Latest / The Promotion Memo with Fexingo: Getting Visibility, Sponsors, and Executive Presence / How to Get Promoted by Writing a Sponsorship Memo
Transcript
- Lucas: So you've done the work. You've built the dashboard, you've written the brief, you've made your boss look good. But the promotion committee doesn't know any of it — because your boss didn't tell them. Luna: Ouch. That's the fear, isn't it? You do all the right things, but if the person with the power to advocate for you isn't articulating it, you're invisible. Lucas: Exactly. And that's where the sponsorship memo comes in. Today I want to talk about a specific tool — a one-page document you write for your sponsor, not for yourself — that makes it easy for them to champion you. Luna: So this is different from a brag sheet or a performance review self-assessment? Lucas: Completely different. A brag sheet is for your manager during review season. A sponsorship memo is for an executive who sits one or two levels above your manager — someone who has a seat at the table when promotion decisions are made. Your job is to give them a summary they can read in three minutes and then repeat at the meeting. Luna: I love that framing. So it's almost like you're writing their talking points for them. Lucas: Exactly right. And there's a great case I came across recently. A mid-level manager at a Fortune 500 industrial company — let's call her Sarah — was trying to move from senior manager to director. She had a good relationship with her VP, but she realized the VP had seven direct reports. There was no way he was going to remember all her wins in a promotion committee meeting. Luna: Right, he's juggling a dozen other priorities. So she wrote him a memo. Lucas: She wrote a one-pager. The structure was: problem, impact, evidence, ask. The problem was a supply chain bottleneck her team solved. The impact was 12 percent cost reduction and 3-day faster delivery. The evidence was the specific project name, the quarter it launched, and a testimonial from the operations director. And the ask was clear: 'I am ready for the director role in the supply chain division.' Luna: And the VP actually used that? How do we know? Lucas: Sarah told me. The VP took the memo, put it in the committee packet, and literally said, 'I want to talk about Sarah — here's what she's done.' He didn't have to scramble for details because they were already written in his language. She got the promotion. Luna: That's the dream scenario. But I imagine a lot of people are nervous about writing something like that because it feels self-promotional. Lucas: That's the biggest hurdle. We're trained to think that if we talk about our accomplishments, we're bragging. But here's the reframe: you're not writing the memo for you. You're writing it for your sponsor. You're making their job easier. If they have to spend ten minutes digging through emails to find your results, they're less likely to advocate for you. Luna: So it's a service to them. That's a much more comfortable mental model. Lucas: Exactly. And the memo should be structured so that the sponsor can literally read it aloud. Short bullet points, concrete numbers, no jargon. If they have to translate your technical language, they'll lose momentum. Luna: Okay, let's get practical. What are the sections? You mentioned problem, impact, evidence, ask. Walk me through how Sarah actually wrote hers. Lucas: Sure. At the top, she had a one-line summary: 'I am ready to lead the supply chain function as a director, and here are three reasons why.' Then the first section was a two-sentence description of the bottleneck — a supplier consolidation issue that was causing 15 percent late deliveries. Second section: the impact, quantified. She wrote '12 percent cost reduction, 3-day faster delivery, zero late shipments for two quarters.' Third section: evidence — the project name, the quarter it launched, and a quote from the operations director saying 'this was the most impactful change we've made in three years.' Fourth section: the ask — 'I am seeking a director-level role leading cross-functional supply chain strategy.' Luna: And she included a quote? That's smart. Third-party validation. Lucas: Huge. The operations director wasn't even in her reporting line. So it signals that other senior leaders see her as a peer. The VP can say, 'Even the ops director praised her work.' That's gold in a committee meeting. Luna: I'm thinking about how to actually hand this memo over. Do you email it? Print it? Slip it under the door? Lucas: Ideally, you schedule a 15-minute meeting with your sponsor. You say, 'I've been thinking about my next step, and I wanted to share a one-page summary of my recent impact, just so you have it for reference. I'd love your feedback.' That's a low-pressure ask. Then you leave the memo with them. They'll read it later. Luna: And what if they say, 'Oh, I don't need that, I know your work already'? Lucas: Then you smile and say, 'I know you do, but I wanted to make it easy for you to reference if any conversations come up. I'll leave it with you just in case.' You don't argue. You just leave the artifact. Nine times out of ten, they'll glance at it before the committee meeting. Luna: That's smooth. I want to circle back to something you said earlier about making the sponsor look good. How does this memo do that? Lucas: The memo frames your success as their success. You don't say 'I did this.' You say 'Under your leadership, our team achieved X.' Or 'With your support, we were able to Y.' It subtly reinforces that your sponsor created the conditions for your success. That makes them want to champion you because your promotion reflects well on them. Luna: So it's not just a list of your wins — it's a story about how their investment in you paid off. