The two things you should ask for instead of a raise or a promotion

When we think about advancing in our careers—most of our set our sights on one or both of the most obvious metrics by which to measure ourselves – a raise or a promotion.  We all want more money, and absent that, our egos will settle for a bigger or better title as a consolation prize.

And yet, I can’t think of a single company who has the ability to award all of its top talent with the raises or promotions you (rightly) deserve. A senior exec at a global retail powerhouse recently told me (off the record) it would take 13 years to promote all of her high potential talent currently on hand. 13 years.

Here’s a better strategy.  Instead of agonizing over how and when to ask for that raise or promotion– change course. Try a different tactic. Zig or zag, and instead, ask for an opportunity to:

a)    Learn Something New; or

b)   Excel at Something You’re Great at

Two huge benefits behind the strategy above:

1.    Your boss will say yes

2.    You’re way more likely to get that promotion or raise AFTER you’ve impressed your manager with success on either a or b above

Learn Something New

One of the lessons I learned early on in corporate America was that no one was ever going to care more about my career than I did. After a string of crappy assignments and mediocre deal teams on Wall Street, I decided that I couldn’t sit back and passively accept the work that was coming my way. I needed to be proactive and ask for the type of projects and assignments that could potentially propel my career and pave the way to promotion.

And yet, marching into my manager’s office and demanding more exciting, high-profile or challenging work wasn’t going to fly either. So, I created what I lovingly today refer to as my Personal Dashboard.   It looks like this:

PERSONAL DASHBOARD

Current Work

What I’m working on now

Who I’m working with

Wish List

What I want to work on going forward

Who I want to work with

I used my dashboard as a guide to have conversations with my manager every couple of months. I asked for opportunities where I could maximize both my learning and my impact to the firm.  I was basically doing my managers’ job for him—making it easy for him to greenlight projects for me where I’d grow, challenge myself, and (often) maximize my impact to the firm.  I didn’t always get a yes right away. But more often than not, I got a yes eventually—certainly faster than that raise or promotion coming my way.

My ask also did this: it messaged to my manager that I was strategic and that I was hungry— hungry to grow and learn and stretch. And I was willing to do the work, put in the time, push myself outside of my comfort zone. All the characteristics your manager is looking for when she’s thinking about handing out raises and promotions.

Excel at Something You’re (Already) Great at

Wall Street was a real ask kick for me. Merger math isn’t really my thing—and though I could muddle my way through a 10K and do the financial analysis—it didn’t come easy to me.  Painful is a better word.

One day I heard that the Co-Head of Investment Banking was looking for a junior staffer to help write a few speeches for a series of conferences he was headlining.   I went to my manager and raised my hand. He looked at me like I was crazy—"you’re here to do deals,” he said. “Don’t even think about it—it’s career suicide.”

But here’s what I knew that he didn’t—I’m a great writer. Certainly, a better writer than financial model builder.   And I knew I could wow this guy.  Worse things could happen, right, then impressing someone hugely senior and influential at your organization? I ditched the advice, raised my hand, and became the right hand (wo)man for this VIP, the Co-Head of Banking. 

And guess what—it was a brilliant career move. The VIP sang my praises to my team, to my manager—and shared informal career-advice that helped me grow more confident in my role. When I was ultimately promoted to VP a few years later, I often thought of that move as pivotal in getting me from the lowly rank of associate to becoming an officer of the firm.  

* * * * * *

Go ahead and show off your initiative, your determination, your continuous desire to learn. Ask for opportunities to grow and stretch on a regular basis so that you become known as that strategic team player who’s always looking to up his or her game.

And at the same time, create opportunities for yourself to shine and excel. If you don’t have anything on your plate right now that you are absolutely crushing—than you’re putting yourself in real danger—of not being seen, recognized, compensated.

The fastest path to a raise or a promotion? It’s the one that you create – stealthily and steadily – by asking for opportunities no one will want to say no to.