Workers Increasingly Create Their Own Promotion

More promotions than ever result from people actively managing their own managers these days, with half of all promotions occurring this way according to new research from recruitment website reed.co.uk (published today, Thursday 26 Feb 2004)

Actively managing your boss - named Up-Managing by reed.co.uk - has become an increasingly important way to get ahead, the survey of over 5,000 workers reveals.

More than two thirds of the UK workforce - an estimated 15 million people - gained a promotion over the last five years, according to the study. When asked how their most recent promotion came about, by far the biggest percentage -50 per cent - stated it was the result of actively managing
their managers. In contrast, next down the list came those who said their promotion was completely unexpected (chosen by 25 per cent), while 17 percent said their promotion resulted from a direct request.

Paradoxically the fact that today’s bosses are less hands-on than they used to be has made it more important than ever to manage the managers to get ahead. New technology means more bosses manage remotely these days.

What’s more organisations have flatter structures nowadays, and promotions are awarded on merit instead of length of service as in the past. All these factors mean you have to work harder to make sure your boss realises you are ready for extra responsibility.

Interestingly Up-Managing is an even more important route to success outside the crowded South East of Britain. The North West tops the league, with Up-Managing accounting for 57 per cent of promotions, followed closely by East Anglia, where Up-Managing brought about 54 per cent of promotions over the last five years according to respondents.

Words alone are not enough when Up-Managing, according to the study. Respondents make it clear that action is vital. ’Taking on extra tasks’tops the list of specific things that led to a promotion; say 41 per cent of successful workers.

However you still need to make sure your boss knows about your extra efforts. Actively representing your own potential and untapped skills to your superiors is second most important, according to a quarter of respondents, while networking with managers and decision-makers, openly
taking on extra training, and communicating your successes to superiors all follow closely on the list.

Above all, successful promotion-seekers are pro-active in doing more to impress at work. Identifying problems and producing solutions is a particularly good route to promotion, according to the study. I kept offering my help to managers when I knew their workload was heavy, even
when they weren’t direct superiors. Eventually their tasks became my tasks permanently. Word got around about how good I was and soon back to my own boss who merely made my promotion official said one when describing what led to their promotion, while another got proactively involved and a third seized the opportunity to Talk to senior business managers at an informal office party.

Dan Ferrandino Managing Director of reed.co.uk comments: Nowadays it is more important than ever to actively manage your career instead of sitting back and waiting for something to happen. Not only is there no such thing as a job for life: people no longer get automatic promotions just because they have stayed around long enough.

With increasing numbers of bosses managing by e-mail instead of face to face, it is vital to make sure that your actions speak for you in proving your abilities. Be pro-active in finding ways to prove you can take on responsibility. Look around for problems you can solve, or projects you can deliver that will change things for the better. Organisations are well aware of the importance of talented people and want to keep them. At the end of the day empty words will only get you so far. You need to back this up with substance to make sure you keep moving ahead.