06 May
Please Note: This Article is Part of the Series “The Climb: A Real-World, Comprehensive Guide to Workplace Success for Ambitious Young Professionals.” The series is designed to be read from the beginning, as the concepts build on themselves throughout the series
Part I: Before You Read
Part II: Understanding Yourself
Part III: Understanding Your Timing
This is where it all comes together. To this point, we have discussed
- How to read desires from someone’s identity
- How to observe interactions, and how these define the situation
- How leverage and exposure work
- How to be LIKED or OTHERED at will
- The power of real conversations
- How to talk to and analyze your boss
A proper blend of these skills is what grants you the ability to move ahead.
We have a few more topics to cover before we dive into a start-to-finish case study that will allow you to see how these topics come together to form the upward path. Since we have extensively covered the theory behind the day-to-day interactions that create the situation, these last topics will differ in tone from the previous discussion, serving as brief tactical digressions and final considerations related to the progression of your quest for the top.
Checkers vs. Chess - A Primer
One thing in particular you need to be very careful of is how you play the game. There are two ways that you will see your fellow Climbers’ strategies play out in real time:
- They consolidate and use leverage in the moment, and respond to use of leverage against them in kind. These plays are rather easy to see, and their strategies are easily revealed in a simple narrative. This will be considered playing “checkers”
- They make seemingly disconnected uses of leverage and exposure that nearly paints them as Unaware. Their plays are a mixture of obvious and covert and require complex narratives to reveal the underlying strategies. This will be considered playing “chess”
If you have a basic understanding of the actual game of chess, you know that the winner is usually the one who can plan his strategy many moves ahead. The knowledge of who is on offense and who is on defense is vague, as any particular move could be both offensive and/or defensive in various degrees. Compare this to checkers, where moves are made in response to other moves in a tic-for-tat style volley of offensive and defensive roles.
The chess game has further complexity when we take into account the different “types” of moves that can be used. Each piece has a relative value on the field. Some pieces can be easily taken for convenience, some are set up a great deal in advance, some pieces are set up to act as bait for other high-value pieces. The methodology behind which a chess player structures his use of leverage and exposure is exactly the same. While all checkers plays are either a simple “get leverage” or “limit exposure”, chess plays are significantly more nuanced. It is not uncommon for many of the chess player’s moves to simply be parts of a multistep process.
Another attribute of the chess game is that it is much more covert. While the plays that are made in a game of checkers are easily observed by anybody who is paying attention, the game of chess is only really understood by those who are as good at or better at the game that the person making the moves. In a corporate setting, the game is rarely played in a 1-on-1 capacity. It’s a free-for-all. The more people who are aware of your moves, the more people can design a counter-strategy to combat them. With enough foresight and time, a chess game can be designed so well that little-to-no overt use of leverage is even necessary. Of course, you must also remember that every Climber you “let in on” your strategy is another potential betrayal.
You want to be a chess player. There is really no other way. In the same way that the Unaware and Standbys are rarely seen above an entry-level manager position, checkers players tend to diminish rapidly as you move into the landscape of directors and other executives. To put things in perspective: the company is staying in business because the C-suite is playing chess against their competitors, using the marketplace as their own “informal hierarchy”.
In my own corporate strategies, I viewed checkers-playing Climbers as nearly identical to the Unaware. Their plays are so easy to spot and avoid that I hardly bother myself with giving them further observation. The only real concern a chess player faces from a checkers player is retaliation against the use of leverage that interferes with future plans.
The King’s Paradigm
Do you want to orchestrate, or do you want to be a lone warrior?
See, there is an interesting paradigm that arises as you increase your skills as a chess player. At a certain point, the road “splits”. In observing the situation, you realize that there are only two ways to ascend to the very top of the informal hierarchy
- You form alliances with anyone that would be considered a threat to you, and you guide this group to make plays for the benefit of the group. Since this group is at the top of the informal hierarchy, and you are the leader of this group, you are now at the very top of the informal hierarchy. – This is the Orchestrater
- You form an immensely sophisticated and resilient strategy that nobody else can figure out. Since nobody can figure out your strategy and it was designed to be robust, nobody can affect it in a way that makes an appreciable difference to your designed outcome. You arrive at the very top of the informal hierarchy through the successful implementation of your design. – This is the Lone Warrior
What makes this decision such a challenge is that both are equally strong, and they balance each other well.
- The only person who can remove the Orchestrator from the top is the Lone Warrior
- If the Lone Warrior is figured out at any point, he is faced with the attacks of the entire group of the Orchestrator, which he is not likely to come back from
- Orchestration is less mentally taxing than being the Lone Warrior, but the Orchestrator is exponentially more exposed (to the greatest players in their peer group, as well).
- The Orchestrator has more real connections with their coworkers, which might make it more difficult to leave a company where upward progression is currently not possible for them.
- The Orchestrator is expected to aid those in their group, and also receives aid from the group. The Lone Warrior rarely gives or receives aid unless it is part of their plan.
