Latest / The Promotion Memo with Fexingo: Getting Visibility, Sponsors, and Executive Presence / How One Employee Got Promoted by Creating a Career Playbook
Transcript
- Lucas: So there's this marketing manager at a mid-sized B2B SaaS company. Let's call her Priya. She's been in the role for about two years, solid performer, but she's watching peers get promoted into senior roles while she stays in place. Luna: Classic stuck-in-place story. What was she missing? Lucas: She had the results, but she didn't have a narrative that connected her current work to a bigger role. So she built what I'd call a career playbook. Not a pitch deck, not a brag book — a playbook. A living document that mapped out where she wanted to go and how she'd get there. Luna: Okay, walk me through the structure. What went into this thing? Lucas: First section: a vision statement. Not fluffy — specific. She wrote, 'In three years, I want to lead the demand generation team and own the full funnel strategy for the North America segment.' That's concrete. Then she listed her top three strengths and the two gaps she needed to close to be credible for that role. Luna: Gaps being things like experience managing a team or owning a P&L? Lucas: Exactly. She'd never managed a direct report, and she'd only ever worked on top of funnel campaigns — never the full funnel. So her playbook included specific projects to close those gaps. For example, she volunteered to mentor a junior associate, and she asked to co-lead a cross-channel campaign that covered top, middle, and bottom of funnel. Luna: So she was basically reverse-engineering the job description for the role she wanted, then building a plan to tick every box. Lucas: That's exactly it. But here's the smart part — she didn't keep it private. She scheduled a one-on-one with her boss and presented it as, 'Here's my roadmap for how I can contribute at the next level. I'd love your feedback and your sponsorship.' Luna: That's a bold move. How did the boss respond? Lucas: Her boss said, 'This is the most thoughtful career document anyone's ever shown me.' And then he asked, 'What do you need from me?' She had a list — two stretch assignments, visibility with the VP, and quarterly check-ins to review progress against the playbook. Luna: So she turned a vague 'I want a promotion' into a collaborative plan. That's smart negotiation too. Lucas: Right. And she updated the playbook every quarter. After 18 months, she had the mentor, the stretch projects, the visibility — and when a director role opened up, her boss advocated for her because she'd already demonstrated she could operate at that level. Luna: She got the promotion? Lucas: She did. Director of Demand Generation. And she told me the playbook was the single most important tool she used to frame the conversation. Luna: Honestly, if this episode helped you think about your own career, that's the kind of value that makes us want to keep the show ad-free and open to everyone. If it was worth a coffee to you, you know where to find the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, that's the spirit. And it keeps us independent. So back to Priya's playbook — there's one more element I think is key. Luna: What's that? Lucas: A stakeholder map. She identified five people whose support she'd need for the promotion: her boss, the VP of Marketing, two peers who'd vouch for her, and one person from a different department who'd seen her lead a cross-functional project. She listed what each stakeholder valued and how she'd demonstrate value to them. Luna: So she wasn't just focusing upward — she was building a coalition. Lucas: Exactly. Her boss mattered most, but the VP needed to see her present. The peers needed to see her as a leader, not a competitor. And the cross-functional contact gave her credibility beyond her own team. Luna: I've seen people skip that step and wonder why their manager's support isn't enough. You need a network of advocates, not just one champion. Lucas: And the playbook forced her to be deliberate about it. Every quarter, she'd ask herself: 'Have I delivered value to each of these five people recently?' If the answer was no, she'd schedule a coffee chat or offer help on a project. Luna: Let me play devil's advocate. What if your boss is skeptical of a self-made playbook? Some managers might see it as presumptuous. Lucas: Fair point. Priya actually had that worry. So she framed it as a development tool — 'I want to be more intentional about my growth, and I'd love your input.' That's hard to reject. And if a manager does reject it, that's useful information. It tells you they may not be invested in your advancement. Luna: So the playbook doubles as a diagnostic. If your boss won't engage with it, you might need to find a different sponsor or even a different company. Lucas: That's a hard truth, but yes. A playbook that sits in a drawer is just a document. The value comes from the conversation it creates. Luna: And Priya's playbook wasn't static. You mentioned quarterly updates. How did she know what to change? Lucas: She treated it like a product roadmap. Every quarter, she'd review: did I complete the projects I planned? Did I close any gaps? Did my stakeholders change? She'd adjust her objectives based on company priorities. When the company launched a new product line, she added a project to her playbook about supporting that launch. Luna: So the playbook kept her aligned with what the business actually needed, not just her personal wish list. Lucas: Exactly. And that's what made it credible to her boss. He saw that she was paying attention to where the company was going, not just her own career. Luna: I want to talk about one potential pitfall. I've seen people over-engineer these playbooks — fifty pages, detailed SWOT analyses, financial projections. That's overwhelming, not helpful. Lucas: Totally. Priya's playbook was four pages. Vision, strengths and gaps, quarterly objectives, stakeholder map. That's it. She used a simple template in Google Docs. The goal is clarity, not completeness. Luna: What about people who are earlier in their career? Does a playbook make sense for someone who's only been in the workforce a year or two? Lucas: Absolutely. In fact, earlier might be better because you have more time to execute. The playbook for a junior person might focus more on skill-building and less on stakeholder management. But the structure is the same: where do I want to be in three years, what do I need to get there, and who can help? Luna: And for someone at a director level or above? Does it scale? Lucas: Sure. At that level, the playbook might include a section on building a team under you or influencing the broader organization. But the core idea — intentionality, stakeholder mapping, quarterly check-ins — works at any level. Luna: So the playbook is really a tool for turning ambition into action. You're not just hoping for a promotion — you're building the case, one quarter at a time. Lucas: That's the best summary I've heard. Priya didn't wait for someone to notice her. She created a framework that made her promotable visible. And then she had the courage to share it. Luna: I think that's the part that scares most people — showing your hand. But Priya's story shows that vulnerability plus preparation can be a powerful combination. Lucas: One last thing. She told me that even if she hadn't gotten the promotion, the playbook would have been worth it. Because it gave her clarity about what she wanted and a way to evaluate whether her current company could offer it. She said, 'If they'd said no, I'd have had a plan for leaving.' Luna: That's the ultimate power — knowing what you want and having a plan whether you stay or go. Lucas: So if you're feeling stuck, maybe it's time to write your own playbook. Start with one page. Vision, gaps, next quarter's objectives. Then find someone to share it with. Luna: And if you do, we'd love to hear how it goes. Drop us a note. For now, that's The Promotion Memo.