SOP: 3 Choices That Keep You Stuck at Director

 

Choice #1: Sell Yourself as an Executive It shouldn’t come as a surprise, but senior leaders aren’t mind readers.   If you don’t talk about your work and how it impacts the bigger picture, they won’t automatically connect the dots.   It’s not because they don’t like you—it’s because they have their own priorities to worry about. They’re not spending their days thinking: “I wonder what Maya is doing. Did she make a big impact this quarter?”   Here’s the rule of thumb: If you didn’t tell them, assume they don’t know.   That means if you do great work but don’t promote it, it’s like you never did it at all (annoying, I know).   I have a full guide on how to sell yourself here, but let me give you one simple action to help you sell yourself on autopilot.   Your Move: Start every one-on-one with your manager with a win. Instead of diving straight into updates and problems, use the first five minutes to share a success story.   It sets a positive tone for the entire meeting. It’s memorable—people remember beginnings and ends. It’s repeatable—you can do it every week and shape how you’re perceived.   Plus, it forces you to exercise your self-promotion muscle, so over time, you feel more comfortable advocating for yourself.   Stop avoiding advocacy and start selling yourself.   Choice #2: Prioritize Executive Skills If you’re anything like me, you grew up believing that being the best at your job was the key to getting ahead. And, for a while, that’s true.   But at the executive level, getting better at your job has diminishing returns.   Don’t get me wrong—you still need to excel at your work. But even top performers need to develop executive skills like strategic thinking, communication, and decision-making to succeed at higher levels.   Your Move: Pick one executive skill to focus on this quarter. Here’s an easy starting point:   Communication: Try the BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) method in your next meeting for clarity. Decision-making: If you have 70% of the information you need, make a decision. Strategic thinking: Use AI tools like ChatGPT to brainstorm and widen your options.   The goal is to start small, build new habits, and over time, develop these skills.   Stop focusing on more hours, and start investing in your executive presence.   Choice #3: Build Relationships with Decision-Makers I used to avoid networking, dismissing it as something only people with nothing to show for themselves did.   Boy, was I wrong.   Executive promotions require social proof.   It’s not enough to do a good job—you need people to vouch for you and validate that you’re the right choice for promotion.   Just like you’d prefer to buy a product with 1,000 five-star reviews, your leadership team would rather promote someone with glowing endorsements from trusted advocates.   Your Move: Think beyond your manager. Ask yourself:   Who makes promotion decisions in my company? Who’s influencing those decisions behind the scenes?   Then, start building those relationships intentionally. This doesn’t mean pitching yourself—it means listening, learning, and adding value before you ask for anything.   Stop avoiding networking and start connecting with stakeholders.   It may not feel like it, but this will be time well spent.