1/ How to get promoted at a startup:
At larger companies career tracks are (too) well defined, and there are clear paths on how to move up. But at startups there isn’t a playbook for how to get promoted.
At larger companies career tracks are (too) well defined, and there are clear paths on how to move up. But at startups there isn’t a playbook for how to get promoted.
2/ By “promoted” I mean bigger title, more comp, more responsibility - whatever it is that you care about. You’re more likely to get it if you do these things.
3/ At a startup things move quickly, there often isn’t a defined HR - if there is the promotion norms change every 6 mo's as company vision, strategy, team, evolve. Despite ever evolving landscape, there are things you can do to get promoted early. This gets my attention:
4/ Get on the floor- roll up your sleeves and take action. The exciting opportunity at a startup is chance to work w/o perfectly laid out roadmap developed by someone 9 levels above you.That’s either scary or exciting. Being proactive - going beyond your JD- gets rewarded.
5/ Be constructive- at every startup ever, there are 1000 problems w/o answers. That’s life. The ex-Morgan Stanley banker gets weighed down and paralyzed by the sheer number of unstructured problems. The startup pro can identify the key issues to focus on and jumps to action.
6/ Be positive and upbeat- your founder & CEO is on a brutal rollercoaster. I can’t fully communicate how amazing it is when someone else picks up the torch and can be the positive & upbeat energy. A meaningful % of the time I think “we should really promote that person.”
7/ Verbalize the vision/mission & values - I’m a big believer in frameworks. Your CEO took time to lay out frameworks she thinks will help the company grow. If you use them in genuine and meaningful ways, people will notice. The CEO will notice.
8/ Pitch in on recruiting- Recruiting is hard. Oh you don’t like it? Shocker- no one does. It’s a requirement for a growing company. Ask how you can help... then help. Identify, reach out, take 1st calls, sell candidate. You have chance to help build team you want to be a part of
9/ Be the welcome party- There is data that the first 14 days of someone joining a new team are vital for long-term success. Offer to be part of the welcome party. Don’t do it in political way - do it in a 5th grade “I want to help make the new kid feel comfortable” way.
10/ Treat the money like it comes out of your pocket. A good CEO doesn’t want you to be cheap, but superfluous spending is obnoxious to the founders, your teammates and the the investors. Treat the money like it is yours. Effectively it is.
11/ [Editor’s note] - the last few are also similar to my belief that CEOs have 3 main jobs: a) set & communicate vision, b) attract & retain talent, c) don’t run out of $. If you’re helping in your spare time on those, the CEO will notice.
11/ Be responsive- Someone sends you a Slack or email- just be responsive. Don’t make them chase you. Try to respond the same day- but at least within 24 hrs. Even if it’s a “I’m on it” or “I’ll come back to you in X days.” Allows both sides to know where it stands.
12/ Dish out the credit- it builds people up when it’s authentic (critical point). Build by helping to give credit to your teammates - which helps encourage them and bond you and them together. And btw, praising employees leads to higher productivity:
13/ Engage- ask questions at Friday all-hands. Stay off your phone in meetings. Have an opinion. Follow up with someone after they present to provide feedback. Just be engaged. Engagement from the team is a shot of adrenaline for your CEO.
14/ Stay focused on OKRs- At a startup you could work on an infinite # of things, in part bc there are so many potential probs & opportunities. W/ opportunity comes responsibility - stay focused on what matters. You can be proactive and stay focused. Not mutually exclusive.
15/ Learn the 80/20 rule. Being smart about your time is just (more) as important as being smart about company money. This connects to focus. Yes I’m being a bit repetitive. Did I mention focus matters?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_pr…
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_pr…
16/ “Act like you’ve been there before”- I love that quote. A startup is chaos for the employees much of the time. For the CEO it is like chewing glass. The person who thrives at the startup is able to not get overly excited, or overly down, during the rollercoaster.
17/ Drive impact- ultimately just drive impact. Be the engineer that drives 10x more impact - maybe because you’re smarter or just better at prioritizing ruthlessly. Don’t pick task b/c it is fun or b/c it is neat new tech, do it because it drives impact. Impact gets you promoted
18/ Those are the things that really stick out to me as a CEO.
What am I missing?
What am I missing?
