There exists a pervasive myth among tech professionals: the belief that “everyone understands the significance of my work.” It’s a common assumption that the importance of our tasks is self-evident. Surely, others are aware that you were the mastermind behind the intricate architecture of that complex software system, or that you single-handedly manage those critical cloud instances—right? Such work is indispensable, after all!
Regrettably, this assumption is erroneous. While you are cognizant of the nature and significance of your work, others are not. In reality, if you were to inquire, you might be astonished to discover that their perception of your contributions is vastly different—so much so that you might question if they even comprehend what your job entails.
This phenomenon is known as the Spotlight Effect, a psychological occurrence where individuals believe they are noticed more than they actually are. Empirical research has demonstrated that it is exceedingly common to grossly overestimate your impact on others.
An Uncomfortable Truth: If They Don’t Know, It Didn’t Happen
If nobody knows you did that cool thing that helped the business, for all intents and purposes, it was a non-event. It’s like the old adage, “If a tree falls in the forest, and no one is around to hear it, does it still make a noise?”
This has some pretty serious implications, not just for your promotability, but also for your job stability and long-term career potential. If people don’t know you’re doing work because it’s not automatically communicated, then in their eyes, you’re actually not doing work!
This is pretty scary when you think about it, because nobody wants to be thought of as a slacker—especially when they’re actually doing a lot of valuable things!
So what’s the solution? You’ve got to make the noise for the tree, so to speak.
Your Value Needs to Actually Be Communicated (Spoiler: By You!)
Let’s write that header out, again, because it’s really important: Your value needs to actually be communicated by you! Now, when I say “communicated”, I don’t mean just telling people you do things. Chances are, you’re already telling people what you do all the time — in your stand-up meetings, in your one-on-ones, and so on.
Communication isn’t the same as telling; communication is about being understood. And to be able to do that effectively, you need to understand your audience and what they need to hear.
When it comes to the question of getting a promotion, your audience is your boss. And you can’t just tell them what you’ve done, either. For your boss to actually “get it”, you need to give them more than just some facts about events. Those are good, but not enough.
Why Your Boss Needs to Understand Your Value, Not Just Hear It
“Managing up” has a negative connotation, but it’s actually a very useful skill to have. Your boss, firstly, is not you! (Spoiler alert! … Well, unless you’re self-employed, I guess, but then feel free to promote yourself anytime!) By virtue of their position, your boss has a different way of thinking about business priorities and justifying what they do against them. One thing, in particular, is that they need to communicate their team’s value to their bosses—and they can’t communicate value they don’t understand.
In some rare instances, you might get them to speak the words you’ve spoken upwards—but unless they’ve really understood your words in their brain, what they parrot is almost certainly not going to get through. And let’s be honest, it’s unlikely a manager is going to read out word-for-word your declaration of your value to their boss, anyway. To fix this problem, you need to understand what your boss is looking at to determine value, and how they can communicate value to their boss.
Again, a lot of technologists really hate that selling themselves is even part of the job function—like it’s wrong having to justify the job they do and demonstrate value. They think that people around them should just know and be able to tell… just “because.” But again, people don’t know, and they can’t read your mind (which is probably a good thing, though, right?) to find out
How To Sell Your Value for Your Promotion Interview
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for since the article began: the “how” of actually selling yourself to management, so you can snag that juicy promotion.
1. Tell them how your actions have had a concrete impact
Communicate to your manager how your achievements align with the company’s priorities. Focus on the impact you’ve made, whether it’s quantitative—like, ‘The feature I added increased customer satisfaction by X%’—or qualitative, such as sharing a positive customer testimonial. When you show how your work directly contributes to customer satisfaction, it highlights your value, demonstrating that happy customers lead to increased sales and business success.
2. Find out what accomplishments would amaze them by asking the right questions
To secure that promotion, it’s crucial to go above and beyond—but make sure you’re focusing your efforts where they count. The best way to ensure you’re on the right track? Ask. Clarify what’s expected of you and how you can exceed those expectations—then deliver with confidence!
While it’s important to look ahead and understand what’s needed, you also need to reflect on your past performance. Actively seek feedback from your boss, especially constructive criticism. Don’t just wait for it—ask for it! Many bosses might hesitate to give negative feedback due to discomfort, time constraints, or uncertainty about how it will be received. Take the initiative to invite this feedback.
Ignoring negative feedback can limit your growth potential, as it often highlights the areas holding you back from that promotion you’re aiming for.
Let them know how your upskilling has played a part in this
Bosses appreciate employees who are always upskilling because it shows they’ve hired someone proactive, who stays current with the latest technology trends, and can contribute to informed business decisions. However, it’s essential to communicate this value.
Keep your boss informed about what you’ve learned recently and, as mentioned earlier, how it’s made an impact. This impact doesn’t have to be customer-facing; it could be internal. For example, ‘Learning about Amazon Athena helped us explore query service options. Although we didn’t adopt it, it reassured us that we’re on the right track, saving us time.’ Alternatively, if you did implement something you learned and it improved the business, highlight that too! Always link your learning to business value.
4. Your 1-on-1 meetings are a huge promotion opportunity
Imagine you’re about to start a TV show, but you find out that the first nineteen episodes are boring and only the final one is worth watching. Would you still watch it? Probably not, right? Now, think of your career in the same way—don’t let your value to the business be a dull, slow build-up with a last-minute payoff. Your story needs to stay engaging from start to finish.
If your 1-on-1 meetings with your boss are just routine status updates, you’re missing a huge opportunity to drive your path to a promotion. Yes, you need to keep your boss informed, but how you do that is crucial.
Imagine telling a story like this: “Once upon a time, a hero fought a villain, won, and lived happily ever after. The end.” Pretty bland, right? Now, think about your work updates. If you don’t add depth to the challenges you face in your job, your story becomes just as dull and forgettable. Whether you’re battling a technical dragon, a SEV 1 incident, or a Reddit traffic surge, your updates need to clearly show 1) why it mattered to the business and 2) how your actions made a real difference.
And don’t forget, preventing issues is just as important as solving them. For example, if your serverless architecture effortlessly handled that Reddit surge, make sure your boss knows that, too.
Every 1:1 meeting is another episode in the story of you—the hero on your way to a promotion. Not every episode needs to be a blockbuster; some might end on a cliffhanger or even show a setback that leads to growth. But by building your narrative continuously, you ensure that when the promotion discussion finally happens, it’s just the satisfying season finale to a story your boss has been invested in all along.
Remember, these meetings are also key opportunities to gather feedback and understand where you stand. Just like in a great TV show, character development is crucial. If you’re not growing and evolving, your story could get canceled before it reaches the next season.
Conclusion: Communicate Your Value Consciously and Constantly
Don’t leave your value as something up to other people to decide. Be the author of your own story and seize the narrative before the promotion interview even comes up. Whether you like it or not, you need to sell yourself. Otherwise, you’re really leaving yourself in the hands of lady luck with how things are going to go.
