EMPLOYEE promotions are not just about putting in time or being good at your job.
They are about proving that you can handle more — more responsibility, bigger challenges and greater influence.
The best organisations do not promote employees based on tenure or subject matter skillsets only, they look for individuals who exhibit leadership potential and developing key capabilities that prepare them for the next level of responsibilities.
That means, employees should excel in four critical pillars: Complexity, Autonomy, Scope and Influence (CASI).
Complexity — The ability to handle difficult and high impact tasks.
Employees, who are experienced and eager to learn and discover new levels of engagement, feel motivated when they solve a difficult problem at work.
Usually such workers fall under theory Y of Macgregor.
Employees who thrive on complexity can handle higher level responsibilities and unexpected challenges.
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These types of employees tend to demonstrate strategic, visionary thinking and a capacity to see the bigger picture.
Management must play a supporting role for such employees as they want to continuously upgrade themselves through leadership training courses, so they can reach their full potential.
They can offer stretch assignments through projects that will require them to collaborate across multiple departments or business functions.
These assignments push them to think critically, collaborate effectively, and develop strategic problem-solving skills.
Employees are presented with case studies or real world business challenges and leadership observes how they analyse situations, propose solutions and make decisions under the crucible.
This helps the leadership see how the employee navigates obstacles.
Targeted coaching is provided when gaps in execution are identified.
Autonomy — the ability to work independently and take ownership.
Great leaders do not wait to be directed on what to do; they see a gap in the business, act on it and take accountability of the outcomes.
Autonomous employees are driven, proactive and take responsibility for their work.
Most of the time autonomous employees take ownership of projects that are critical to the business.
They plan on how to carry out a project and allocate resources needed to accomplish a task.
Autonomy thrives in an ecosystem where employees have psychological safety to make decisions, are encouraged to take the initiative, and given the runway to lead and learn.
To cultivate autonomy in employees; organisations will have to empower the employees with some level of decision making by giving employees real authority over decisions in their projects.
Encourage them to make key decisions and learn from outcomes.
This has some benefits to employees as they will feel ownership of the project consequently they would feel trusted and motivated.
Scope — The ability to see beyond the task or project, and align them to the overall business strategy.
Employees with great scope tend to understand and manage interdependencies across various businesses and are able to connect to the organisational goals, and impacts to other business functions.
Employees need to understand the production flow and all stages of production so as to have full appreciation of how a product is produced.
An employee with good scope does not just execute; they think strategically, thus making them viable candidates for leadership roles.
To expand an employee’s scope within the organisation, a leader might expose the employee cross-functionally job shadowing or rotating the employee around the business through temporary gig assignments in different roles and areas of the business.
Job rotation plays an instrumental role in employees as it helps in broadening their collaborative skills and shifts their school of thought from tactical to strategic.
Another way of growing scope is by engaging in strategic thinking exercises that encourage employees to articulate how various projects align with broader organisational goals.
This enables an employee to elevate their thinking, connect the dots, and make business decisions.
Influence — The ability to inspire, persuade, motivate and guide peers, regardless of official titles.
This is the power to inspire and lead.
Influence is critical in fostering collaboration and achieving results in team settings.
Effective leaders have the ability to build trust and drive change through persuasion rather than command.
Effective leaders do not rely on their titles to get things done; instead, they inspire, persuade and rally the troops towards a shared vision.
Employees who exhibit strong traits of influence are natural leaders, with the fortitude of guiding teams and fostering collaboration, and driving change, way before they officially have the title.
Employees with influence are the most promotion ready because they communicate effectively, have the trust of others and tend to navigate workplace dynamics with ease.
Influence is not an innate talent; it’s a skill that can be developed.
Mentorship and leadership opportunities help to cultivate influence in employees.
High potential employees get an opportunity to mentor their peers or lead small teams.
The opportunity to guide others helps strengthen their leadership skills and builds their ability to support and inspire their colleagues.
Employees who master the art of influence elevate those around them.
The key to job promotion lies in mastering Complexity, Autonomy, Scope and Influence (CASI) — the four pillars that separate high performers and true leaders.
Those who navigate challenges with confidence, take ownership of their work, visualise beyond their role, and inspire others, are the ones who earn their seat at the decision makers’ table.
- Innocent Hadebe is a United States based certified John Maxwell Leadership business coach and mentor. His organisation, Innocent Leadership Group, capacitates upcoming entrepreneurs with the requisite skills to run their businesses.
