How To Stay On The Promotion Radar While Working Remotely

As organizations consider blended return-to-work strategies, some of us will continue to work remotely. Having everyone working from home was a workplace equalizer, but those who return to the workplace will soon have the advantage of greater visibility when promotion opportunities come around. On this Hidden Brain episode, Stanford economist, Nicholas Bloom, shares the results of the Chinese travel company, Sea Trip’s experiment with a blend of remote and in-office work. Sea Trip assigned half its employees to work from home and half at the office. The good news was that remote employees quit at half the rate of those working full time in the office. However, those working remotely also experienced a 50% decline in promotions.

There are still no virtual substitutes for a range of workplace activities: spontaneous connections, idea-sharing, informal communication. Some of our colleagues will return to these office advantages, while others of us are still entertaining surprise guest appearances of our kids and pets in virtual meetings. These five strategies help us stay on the promotion radar while working out of our boss’ line of sight.

1.      Be low maintenance AND high visibility. With greater complexity and uncertainty at work, it’s important to be self-sufficient and reduce the burden on our managers while retaining visibility. When our work is unseen by our managers, they worry if it’s getting done or neglected—ironically increasing their load. Instead of only submitting completed work, bring your manager along with periodic updates. You can say, “We’re still on track to deliver project X on time. This week we discovered our new feature is exactly what the customer care team is looking for. If you’d like a brief demo of our prototype, here’s a 30-second video.” By proactively and periodically keeping your manager updated, you reduce their list of items to track, demonstrate independence, showcase the effort and quality of thinking behind your results, and remain on the radar. As a bonus, you have a chance to incorporate intermediate ideas before it’s too late in the process.

2.      Attend large meetings AND maintain small transactions. The glut of virtual meetings that keeps us glued to our screens makes us reluctant to reach out beyond these structured interactions. But big meetings reduce us to a small rectangle and diminish others’ opportunities to see our impact. Ensure you have several small interactions each day—not just with peers with whom you’re working directly, but with your manager and their peers. A good way to ensure at least one transaction a day is to keep a running list of “wands and wishes.” Wands are little ways in which you might help others as though by waving a wand. Wishes are small asks you have of others’ wands. For example, you might attend a customer meeting and share notes with others who would benefit from the insights. Additionally, connect what you learned with how you think your manager might use the knowledge. On the other hand, ask others to vote on a choice of images for a presentation. By engaging in small ways daily, you give back to others, help them feel valuable by doing you a favor, and elevate the visibility of your activities.

3.      Tend your tent AND extend your reach. Many of my clients have two flavors of meetings: those within teams and large, company-wide ones. It’s rarer to have meetings across siloes. Yet, many teams are struggling with similar issues and duplicating efforts. Look for opportunities beyond the borders of your reporting structure and for common problems that need to be solved no matter the specifics of the job. Then reach out to craft a single solution. Best practices for collaboration between remote and on-premise teammates, connecting with customers remotely, or presentations to senior management are challenges common across groups where you can provide value to others and benefit from their perspective. Promotions, especially as you grow in seniority, rarely happen solely at your manager’s discretion. By expanding your reach, you increase others’ insight into and support of your contributions.

4.      Home in on your tasks AND zoom out to company challenges. A coping strategy when overwhelmed is to compartmentalize—to conserve energy by zeroing in on our own tasks and creating strong boundaries. More important than checking an item off your list is ensuring it is the right item. Once a week ask your manager or others outside your orbit what problems they are facing, and what opportunities they see. As you create your to-do list for the upcoming week, map each item to the bigger company picture. What broader problem or opportunity will this work address? This exercise keeps you working on what’s most relevant and helps you articulate how your efforts move the needle on items your bosses most care about.

5.      Generate attention AND create generosity. When aiming for a promotion, especially when working remotely, it’s easy to want to showcase only your work. It is important to ensure you have communicated your thought process and your end results. There’s one simple way to shine a light on your work and that is by illuminating others’ efforts. At the end of every work week, assess who you can thank. Provide specific and genuine acknowledgement and copy their managers. When you practice generosity regularly, your colleagues are more likely to return the favor, acknowledging the part you played in their success. Relinquishing the need to self-promote by recognizing others releases a ricochet of compliments back to you.

Many managers wonder what their remote employees are doing all day. When you think you’re ready for a promotion, have you armed your manager with the information they need to pitch your case? With a “yes, and…” mindset, we can show that we’re not shirking work, elevate the profile of our impact and results, and demonstrate that we merit a promotion as much as if we were making the daily commute.

This article first appeared on Forbes in January 2021. https://www.forbes.com/sites/sabinanawaz/2021/01/05/how-to-stay-on-the-promotion-radar-while-working-remotely/?sh=47aacca920d3

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