Latest / The Promotion Memo with Fexingo: Getting Visibility, Sponsors, and Executive Presence / How One Employee Got Promoted by Building a Career Lattice
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've talked a lot on this show about vertical promotions — moving up the ladder, taking on more senior roles. But there's another path that doesn't get as much attention, and it's the one that actually worked for a software engineer named Priya at a mid-sized logistics tech firm. Luna: A lateral path? Or something else? Lucas: Exactly — a career lattice. Priya didn't climb straight up. She moved sideways three times over two years, and that lattice is what got her promoted to director of platform engineering. Luna: Okay, I love this. Break down the moves for me. Lucas: She started as a backend engineer, pretty standard. Then she moved into a data engineering role for six months, then a DevOps role for another six, then a product management rotation for a year. Each move was deliberate — she wasn't hopping randomly. Luna: So she was building what — a T-shaped skill set, but with multiple horizontal bars? Lucas: Exactly. A comb shape, if you will. And the key insight is that her company had a relatively flat structure. There were only three engineering managers above the individual contributor level. To get to director, she needed to demonstrate breadth, not just depth. Luna: And that's the lattice advantage. You get to see how different parts of the business work, and then you can connect dots that others miss. Lucas: Right. After two years, Priya had shipped a data pipeline, automated a deployment process, and launched a new product feature. She had real examples of cross-functional impact. Luna: What was the actual promotion moment? Did she apply, or was she approached? Lucas: She wrote a one-page memo to the VP of engineering. Not asking for a promotion, but outlining a vision for a new platform team that would combine all three of her areas — data, infrastructure, and product. The VP loved it and created a director role specifically for her. Luna: So she built the role herself. That's bold. Lucas: It's the most effective lattice play. You don't wait for a job opening — you demonstrate that the work is already happening and that you're the person to lead it. Luna: Isn't there a risk, though, that moving sideways makes you look unfocused to a traditional manager? Lucas: Absolutely. If you're in a company that values tenure and vertical progression, this strategy can backfire. But the data from LinkedIn's 2025 workforce report shows that employees who made at least one lateral move in the past two years were 2.3 times more likely to get a promotion than those who stayed put. That's across all industries. Luna: Two-point-three times — that's significant. So the lattice works, but you have to frame it correctly. Lucas: Exactly. Priya framed each lateral move as a strategic learning investment. In her performance reviews, she didn't say 'I want to try something different.' She said 'I need to understand data engineering to build better APIs.' That reframes it from drifting to intentional growth. Luna: What about the timing? She did three moves in two years. That's a lot of transitions. Lucas: It is. But each move was an internal transfer, so she didn't have to rebuild trust from scratch. And she negotiated a 90-day ramp period for each new role, with a mentor assigned. That made the transitions smooth. Luna: Okay, so for someone listening who wants to try the lattice approach — what's the first step? Lucas: Map your company's adjacent roles. Look at job families that sit next to yours: product, data, design, customer success, operations. Identify which ones address a skill gap you have or a business problem you care about. Luna: And then have a conversation with your manager about a temporary rotation, not a permanent move. Lucas: Right. 'I'd like to spend three months with the data team to help with their backlog, while still contributing to my current team part-time.' That's lower risk for everyone. Luna: And it builds visibility across teams. Suddenly you're not just the backend engineer — you're the person who speaks data and ops. Lucas: That's the lattice in a nutshell. You collect enough adjacent experiences that you become the obvious person to lead a cross-functional initiative. And that initiative becomes your promotion. Luna: It's almost like you're building a portfolio, not a career ladder. Lucas: Exactly. And that portfolio approach is more resilient too. If one team gets restructured, you have skills that work elsewhere. Luna: I want to come back to something you said earlier — the LinkedIn data showing lateral movers get promoted more often. That's a strong argument for people who are worried about taking a 'sideways' step. Lucas: Yeah, the stigma around lateral moves is outdated. In 2026, the companies that promote internal mobility retain talent 40 percent longer. That's from a recent Gartner study. So the lattice helps both the employee and the employer. Luna: Alright, so practical advice: how do you identify which lateral move will pay off? Lucas: Look for roles that are adjacent to a growth area in your company. If the company is investing heavily in AI, but you're in a legacy backend team, moving into an ML infrastructure role could be huge. Luna: And if there's no formal rotation program? Lucas: Then you create your own. Offer to take on a small project for another team. That builds the relationship and the proof of concept. Priya started with a two-week sprint on the data team before she even asked for a transfer. Luna: That's smart — low commitment, high signal. Lucas: One more thing: when you do make a lateral move, document everything. Priya kept a running doc of her achievements in each role, with specific metrics. When it came time to write that memo to the VP, she had concrete numbers ready. Luna: It's like building a case file for your own promotion. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what makes the lattice strategy so effective — it's not just about moving around. It's about collecting evidence that you can lead across boundaries. Luna: You know, this episode itself is a great example of why I love this show. We're taking a real case study and breaking down the mechanics. If you've gotten value from episodes like this one, and you want to help us keep it ad-free, we have a simple way you can support the show. Lucas: Yeah, it's at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Nothing fancy — just a way for listeners who find these strategies useful to help us keep producing them. And we genuinely appreciate it. Luna: And we're back to the lattice. One thing I want to add: Priya's story also shows the importance of sponsorship. She had a senior engineer on the data team who advocated for her when the rotation was proposed. Lucas: Right — she didn't just rely on her manager. She built relationships in each team she joined, so when she needed a recommendation, there were multiple people who could speak to her work. Luna: That's the hidden network effect of the lattice. Every lateral move adds a new sponsor. Lucas: So to summarize: map adjacent roles, start with a small project, document your impact, and build sponsors along the way. That's the lattice playbook. Luna: And if you're in a flat organization, it's probably your best shot at a promotion. Lucas: Exactly. The ladder isn't the only way up — sometimes you have to climb sideways first.