If you have ever stepped foot on Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport or the London Tube, you have been reminded by signs and voice prompts to “mind the gap”. These warnings are hard to ignore. Their purpose is to make you aware of the gap in front of you so that you can take mindful steps to keep you “out” of the gap. When you apply this analogy to your career status, how mindful are you of the gaps between your current and desired level in your organization?

As a manager, mentor, and coach, I have guided numerous ambitious individuals at all organizational levels on what it might take to make a promotion more likely to occur. The guidance starts with understanding the following: 

1. Becoming fully aware of your gaps
2. Understanding expectations
3. Being mindful in closing the gaps
4. Going the extra mile

Let’s look at each of these individually.

Becoming fully aware of your gaps

What are others saying about you when you are not in the room? Throughout the year your manager will gather information to assess you from superiors, peers, direct reports, and even customers. This data is powerful. It is the basis of your performance review as well as a talent review that most large organizations conduct annually to determine your readiness for more responsibility and your possibilities for promotion. It serves you to ask for feedback either in your one-on-one conversations with your manager or directly from other sources. Don’t be afraid to request this information and to openly ask your manager about any development opportunities. This is how you become fully aware of your gaps.

Understanding expectations

How clear are you about the level of performance, experience, and skills that are required for that next level? In my experience, this can be a gray zone, but there are steps that you can take to gain more clarity. In my previous leadership positions, I clearly defined the roles and responsibilities of my entire team and what skills they needed to demonstrate consistently to advance. While such a resource might not be available to you, you should be able to access job descriptions on your internal hub, LinkedIn, or other job search platforms. Study the requirements of the next job level closely to better understand your gaps and the expectations of organizations.

Being mindful in closing the gaps

Do you have a personal development plan in place? If you don’t, then it is time to create one. By now you should be fully aware of what skills or knowledge you need to acquire and what behavior you need to demonstrate to make it to the next level. There are many resources and opportunities for you to get to work and mindfully close your gaps. You can take internal or external courses, read books, or better yet, engage a career coach to work with you on your goals.

Going the extra mile

Performance reviews generally measure how well you delivered against your goals. To get promoted, achieving your goals is not enough. You must consistently exceed the expectations of your current role and go the extra mile. I recommend aligning with your manager at the beginning of the year to get clarity on what achieving versus exceeding goals looks like to eliminate vague interpretations or surprises. You will likely be rated on both what you achieved as well as how you went about achieving it. No one is served if you exceeded your sales quota but left a dozen dead bodies along the way and alienated co-workers or customers.

I hope that this article has helped you to “mind the gap” to your next promotion. As a professional career coach who has developed and promoted many ambitious employees, I can help you create your personal plan for success. I invite you to schedule a complimentary discovery call with me. Reach me at angela@belladonnacareercoach.com.