Never Give Anyone a Promotion (part 3)

Here are part one and part two of this series.

In the first two parts of this series we saw that rather than give a promotion we should offer a promotion. This post is about the nuts and bolts of offering a promotion.

I’ve provided a basic outline for conducting a promotion offer meeting on the Free Resources for Managers page. You can print the outline and use it as a reference when doing your own promotions. (You’re welcome!) You might want to open it or print it now, because in this post I'll be commenting on a few aspects of the outline.

Reading the outline might make it sound like the promotion offer meeting is kind of dull. But that’s just because outlines naturally tend to have a bureaucratic tone. In reality, the meeting should be lively, engaging, and energetic.

Remember, your goal for this meeting is to do everything you can to help the promotee succeed in her new position. At the end of the meeting, she should feel energized and enthusiastic but she should also be taking the situation seriously. She should be happy to have the opportunity but also prepared for the challenges ahead of her.

Here are some comments on a few key aspects of the meeting:

Greeting. Deliver the good news as soon as possible to put the employee out of her suspense. Some managers seem to take a perverse delight in drawing out the suspense while the employee squirms, not knowing whether the news will be good or bad, but that’s no way to build a relationship of trust with a member of your leadership team. When she comes in, you give her a big smile and before she even sits down you stand up and say, "I have good news: we're offering the promotion to you!" and shake her hand. Once the congratulations are done, you can all sit down together to discuss the particulars.

Appreciation. This is a great opportunity to reinforce good behaviors and make a good employee feel recognized and appreciated. Some people find giving and getting compliments to be awkward but this meeting creates a natural excuse for being open with your praise.

Improvement. If the employee doesn’t have any performance or behavior problems you can skip this step. But think hard about it. This is a great opportunity to address the kinds of things that might not come up in a performance review.

For example, a few years ago I had an excellent employee who, in brainstorming meetings, would sometimes make a frowny face and lapse into a sort of tired and downbeat tone of voice. It looked and sounded like he was giving up on solving the problem but I suspected that he was actually just thinking deeply, and that the expression and voice were just a behavioral habit. When I offered him a promotion to supervisor I described this behavior to him and he was shocked to hear it. We agreed he could not act that way as a leader and he kicked the habit very quickly.

Risk. This part varies widely. I recall one candidate who had potential but also had a lot of learning and growing to do and who didn't seem to be taking the promotion very seriously. I ended up pointing out to her that we would fill her old job, that it was the only position of its kind in the company, that there were no other positions suitable for her in the company, and that therefore if she did not succeed in her new job she would be unemployed. It was tough medicine but it sobered her up in a hurry. She took the challenge seriously and came through with flying colors.

However, there was another employee who needed the opposite approach. We were absolutely sure he would make a great supervisor but he didn't want to leave the comfort zone of his frontline position and wanted to turn down the promotion. We ended up pointing out to him that there were plenty of positions for his frontline work and promised that if he didn’t like being a supervisor after a few months he could have his old job back. He took the promotion, loved his new work, and to this day is a very successful supervisor. He and I still laugh together about the experience.

Conclusion. Make the employee sleep on the decision. This reinforces the idea that it's an important decision that must be taken seriously. If the employee says, "I don’t need to sleep on it, I accept." Just say something like, "It’s great that you’re feeling so enthusiastic about it and I’ll bet you’ll feel the same way tomorrow morning. Let’s talk then."

I'll have more to say about the nuances of the promotion offer meeting in future posts, but that should be enough to get you started. Happy promoting!

Comments

[js]

I have only provided my initials because Reagan will know who this is. I currently work with Reagan and happen to be one in a supervisory position who did in fact tell Reagan "no" to the initial offer of the promotion. That was not easy to do, and I have to admit that I "love my job" though it is probably the hardest I've had including the 8 years served in the U.S. Navy.

I could probably write for ever about the past 5 years I have worked with Reagan. The things we have talked about a lot is that we both agree that at times we will not agree (that's okay, reasonable minds will disagree at times) we move forward and work it out. The second, Reagan is not afraid to allow me to teach him as well (Reagan is a very good teacher). The third is that Reagan has always been honest and has never "dangled" a promotion or promised anything to anyone. The most important thing he has done is to inform all of his employees and leadership staff that the great reward is great work and he never forgets great work.

[Reagan]

Thanks for the kind words, JS (and yes, I do know who you are!). I feel so fortunate to have you on my team. I've truly learned a lot from you, and it's great knowing that anytime I need a jump start of energy and enthusiasm all I need to do is spend a few minutes talking with you!