How to get promoted to Manager: four takeaways

Do you want to get promoted to Manager but not sure where to start, how to prove your worth, or what skills you might need?

We hosted a webinar with marketing and business development experts from the UK’s professional services sectors on how to get promoted to Manager. You can still watch the replay.

We were joined by:

• Charlotte Sansom, Associate Director, PR & Communications EMEA at Dechert LLP
• Giles Daubeney, Global Head of Client Service & Insight at Bird & Bird
• Rebecca Walton, Head of Marketing at GPE

Here are our four key takeaways on how to get promoted to Manager:

1. Make sure you’re excelling in your current role

All of our panellists agreed they won’t consider promoting someone if they’re not already excelling in their current role. To be promoted, you need to gain the confidence and trust of your boss and other stakeholders – and you can do this by doing your job brilliantly and consistently.

“As long as you’re working hard to improve and succeed, your stakeholders will see you as a high performer.”

Nailing your current job might include keeping to deadlines, going above and beyond the brief and volunteering yourself for tasks with responsibility that might not already be in your remit. But a key element is communication: show your manager and other senior stakeholders you’ve got things under control by keeping them updated on your progress. If you come across a hurdle, let them know there’s a delay and what you’re doing to fix it.

If you feel you’re better at some skills than others, focus on developing those that you’re not so confident with. Ask your manager and team for feedback around your skills so you can see where you can improve. Don’t be disheartened when something doesn’t go right as no one’s perfect; as long as you’re working hard to improve and succeed, your stakeholders will see you as a high performer.

2. Start stepping up as a Manager as soon as possible

One of the main changes you’ll experience when becoming a Manager is taking on more accountability. As an Executive or Senior Executive, you may have been given flexibility and freedom in your work but ultimately the responsibility has been on the shoulders of your manager or someone else.

Becoming a Manager means becoming responsible for the end-to-end process of executing and delivering marketing or business development activities, as well as advising senior stakeholders. Your manager will need to know you can build and deliver full plans independently, when previously you’ve probably only been responsible for particular elements of those plans.

“You can be a leader at any stage in your career if you’re able to motivate and influence others in your team.”

All of our panellists again agreed they’ll only promote someone if that professional can prove they’ve been successfully operating at Manager level for a reasonable length of time. So how can you do this?

• Think about why you want to become a Manager. Do you want to be a generalist or specialist? Is there a firm, market or country that you want to work in? Consider the skills and experience you’ll need to get there
• Go out of your way to showcase your strategic abilities by bringing ideas to the table and contributing towards the direction of the business
• Show your leadership skills. You can be a leader at any stage in your career if you’re able to motivate and influence others in your team towards achieving a shared goal. Leadership also involves being a role model for junior members of your team. Take note of the styles of leaders you’ve worked with so you can decide what kind of leader you want to be
• Build trust with your senior stakeholders and the rest of your team. This is the only way you’ll be given opportunities to progress as you need people who have confidence that you’re right for the job

It’s worth noting that not all Managers, particularly in professional services sectors, are required to manage people. If you prefer autonomy and would like to drive strategic decisions, you might prefer the idea of managing a certain area rather than a person or team. But this will involve working closely with a variety of stakeholders and parties, so you’ll still need to prove you can do this effectively.

“While everyone’s personality is unique, there are ways you can understand the characteristics and behaviours of your stakeholders so that you can anticipate their needs.”

Tell your manager and HR team (depending on your firm’s processes) that you’re working towards being promoted to Manager and you can plot your path together. It’s important you can showcase and evidence how you’ve been stepping up, so note down examples and results as you go.

3. Understand your senior stakeholders’ personality types

One of the core elements of marketing and business development is thinking about how to deliver messages to stakeholders and customers in the most effective way.

While everyone’s personality is unique, there are ways you can understand the characteristics and behaviours of your stakeholders so that you can anticipate their needs. Partners in professional services firms are incredibly busy, so you’ll need to discover how they prefer to work with you. You might also work with several Partners who have different practice areas, but all need the same level of support from you.

A firm you’ve worked with may have invested in people development and skills by providing psychometric tests – such as DISC, Myers Briggs, colour insights and more – to help you understand yourself and others around you. If you haven’t taken part in this at work, you can take part in online tests yourself such as 16Personalities.

“To progress in any role in your career, you’ll need to embrace continuous learning.”

For example, you might have come across Partners at your firm who have “red” (or “D”) personalities: they have strong opinions and want short, sharp answers and solutions. You might find they appreciate when you only put 15 minutes in their diary instead of 30, and when you give the main overview of what they need to know rather than heavy detail. However you recognise their personalities, you can adapt your working style with them to build a lasting relationship.

These tests also help you understand yourself and how you work best. If for example you’re a “yellow” (or “I”) who thinks on the spot and out of the box but you’re working with an analytical and detail-orientated “blue” (“C”), you can approach the task or project in a way that helps both of you succeed and achieve the best results.

4. Stay up to date with trends, knowledge and opportunities

To progress in any role in your career, you’ll need to embrace continuous learning. Our panellists talked through the myriad ways you can do this, including:

• Training within your firm: Your employer may already offer internal and/or LinkedIn training modules to help you develop your skills. These might include specific marketing or business development skills, or softer skills like leadership and communication
• Networking: All our panellists agreed they wouldn’t be where they are in their careers if it weren’t for networking. This could involve attending industry events or simply staying in touch with previous colleagues, suppliers and other people you’ve met throughout your career so far. Start networking as early in your career as you can, be curious, and ask questions so you can learn from others
• Memberships: Becoming a member of a community (such as the PM Forum, Chartered Institute of Marketing or The Marketing Meetup) introduces you to a network of peers across different sectors and roles. You can approach them for help and support, then take that best practice back to your firm
• Mentorship: Having a mentor for guidance can be incredibly beneficial for your career. We can help you find the right mentor through our candidate and employer network

A huge thank you to our panellists for joining us for this insightful webinar. You can still watch the replay. Get in touch with us today to discuss this webinar or your career in general.