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the difference between a memo that gets filed away and one that gets used. Sarah's memo had a line like 'With the VP's emphasis on cost discipline, we were able to deliver a 12 percent reduction.' That connects her work to his stated priorities. Luna: I'm curious about timing. When's the right moment to hand this over? A month before promotion cycles? Right after a big win? Lucas: Both are good. Ideally, you want to hand it over before the promotion committee meets — usually that's a month or two before decisions are finalized. But if you have a big win, you can also use that as a natural entry point. 'Hey, since the supply chain project just wrapped, I wanted to summarize what we accomplished.' Luna: And what about mistakes? People probably mess this up in a few common ways. Lucas: Oh, absolutely. The biggest mistake is making it too long. If it's more than one page, the sponsor won't read it. Second mistake: being too vague. 'Improved efficiency' means nothing. 'Reduced processing time by 40 percent' means something. Third mistake: not including the ask. You'd be surprised how many people write a great memo but never actually say 'I want a promotion.' Luna: Yeah, you have to be explicit. The sponsor can't read your mind. Lucas: Right. And a fourth mistake is writing it in a silo. You should show a draft to a trusted colleague or mentor before giving it to your sponsor. They'll catch blind spots or overly humble language. Luna: I want to come back to something you said earlier about making the sponsor look good. That's a subtle art. Can you give another example? Lucas: Sure. Sarah's memo had a line like 'This initiative aligned with the VP's strategic goal of reducing supplier risk.' She didn't say 'I fixed the problem.' She said 'We executed on the VP's strategy.' That's a small language shift, but it changes how the VP feels about the memo. He sees himself in it. Luna: That's really good. I think a lot of people are afraid to be that direct about their own contributions. But the memo is a tool, not a boast. Lucas: Exactly. And listen, if you've found this conversation useful — if you've been listening to these episodes and they've helped you think through a career move or a conversation you need to have — I'll just say this: a couple of dollars a month is genuinely what keeps these going. Buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo, if you've gotten something out of them. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a big difference on our end. And it keeps the show ad-free, which we love. Lucas: Okay, back to the memo. One more piece I want to highlight: the one-page limit forces you to prioritize. If you can't fit your case on a single page, you probably haven't distilled your impact enough. And that distillation process itself is valuable — it forces you to think about what actually matters to the people deciding your fate. Luna: That's a good point. The act of writing the memo is almost as important as the memo itself. It clarifies your own narrative. Lucas: Yes. And once you have that narrative, you can use it in other contexts — interviews, annual reviews, even your LinkedIn profile. The sponsorship memo is really a career narrative exercise disguised as a one-pager. Luna: So who should start working on one today? If someone is a senior individual contributor or a first-line manager, is it too early? Lucas: Not too early at all. I'd say if you have at least one significant project under your belt with measurable impact, you can write a sponsorship memo. The key is having a clear ask — a specific next role you're targeting. If you don't know what you want, the memo will feel aimless. Luna: So step zero is knowing what you want. Then step one is writing the memo. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're not sure what you want, that's a different episode. But once you know, the memo is the fastest way to get your sponsor on your side. Luna: I want to try a quick exercise. If I were to write a sponsorship memo tomorrow, what would the first sentence be? Lucas: I'd start with something like: 'I am writing to formally express my interest in the director of product role, and to share the impact I've delivered over the past 18 months that demonstrates my readiness.' That's direct, professional, and sets up the evidence. Luna: And then you'd follow with the problem statement? Lucas: Yeah. 'When I joined the team, customer churn was at 8 percent. Through a new onboarding program, we reduced churn to 4 percent within three quarters.' That's a clear before and after. Luna: I think the before and after framing is really powerful. It tells a story of change. Lucas: It does. And it's the kind of story a sponsor can tell in 30 seconds. That's your goal: give them a story they can tell without notes. Luna: Alright, I'm convinced. I'm going to write a draft this week. Any final tips? Lucas: Yes. After you write it, read it aloud. If it sounds like you're reading a corporate document, rewrite it. It should sound like a confident person talking about their work. And then share it with a trusted colleague before the sponsor sees it. Luna: Good advice. I think the hardest part for most people is just starting. But if you follow the structure Lucas laid out, it's really just filling in the blanks. Lucas: Exactly. And once it's done, you'll have a tool you can use again and again. Each quarter, update it with new results. By the time promotion season rolls around, you'll have a living document ready to go. Luna: That's a great habit. Alright, I think we've given people enough to go write their own sponsorship memo. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.