Main image of article Tech Leaders Share their Tips for Getting Promoted This Year

Summary

With companies slashing managerial roles and smashing self-managing teams flatter, earning a promotion to a higher-level position has become especially challenging.

In fact, many high performers are frustrated that their careers have stalled due to what McKinsey calls the “unstructuring” movement.

How can individuals aspiring to leadership roles avoid career stagnation? What will it take to land a team lead, tech manager or even a director role in today’s highly competitive environment? To help you ascend the ladder, we asked tech leaders to share their tips, strategies and advice for getting promoted in 2025.

Before setting your sights on a leadership role, do a gut check.

Contrary to popular belief, it takes more than excellent work to get promoted in tech, noted Ellen Lyman, senior director for a large global company, tech career coach and owner of Inspired Leader LLC.

If you are looking for more money and recognition, it’s possible to get those things as an individual contributor or engineer, Lyman said. To lead others, you have to prove that you are capable of helping them succeed.

How? Get involved with employee resource groups (ERGs) and business resource groups (BRGs).

Volunteer to lead events or provide guidance, support and knowledge to others in the technology field, Lyman added. Mentoring and supporting others helps you develop essential leadership skills such as empathy, communication and the ability to bring others along as you ascend.

In support of her point, several studies have shown that extraverts have an advantage when it comes to getting promoted, while introverts are often viewed as unlikely to succeed in leadership roles. By being more visible and involved with activities outside of your role or immediate team, you'll be seen as outgoing and suitable for leadership.

Naz Delam, director of Software Engineering at Salesforce, has used a proof-of-concept process to win promotions over the course of her career. She maintains that her approach is likely to be successful in the current environment.

See if your manager will let you tackle small tasks and projects to gradually develop your abilities and show that you are capable of handling next-level work. Or become the “de facto leader” of a self-directed team by volunteering to lobby senior management for additional resources or assist with hiring or coaching new team members. Remember, you don’t need a title to lead.

“Proactively developing your managerial and leadership skills before you actually need them can position you as a strong candidate when an opportunity arises,” Delam said.

Plus, you’ll be in a prime position to move up if your company’s experiment with self-managing teams falters and they end up rehiring some managers, like they did at Google.

While you’re at it, put together a transition plan to show that you’re capable of developing a successor and executing a change management strategy. Remember, the hallmark of an effective leader is to “leave it better than you found it.”

In the end, leadership is not about the title you hold or your authority; it's about getting results and making a difference. If you focus on how you show up, the behaviors you demonstrate, and the impact and influence you have on your team and its outcomes, then promotions are likely to follow.

A common misconception is that your most likely opportunity for career advancement is within your current company, rather than seeking a promotion elsewhere.

But if you actively seek out and develop professional relationships with individuals outside your company and leverage your track record to showcase your potential as well as your current leadership abilities, you may qualify for a higher-level position in another company. In fact, data from APQC (American Productivity & Quality Center) finds that organizations only fill a median of 15 percent of their vacancies with internal candidates.

Lyman suggests that you use a global framework like SFIA to compare your skills and competencies to jobs and roles in other industries and identify opportunities. Evaluating your current experience and value against the requirements and standards for the position you want to pursue can also help you spot deficiencies or skill gaps and take steps to close them.

Having mentors is essential to professional development, as they provide guidance, support, knowledge and advice and help their mentees learn from their experiences while avoiding common pitfalls. According to experts, mentoring is more important than ever as a result of downsizing, disruption of the traditional supervisory model and outsourcing.

Mentors also provide other advantages such as connections, networking opportunities, encouragement, and open and honest feedback on how to differentiate yourself both professionally and personally. According to numerous studies, around 75 percent to 80 percent of executives report having had a mentor at some point in their careers, with many citing mentorship as a critical factor in their career success.

If you keep coming up empty in terms of career advancement, look at who your sponsors are, Lyman said. Who is saying good things about you and promoting your work? Unlike a mentor, a sponsor is an advocate who is willing to play an active role in promoting your career. Having the right sponsors can open doors.