Latest / The Promotion Memo with Fexingo: Getting Visibility, Sponsors, and Executive Presence / How to Get Promoted by Owning a Cross-Functional Project
Transcript
- Lucas: There is a promotion move that almost never shows up in career advice columns, but it works shockingly well. It is volunteering to own a cross-functional project that everyone else is avoiding. Luna: You mean the kind of project that sounds like a career trap? The one with no clear owner and a lot of stakeholders who would rather not be involved? Lucas: Exactly that kind. And I want to talk about it because it is high-risk, high-reward, and if you do it right, it creates the most concrete promotion case you can build. Luna: Do you have a specific example? Lucas: Yes. A mid-level operations manager at a logistics firm — I will call her Priya. Her company was migrating from a legacy ERP system to a new cloud-based one. You know the drill: five departments, conflicting timelines, a bunch of consultants, and nobody wanted to be the project lead because the previous attempt had failed and cost the company two million dollars. Luna: So she stepped into a situation with a high chance of failure. Lucas: Right. But she did not just raise her hand and say 'I will do it.' She made a deliberate set of moves. First, she spent two weeks interviewing stakeholders in each department to map out the specific pain points that the failed attempt had left behind. She documented what they actually needed, not just what the consultants were selling. Luna: That is smart because then she had a case for why her approach would be different. Lucas: Exactly. Then she wrote a one-page project charter that defined success in measurable terms. Not 'implement the system' but 'reduce order to ship time by 15 percent within six months of go-live.' That gave everyone a shared target. Luna: And that becomes the anchor for the sponsorship memo later. Lucas: Yes. Her third move was the most important. She kept a running document of every cross-team win she facilitated. When the finance team was stuck on data migration, she found a workaround by pulling in a retired IT specialist who had built the old system. She did not just solve problems — she made sure the people above her knew she was the one connecting the dots. Luna: But here is the risk I see. Scope creep. She could easily end up doing everyone's job and burning out without getting promoted. Lucas: That is a real danger. Priya had one rule: she would not take on tasks that belonged to someone else's defined role. If a department head tried to dump their work on her, she would say, 'I can help you find the right person, but my focus is on the integration timeline.' She protected her scope by pointing to the charter. Luna: So the charter doubled as a shield. Lucas: Exactly. And after six months, the migration went live on time and under budget. She had a track record of measurable impact across five departments. Her boss — who was a senior vice president — wrote the sponsorship memo for her promotion to director. The memo highlighted three things: her ability to lead without authority, her cross-functional visibility, and the quantifiable results. Luna: That is the kind of promotion narrative that is hard to argue against. Lucas: Right. And it is not about being a hero. It is about showing that you can operate at the level above your current role. Cross-functional projects force you to think like a general manager, not a specialist. Luna: I want to push back on one thing though. What if you are in a company where cross-functional projects are not valued? Where the culture rewards individual contributors who stay in their lane? Lucas: Then you have a culture problem, and a single project might not fix it. But even in those environments, there is usually at least one executive who cares about breaking silos. Find that person. Priya's sponsor was exactly that kind of leader. Luna: So part of the strategy is also choosing the right sponsor. Lucas: Absolutely. You are not just picking a project; you are picking the audience for your work. Priya knew that the SVP who ended up sponsoring her had been frustrated by the failed migration. She made sure he saw her progress reports. Luna: That is a great point. Visibility is not accidental. Lucas: And it is not about bragging. It is about making your work visible in a way that is useful to decision-makers. She sent a weekly two-sentence update to the steering committee. Not a long email. Just status, one blocker, one win. Luna: That is a tactic anyone can steal. Lucas: And it takes five minutes. But it builds a narrative over time. Luna: I think a lot of people worry that volunteering for this kind of project looks like they are trying too hard. Or that they will be seen as stepping on toes. Lucas: That is a fair concern. The key is to frame it as solving a problem, not seeking glory. Priya went to her boss and said, 'I have some ideas for how to get the ERP migration back on track. Would you be open to me leading a small effort to scope it out?' She asked permission to explore, not to take over. Luna: So she lowered the perceived risk for her boss. Lucas: Exactly. And once she had the scoping done, she had a concrete plan. Then it was easy to say, 'Here is what I found, and here is what I think we should do.' At that point, her boss had a reason to give her the green light. Luna: I also want to mention that this works best when the project is genuinely important to the business but not already claimed by a senior leader. You do not want to step into a political minefield. Lucas: Right. You want a neglected but high-stakes pain point. Priya picked the ERP migration because it was a known failure. Everyone wanted it solved, but no one wanted the risk. That is the sweet spot. Luna: How do you identify that kind of project in your own company? Lucas: Listen for complaints that come up repeatedly in meetings. The thing people say 'someone should fix' but no one volunteers for. Then ask yourself: if I could show progress on this in three months, would it make a difference to the bottom line? If the answer is yes, that is your project. Luna: That is a practical filter. Lucas: And one more thing — once you have the project, document everything. Priya kept a log of every decision she made, every stakeholder she aligned, every milestone she hit. That log became the backbone of her promotion packet. Luna: I think that is really the core of this episode. It is not about being the smartest person in the room. It is about being the one who connects the room. Lucas: That is a great way to put it. And that skill — connecting the room — is exactly what gets noticed at promotion time. Luna: You know, Lucas, this kind of practical advice is exactly why a number of listeners tell us they find the show useful. And I have been meaning to mention — a handful of those listeners actually chip in each month over at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It is a small group, but it literally covers the costs of keeping the show ad-free and running. Lucas: Yeah, it is true. No ads, no sponsors, just listener support. And it makes a real difference. If you have gotten something out of episodes like this one, that is the way to keep it going. But no pressure — we are glad you are here either way. Luna: Alright, back to the strategy. So we have the project identification, the charter, the documentation. What is the final piece? Lucas: The final piece is the sponsorship memo itself. Priya's boss did not write a generic letter. He used her documentation to write a memo that said: 'She led a cross-functional team of 12 people across five departments, delivered a system migration on time and under budget, and reduced order to ship time by 18 percent — three points above the target.' Luna: That is specific. And it ties directly to business outcomes. Lucas: Exactly. And that is the template. If you can give your sponsor that kind of material, your promotion case writes itself. Luna: I think the hardest part is the courage to raise your hand in the first place. Lucas: It is. But the alternative is waiting for someone else to notice you, and that takes longer. Priya got promoted in nine months. She went from operations manager to director of operations. That is a two-level jump in some organizations. Luna: So for anyone listening who is stuck in a role where they feel invisible, consider looking for the project no one wants. Lucas: And if you cannot find one, consider a different company. But most places have at least one. It is just a matter of looking. Luna: Good advice. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. See you next time.