How to Become the Obvious Choice for VP in the Next 90 Days

 

 

The 90 Day Plan to Become the Obvious Choice for VP Most people think becoming VP-ready takes years. It doesn't have to. What takes years is doing great work while waiting for someone else to notice.   If I had 90 days to shift how senior leaders saw me, here is the exact action plan I would follow.   Step 1: The VP Mirror Before you do anything else, you need to stop guessing how you're perceived.   At senior levels, promotions are less about output and more about risk. Executives ask themselves whether promoting you feels safe, predictable, and aligned with the business.   The VP Mirror forces you to see yourself the way decision-makers see you, not the way your performance reviews read.   Run The Perception Audit Answer yes or no: Do I know who actually influences VP promotion decisions in my organization? Do I know what those people care about at the VP level? Can I clearly articulate how they currently describe me in one sentence? Does that description emphasize strategy, judgment, and outcomes, or execution and effort? If a VP role opened tomorrow, would they say "ready now" or "strong potential"?   If you answered "no" more than twice, you're not behind. You're operating without a mirror.   That's the fastest way to work hard and stay stuck.   Your Action: Write down: The 3-5 people who shape VP decisions What you believe each one would say about you today What you need them to say about you to be seen as ready   This becomes the baseline for everything else.   Step 2: The One-and-Done Visibility Plan Once people realize there's a perception gap, they usually jump straight to "I need more visibility" and try to be everywhere. That's a recipe for burnout.   Visibility is not about being louder or busier. It's about sending the right signal, consistently, at the right altitude with the right people.   Senior leaders don't notice who is everywhere. They notice who shows up talking about decisions, tradeoffs, and outcomes.   That's why I teach a one-signal-per-week visibility plan.   You invest your time in one action that gives you the right kind of exposure and doesn't burn you out.   What counts as a real visibility signal? A visibility signal answers one question for senior leaders: "Can I already imagine this person operating at the VP level?"   Examples: Presenting a recommendation instead of a status update Leading a cross-functional discussion tied to a business priority Reframing a problem leadership is already debating Sharing an executive update that answers questions before they are asked    Same work. Different altitude.   What doesn't work Speaking more without changing the substance Volunteering for extra work that stays invisible Being busy in the wrong rooms   Your Action: Plan the next four weeks of visibility. For each week, write: Where will I be visible? (email, meeting, 1:1, Slack) Who will see this? (manager, skip level, leadership team, cross-functional leaders) What do they need to see? (decision-making, strategy, business impact, influence)   This is what strategic visibility is all about.   Specific and targeted action that puts you in front of the right people and creates the right perception.   Inside my program we provide a quarterly visibility plan with weekly action items so you never have to wonder, "Am I doing enough?"   Step 3: The Sponsor Matrix Senior promotions are a team sport. They happen when someone senior is willing to bet on you.   Mentors advise. Supporters encourage. Sponsors advocate when you're not in the room.   Sponsorship does not come from coffee chats or long relationships alone. You may have a standing one-on-one with your cross-functional SVP, but that doesn't mean they'll go to bat for you. Sponsorship comes from shared wins at the right altitude, with the right stakeholders.   Identify Your Sponsor Matrix You don't need to be everyone's best friend. In fact, you probably shouldn't. What you need is to identify the three stakeholders beyond your manager who matter most for your promotion.   That list usually includes: Your skip level Senior leadership team members C-suite leaders Occasionally board members in smaller companies   Then ask: What do they care about right now? How does my work make their priorities easier to achieve? Where could a shared win naturally exist?   Your Action: Choose one person from your Sponsor Matrix and get on their calendar in the next 30 days with a value-led agenda.   Less "Let's catch up." More "Here's how this initiative can help move one of your priorities forward."   Step 4: The Reputation Ladder As you grow, your reputation must move up the ladder.   Most high performers are described like this: She gets things done. He's reliable. They execute really well.   That's not wrong. It's just not senior enough.   At the VP level, reputation sounds different: She's highly strategic. He can handle ambiguity. They make strong decisions under pressure.   The Reputation Ladder is about intentionally moving your narrative to the next rung. It's how you shape how people see you instead of letting them make their own assumptions.   A great example of executive narrative done well is the 60-second executive introduction formula.   It's how you go from: "Hey, I'm Maya, Director of Marketing at ACME."   To: "Hey, I'm Maya, Director of Marketing at ACME. My team and I are focused on aligning marketing and sales to accelerate revenue growth. Over the last eight months we've completely overhauled our positioning, a $1M initiative that's already helped us land two new logos with three more in the pipeline."   Same role. Very different signal.   Your Action: Write two short paragraphs: Paragraph 1: How you're typically described today Paragraph 2: How a VP-ready leader should be described   That gap shows you exactly what needs to change.   Step 5: The Promotion Case You won't see this listed as a requirement anywhere, but a promotion business case is non-negotiable. If you don't make the case for your promotion, no one else will do it for you.   A Promotion Case is not: A resume A performance review A list of past accomplishments   It is a future-focused argument for why the business benefits from you operating at the next level.   A strong Promotion Case answers: What scope am I already operating at? What problems do I own beyond my role? What decisions do I influence? What outcomes have changed because of my leadership? What additional value could I unlock at the next level?   This is not something you send cold. It's something you use to anchor conversations with your manager and sponsors.   Your Action: Start a win bank to track your scope, impact, and influence. Ask yourself: If I was promoted today, what would I do differently?   The answer is the beginning of your future-focused plan.   The 90-Day Execution Plan Here's how this actually turns into action.   Days 1-30 Complete the VP Mirror perception audit Draft your current vs. desired Reputation Ladder Identify your Sponsor Matrix   Days 31-60 Build and execute your One-and-Done Visibility Plan weekly Start creating shared wins with at least one sponsor Refine your executive narrative    Days 61-90 Synthesize everything into a Promotion Case Align with your manager on readiness and timing Strengthen advocacy behind the scenes   Copy-Paste Checklist: Are You VP-Ready?  I've completed a VP Mirror perception audit  I know who influences VP decisions and how I'm perceived  I have a 4-week visibility plan  I've defined my Sponsor Matrix  I've drafted my Reputation Ladder narrative  I've started a future-focused Promotion Case