The ideal situation is to enter as a Lone Warrior, usurp the current Orchestrator, and become the new Orchestrator. In reality, the bonds that people have formed with the previous Orchestrator in this scenario are not likely easily broken. A Lone Warrior looking to transform to an Orchestrator will need to form his new group from scratch (the formation of which should probably be part of the Lone Warrior’s plan to begin with).
There is another thing to keep in mind here as well. The Orchestrator role when viewed by higher-ups screams “future manager” but also screams “people-pleaser” if not properly managed. The Lone Warrior role screams “future executive” but also screams “potential sociopath” if not properly managed.
It is up to you to decide which of these roles you want to take on in your quest for the top. Those who are at the top usually get promoted away pretty quickly, so it isn’t unreasonable to be able to climb to the Orchestrator position quickly without going for the grand usurp as a Lone Warrior. On the other hand, the Lone Warrior path allows you to stay detached and level-headed while making your plays, and allows for that grand usurp: a swift, blindsiding power grab that completely reorganizes the informal power hierarchy with you in command at the optimal possible moment (pulling this off is a truly ego satisfying experience in the nastiest of ways). It also allows you to easily maneuver situations without the need for approval/communication from others. Most people who get to this point of mastery end up trying both out and figuring out which they like better. In the end, it’s your call.
Making the Ask
Let’s talk about actually asking for a promotion. Companies typically provide two different schemes for granting promotions:
- Promotion Cycles: All promotions happen at a set time period 1-4 times a year.
- Ad-Hoc Promotions: Promotions happen on a free form basis
In the Promotion Cycle scheme, your goal is to be at or near the top of the informal hierarchy amongst your peers in the time leading up to the promotion cycle. Many companies force their employees to have a minimum required time at a given level before they allow for this promotion. While in some cases this rule can be circumvented, it is usually not worth the risk or effort to pursue that route. Instead, time your chess game such that you begin to naturally stand out amongst the pack when it comes time for an eligible promotion cycle.
It is usually in your best interest to let your boss know that you will be pursuing a promotion with at least 1 quarter of notice (3 months). This is not a situation where you “ask”, this is a situation where you make them aware of your pursuit and allow them to observe. This will alert them to pay closer attention to your actions as you enact your plan to move up in the informal hierarchy.
Keep in mind that due to the nature of a promotion cycle-oriented company, the competition will be fierce. Others will also be enacting their plans, gunning for promotions. Depending on the company culture (which tends to be pretty cutthroat in organizations that use promotion cycles), there will be little trust amongst your peers in this time period and alliances will be tested significantly. It is in your best interest to acquire as much leverage as possible amongst the Climbers and Unaware to exert your control over the situation.
The most convoluted social dynamics will occur in the 2 weeks leading up to the promotion decisions, especially if significant deadlines are involved. You will need to keep your observational skills sharp and be especially aware of your position in regards to leverage and exposure. It is not uncommon to see situations arise in the informal hierarchy that are downright ridiculous. It will be in your best interest to let others “take the stage” in the time leading up to these 2 weeks such that they can become the targets of the most vicious plays. With nobody paying attention to you, you will be able to avoid last-minute exposure and secure a place in the promotion circle.
This is the type of promotion cycle that will be explored in our case study.
In the Ad-Hoc promotion scheme, positioning on the informal hierarchy is considered along with tenure in the position. While there may or may not be a minimum time at a level for this promotional scheme, greater favor is normally given to those who have been with the company for a longer period of time. It takes a significantly higher position on the informal hierarchy to outrank those with greater tenure, even if they are Unaware or a Standby.
Contrary to the promotion cycle scheme, since an Ad-Hoc promotion can happen at any time there is relatively low competition. In fact, in many instances, the mere fact that an employee occupies the position of a Climber may be enough to grant them the promotion. While the Promotion cycle scheme requires that an employee is above a certain % of their peers at the point of promotion, Ad-Hoc promotions simply require that an employee has reached a certain “height” in the informal hierarchy.
In this scheme, it is the ask itself that serves as the crux of the situation. You must tailor your interaction with your boss at the point of the ask to be one of both respect and confidence. The subtext of the ask should be akin to “I believe I have earned a promotion. If you think I’m wrong, please let me know what I should work on, otherwise, there is no apparent reason I should not be promoted.” To give yourself the greatest chance of success, you want to wait until you hear a few comments from your boss that let you know he is at least considering the idea.
- “You’ve really mastered your current skill set.”
- “You are very organized with your work, it almost seems like it’s no problem.”
Anything that even vaguely seems like a subtle hint toward promotion should serve as your green light to move forward with it. The pressure will be relieved from the ask if you set your ask in the near future. (i.e: “At the end of this project/client/milestone, I believe I’ll be ready to start taking on higher-level responsibilities.)
One last tip: Don’t use the word “promotion” when asking for a promotion. Always say something like “looking for higher-level responsibilities” or “looking to elevate my position to further hone my skills”. You want to paint the picture of your promotion as the logical next step, a mutually beneficial arrangement between you and the company.
Now that we are finished with all that…
Would you like to see the Case Study?
- As the Case Study has potentially sensitive information about my previous work history, I have made it available only through email download. Please click the link below and enter your information in order to receive a detailed recount of the tactics I used to quickly propel myself up the corporate ladder.
