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Hate middle management? An executive career coach says this 5-step plan can help you land your first VP role.
Sarah Jackson
- Being a company vice president requires many skills that may not be explicitly defined.
- This can make it challenging to land a promotion from middle manager to vice president.
- Insider spoke with executive career coach Alisa Cohen about her tips for securing such a promotion.
One of the first steps in pursuing a promotion is seeing if you’re meeting and exceeding your job’s responsibilities. But this may be a more difficult task at some levels of an organization than others.
As you near the top of a company ladder, it can be trickier to gauge your performance because your job likely requires more unspoken skills that may not be clearly defined, says Alisa Cohen, a principal executive coach at Close Cohen Career Consulting, which specializes in mid-career and senior-level professionals.
“When you’re in a more junior role, you might know exactly what your next spot is,” said Cohen. “There might be a really clear path for you to get there and maybe even a job description, so you’re able to say, ‘Yes, I’m checking these boxes.’ The higher up you get, that plan becomes a little less clear.”
Insider spoke with Cohen about the concrete steps any middle manager can take to feel un-stuck in their current role. While the skills of senior management may be ill-defined, Cohen says that ambiguity can also be an asset, as it presents an opportunity for some clever job-crafting.
1. Own your development
Cohen advises to take stock of what you want to achieve and make sure your manager is aware of these goals and what you’re doing to meet them.
“Make sure people are aware of the value and impact you bring,” she said.
For example, you might ask to have a conversation about the kind of responsibilities you’d like to have in your desired role, and ask your manager what steps they see as being instrumental for taking on those added duties.
2. Branch out
Cohen encourages people to stretch the scope of their role and expand into responsibilities beyond their title that serve the larger business. Make note of instances where you’ve gone above and beyond.
“Consider what were you hired to do, what’s within your job scope, how much have you stretched outside of that and for how long,” Cohen said. “Was it just for one special project, or have you been acting in a way you believe is the next level for a long timeframe?”
3. Build relationships with stakeholders
Take a step back to examine who is influential in the organization, what these people value, and how you’re helping them advance these priorities. Be sure to let them know you see the big picture.
“Look at that stakeholder landscape and make sure you’re connecting with people at various levels of the organization,” she said. That means not just speaking with your manager, but forming relationships with your peers and your manager’s peers, too.
“Sometimes people focus so much on the relationship straight up in their org chart,” Cohen said. “But it’s really important to look across and build those relationships, especially in matrix organizations.”
4. Improve your executive presence
Communication becomes even more important toward the top — and not just what you’re saying, but how you say it and how well you listen to others.
“Listening well, then communicating with intention and making sure what you say is purposeful, demonstrating that you have an agile personality, showing composure — all of these things really help raise your visibility, build trust, and establish credibility,” Cohen said.
5. Prepare for a new level of responsibility
Get ready to be a leader on a whole new level.
“You can be under a microscope, and your communication skills can be under a microscope,” Cohen said. “It’s important to understand that everybody in the organization is looking at you as a leader. It’s about keeping that composure, having that conviction and confidence and courage, and recognizing that you are now a representative of the organization.”