Mind the Gap

It should come as no surprise that managers talk about their teams with one another: who’s high-maintenance and who’s easy, who’s performing well and who’s not, and who’s adding positive energy to the team and who’s a cancer. I say it should come as no surprise, because team members have similar conversations. What might surprise you are the conversations we have about people we know need to be promoted. Often, these conversations begin with a manager discussing their own team members, but plenty of conversations are started by managers who recognize the value of individuals on other teams. We want to see effort and value rewarded.

If you’ve struggled to advance from a junior position to a senior one, or from individual contributor to management, the question you might be asking is, “How can I become that person management wants to promote?”

In short: mind the gap.

A gap, as you already know, is the space between two things. In the case of the London Underground – where the term “Mind the Gap” originated – it’s the space between the landing and the train car. In business it could be the gap between your experience and what’s required for the next level, the amount of work left undone, opportunities that are missed, or the knowledge and experience that is lacking in the organization. Or, to put it another way, it’s what you’re lacking (internal gaps) or what the organization is lacking (external gaps).

Internal Gaps

Inscribed upon the Temple of Apollo in the ancient Greek precinct of Delphi, was the phrase, “Know thyself.” It was a phrase instructing the reader to understand what they were capable of, where they fell short, what their potential was, and above all, to be honest with themselves about it all. After all, no one is easier to deceive than oneself.

To that end, before you can advance to the next level, you need to understand where you are. The easiest way to do that is to look at the job ladder for your position: are you meeting all the requirements for your current position? What are you lacking for the next position up? What comes naturally, and what doesn’t? There are going to be areas you don’t want to focus on, because they don’t come easily, but those are likely the areas you need to work on most.

If your company doesn’t have a career ladder designed for your position, you have a couple options. The first is to look outside your company to see what other companies have set up. The second is to look at people within your company who have the position you’re aiming for and compare yourself against them. You might even schedule a conversation with them about how they advanced into the position.

Although I’m putting this last in the section, it’s the most important: talk to your boss about their perspective on where you fall short. They should know better than anyone what they’re looking for and what’s expected, and they should also know where you are in relation to that next step. Be warned, however, they may point out that you still have work to do to fulfill your current position. Regardless of what they say—and potentially how they say it—listen to them and consider their feedback. They’re the one who will be recommending you for promotion, and ignoring their feedback will only set you up for failure.

External Gaps

If dealing with your internal gaps is about knowing yourself, then external gaps are all about knowing your team, your boss, and your organization. It’s about recognizing what they’re missing or are unable to get to, and stepping up to support them. Addressing your internal gaps is like providing an argument against passing you over due to a lack of competency. Addressing external gaps, on the other hand, argues for recognizing the position you’re already fulfilling.

If, as they say, “all politics is local,” then it makes sense to first focus on your local environment, i.e. your current team. The first thing to look for is what’s going undone or what would help improve productivity. Other things to consider are becoming the “go-to person” for information about your project, or becoming the most helpful person on the team. How you go about that will be unique to your team, but one thing is for certain: you’ll need to outwork everyone else.

Expanding your perspective from looking at the gaps in your team, it’s time to look at the gaps your boss is either overlooking or unable to address. The easiest thing you can do here is to ask if there’s anything you can take of his or her plate—It goes without saying that you should do this only when all your other responsibilities are taken care of. Beyond that, listen for what they complain about in meetings, or areas of improvement they often “wish” for. Consider also what you would do when faced with the same decisions and be—respectfully—sound counsel for your manager. Having said all of this, remember, your goal shouldn’t be to replace your manager prematurely, but by being the obvious choice to replace them when they are promoted or leave.

The last area to look at is your organization. This can be your department, region, or even the entire company. Regardless of the size, all organizations have gaps. They tend to be more easily seen in small companiies, but larger companies have gaps too—often around their ability to maneuver.

Miscellaneous

Not everything fits neatly in the categories of internal and external gaps, but they warrant brief discussions.

Goals

Before angling for that next promotion, you need to know what it is you’re aiming for, because that will dictate how you fill in the gaps. If you want promoted on the IC (Individual Contributor) path (e.g. from Software Engineer to Senior Software Engineer) then the two things you need to do are performing the work of that next role and consistently outworking your peers. If you are on the management track, however, doing more IC work may not cut it. In those cases, your leaders may be looking for your ability to delegate and manage projects, not just do all the work for the project.

Capacity

Unfortunately, you could be doing all the right things: working harder, helping your boss, being the go-to person on your team, and it still may not be enough. There are any number of reasons for this, but it usually comes down to capacity. If there are no openings or if there isn’t the budget for the promotion, there’s not much you can do. But, there is something you can do.

Hiring freezes and resource constraints are temporary. If you are serious about moving up to that next rung of the career ladder, use this time to prepare yourself for that next position; it will open up eventually. Focus on your growth and do what you can to make sure you’re the obvious choice when constraints ease up.

Reality

Here’s the ice-cold bucket of reality: you are not owed or guaranteed a promotion, a raise, or even kudos. You may be doing the work of five people and most of your boss’ job, but your company doesn’t owe you anything other than a paycheck and not violate certain laws. It sucks, and maybe it seems unfair, but that’s the way it is. If you’re in this sort of position, you should talk to your manager to find out why.

“But I’m the victim or racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, religiophobia, or some other -ism or -phobia.” You might be. It happens, and you would be surprised at how frequently it happens. It could also be that someone doesn’t like you in particular. This also happens. Everyone has obstacles they’re trying to overcome. Everyone. Some people have larger obstacles than others. Some people are smarter, prettier, or better socially than others. It’s reality. The way to get around that is to “be so good they can’t ignore you.”

I’ve mentioned “career ladder” a couple times in this article, but the reality is that oftentimes the “ladder” is more like a jungle gym, where you move horizontally or downward in order to move up to the position you really want. In both cases above, the way forward may be to move horizontally or (what feels like) backwards. Leaving your role for another, even if it’s inside your company, can feel like a setback, but is it worse than waiting on something that’s out of your control or actively working against you?

Final Thoughts

“Mind the gap.” It’s not only good advice for stepping off a subway car, it’s also good for your career. The gaps you face can be internal: skills, experience, knowledge, or even your network. Gaps can also be found externally: the work your boss isn’t able to get to or isn’t aware of, opportunities on your team, and also areas in your organization which go unnoticed. Sometimes gaps are too big to overcome because of limited resources, discrimination, or something else entirely. Some gaps can only be overcome by going around or even backwards.

Promotions rarely go to the person who simply wants the job—they go to the person who’s ready to fill it. Look around, where are the gaps? Fill them. Quietly. Consistently. Continuously. When the time comes, no one will question whether you’re ready; they’ll assume the job is yours already.