The Campaign Rule: 3 Tactics Top Performers Use to Engineer Their Promotions
Part 3 of the Series: The Unwritten Rules of Promotion™
Promotions aren’t given to the quiet achievers. They’re earned by strategic operators.
I learned that the hard way.
Early in my career, I missed a promotion I thought I’d earned.
I had the results. I had the track record.
However, I didn’t have the right visibility. I didn’t build strong allies.
I didn’t have a campaign.
That moment taught me something most professionals learn too late:
You don’t get promoted because you deserve it.
You get promoted because decision-makers believe you’re ready.
That belief doesn’t happen overnight. It’s built well before the decision.
That’s when I realized: Promotions aren’t just about performance they’re about running a campaign.
If promotion is a campaign, then it requires more than strong performance; it requires strategic execution.
You can’t wait for the beginning of the review cycle to make your case.
You need to build credibility, shape perception, and create alignment long before decisions are made.
That’s why I’m sharing the 3 tactics you can use to run your promotion like a campaign.
Not reactive. Not rushed.
Deliberate. Intentional.
Designed to position you as the obvious choice.
Why This Matters
Most professionals assume promotions are a meritocracy. Do great work, and the rest will follow.
However, performance is only one variable in the equation.
Strategic relationships, a compelling narrative, and consistent visibility are the other variables.
Promotions aren’t rewards for past work.
They’re bets on future impact made by people with influence.
Like any strategic decision, they require confidence, consensus, and clarity.
If you’re not shaping how you’re seen, you’re leaving it for someone else to tell your story.
Own your story. Influence your outcome.
What Most People Do
They focus on performance and hope it speaks for itself.
However, visibility isn’t influence.
Being known isn’t the same as being endorsed.
What Top Performers Do
They run a campaign, which consists of:
Building coalitions
Shaping the narrative
Staying top of mind with the people who matter
3 Tactics to Run Your Promotion Like a Campaign
✅ Tactic 1: Build Your Coalition
Why This Matters: Promotions aren’t made by one person. They’re shaped by a room of decision-makers.
If the right people can’t speak to your impact, you won’t be in the conversation where it counts.
What Most People Do: Most focus on performance and ignore the politics. But when decision-makers don’t know your value, they won’t advocate when it counts.
What Top Performers Do: They build trust across functions, levels, and lines of influence well before the promotion cycle begins.
🟢 Your Move: Identify your influence circle. Who are the 5–7 people shaping the decision behind closed doors? Start building high-trust, high-context relationships with them now.
✅ Tactic 2: Control the Narrative
Why This Matters: Promotions are shaped in rooms you are not in. You may not control the decision, but you can influence what is said when it matters most.
What Most People Do: Most rely on results and assume others will connect the dots. But if no one can clearly explain your impact, your value gets lost in the noise.
What Top Performers Do: They connect their work to strategic priorities. They craft a clear message and repeat it until it becomes the default narrative.
🟢 Your Move: Write a one-line message that links your work to business outcomes. Use it consistently in meetings, updates, and key conversations. Repetition builds recognition.
✅ Tactic 3: Stay Visible
🔹 Why This Matters: A single win won’t carry you. Campaigns require consistency. If leadership forgets you, you’re out of the running.
🔹 What Most People Do: They show up only during delivery or when something goes wrong. Visibility becomes reactive instead of intentional.
🔹 What Top Performers Do: They remain visible through regular, strategic communication and by sharing progress, insights, and signals of momentum with the right people.
🟢 Your Move: Choose 1–2 moments each week to show strategic visibility. It could be a Slack update, stakeholder note, or brief insight shared in a leadership forum.
Small moves, repeated often.
The Bottom Line
You don’t get promoted by accident.
You get promoted by design.
Run your promotion like a campaign.
Build support. Shape the narrative. Stay visible.
When the decision gets made—you won’t just be ready.
You’ll be the obvious choice.
🚀 Your Next Move
Ready to run your next promotion cycle like a campaign?
I created two tools to help you lead your campaign with precision:
🧰 The Leadership Strategy Toolkit to sharpen how you think, plan, and execute like an executive.
👉 [Be a more strategic and influential leader with the Toolkit]
🧰 The LinkedIn System: Position Your Experience. Stand Out.
Position your experience and build visibility before decisions are made.
Smart leaders do not wait.
Position yourself now.
👉 [Stand out with the Playbook]
Go for it!
Joselle
🔐 Premium Content: How to Build Real Influence Behind Closed Doors
Now that you know how to campaign, here’s how to win the vote.
The key? Shaping conversations that happen when you’re not there.
These next-level power moves and scripts build the kind of influence that gets you chosen.
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