You got a quiet promotion... 1/5 Stars. Do not recommend!

So you got a quiet promotion…

Congratulations?

It’s a fairly common tale for young, inexperienced leaders in Japan… or maybe everywhere. Your boss calls you out of the blue to have a chat. You stand up and follow them. They find an empty conference room, sit you down, and shower you with compliments. You’re over the moon. You feel appreciated and excited. Then, they say you’re ready to start taking on new duties. They want you to add A, B, and C to your day. It’s not just additional tasks either, but a higher tier of responsibility.

Way to go! You’re climbing that corporate ladder! Sometimes they shake your hand and say, “Keep up the great work!” Sometimes they say that somewhere down the line, you might get a pay rise and a new title (or did they just imply it?).

So the rush lasts for all of a minute until you realize…

You’ve just been quietly promoted.

Play it cool

The first thing you might be feeling as they leave the conference room is cold, hard anger. Your boss disarmed you with compliments and then handed you a few cinder blocks to carry around, in exchange for nothing.

You were tricked! They’re using you... Your anger gives way to sadness. You’ve been working hard, delivering results, and all you get is the company pulling a fast one on you. Well, ride out that self-pity quickly, because you’ve just been given your first lesson in leadership.

If you haven’t thought ahead, you’re two steps behind.

Now, whether or not you were deserving of promotion doesn’t matter. You should have been ready for this moment. Now, it’s a little late but that’s okay. You’ll be ready next time. And you’re armed with valuable knowledge.

So what do you do? You start applying some of the principles of leadership to your thinking. Take emotion out of the equation and consider your boss’ perspective. Are they someone with a track record of quiet promotions? Do they test people to see if they can deliver under pressure? What is their leadership style and reputation?

They could be sharing some of their duties because their own plate is overflowing. They may be a terrible middle manager who tries to get away with doing as little as possible while taking credit for the work of others. They may see potential in you but have a tight team budget.

Without really thinking about this in depth, you won’t be ready to lead people in the future. Consideration of all your stakeholders’ perspectives must be thorough and empathetic, or you’re trying to navigate a maze without tools and with hope as your only ally.

Consider, motivate, collaborate

Once you’re ready to start diving deep into the motivations of others, begin reading books of leaders in your industry. Don’t have time to read? Sure you do! Switch to audiobooks. Read when you’re commuting, cooking, in the gym. There’s a wealth of knowledge that will change how you think and approach your problems. Any skill you want has a dozen amazing books ready to fortify your mind for the climb ahead.

Next, you’ve got to find the appropriate long-term motivation to stay on goal and be positive about your progress. Some people are driven by the guiding light ahead. Some run from the darkness at their back.

Here’s a hint which one I am. My motivational quote for when I was quietly promoted:

“[W]e must suffer, suffer into truth.

We cannot sleep, and drop by drop at the heart

the pain of pain remembered comes again

and we resist, but ripeness comes as well.

From the gods enthroned on the awesome rowing-bench

there comes a violent love.” — Aeschylus

Pure sunshine and rainbows, me.?

Fake it till you become it

Whichever you are doesn’t matter — Well, it will for your mental health, but that’s a different blog entry. You’ll need to be consistent in your new role. If you can find a way to continue delivering on your previous duties at the same level, while also rising to the challenge with your new ones, you’re not just a chump who accepted a bad deal. You’re showing yourself and others what you’re capable of.

Next, and maybe most important, is that you don’t suffer alone. You can find collaborators to help, and you can do it in a way that isn’t pushing your responsibilities onto others. This can be a difficult step, and there are plenty of good leadership courses and books that will give you the foundations on how to build a network of collaborators. But for our purposes, you can start small. Ask for advice about your projects, or get feedback on your work. That way, you’re engaging with your team members transparently and also making sure they know you’re working on new things.

Then, reciprocate! Do something to raise the performance of the people helping you. Offer assistance with their projects, within reason, and show that you’ve got leadership and skill development on the brain.

Also, if your boss has actually given you the duties because they’re swamped, see what else you can take off their plate. Show initiative while making it clear that you want to support them in their success too. Again, this will depend on what type of person they are. If you’re too aggressive about it, they might be inclined to think you’re gunning for their role.

And last, start a running diary on what you’ve done. Mark your successes and milestones in a pretty (and brief) presentation. Keep it on your laptop’s desktop. Keep it on your Google Slides. Have it somewhere where you can whip it out at a moment’s notice.

The lesson of losing is to fail up

Next time your boss surprises you, you’ll be ready. But why wait? Maybe it’s your turn to bring up that promotion? Have you made noteworthy progress in three to six months? Call a meeting, a meeting which you’ve practiced and considered from all angles. What kinds of protests is your boss likely to bring up? How will you approach their questions or counter-arguments? What is the reasoning for why you’re deserving of a new title and X% raise in salary?

If they shut you down after you’ve done everything within reason to respectfully and logically present your case, you still have options. Ask them what it will take for you to get where you want to be. If they help you lay out a realistic roadmap, perfect. You’ve taken a few more steps in the direction you want to go.

If it’s clear that you’re being given the runaround, there are other paths open to you. You can transfer teams, start a job search for the role you wanted to be promoted into, or make a lateral move into another organization.

If you’re just accepting your lot… Well, I’ve got another cheery quote for you.

The world has long ceased to be the author of your anguish. — R. Scott Bakker