boss may feed DR’s insecurities, and discourage her from advocating for herself in the future.
So why did this negotiation attempt fall flat? Clearly both parties saw things differently. DR thought she was doing a fantastic job, while her boss thought otherwise. There was no alignment, and as a result the foundation was simply not strong enough for career advancement requests.
If you believe you are due for a promotion or raise at work, I recommend first assessing the health of 5 key areas that can ensure you and your decision maker are on the same page.
Specifically, do you have:
Goals: clearly-defined areas of ownership and career development objectives
Buy-in: support from key decision-makers for step #1
Tracking: a robust system (i.e. dashboard) to document key business and performance metrics
Communication: a process to regularly broadcast status, updates, and wins to stakeholders
Follow-up: a system to capture and resolve feedback
For example, if DR had worked through the checklist above before emailing her boss, she may have realized the following:
My goals are too vague. I should make them more SMART and ensure that they are aligned with organizational priorities.
I think I’m doing a good job, but I haven’t really been receiving specific feedback on my performance. I will bring this up in my next 1:1.
I should ask my boss if I’m tracking the right metrics for my projects.
By proactively addressing any unresolved areas, you can build a strong, collaborative foundation with your decision makers when it’s time to present a solid case for more.