The Promotion Nobody Will Commit To
Somewhere between being told you have potential and being given a title, there is a 'holding pattern'. It sounds like this for some leaders.
My executive says I'm ready for the next level. They just can't tell me when I will get there.
Readiness is an assessment of you, the leader, of course.
But getting to the next level, is an event that depends on multiple parameters that includes:
your capability
a vacant position
approved budget and
someone willing to argue for you in a room you're not in.
Your executive definitely has a say on the readiness, that does not guarantee the actual elevation.
This is why the conversation feels both affirming (of your readiness) and useless (for the actual promotion.)
What can help you become better informed is to explore more on
What has to be true in the business for the promotion to happen?
When is a probable timeline for the position to be created/ become available?
Who else needs to be convinced? What do you need to do to become visible to them?
What could be the objection for you as the choice? What can you do about it?
Finally, what would you want to do with the answers you get through the above exploration?
Some of what you learn through these questions will be fixable.
Some of it will be structural.
Waiting for the fixable kind is reasonable.
Waiting indefinitely for the structural kind is also a choice, just one most leaders make by default rather than on purpose.
The exploration will not get you a date. It will get you enough information to stop waiting blindly and start deciding.
