Early in my profession, I missed out on promotions though I labored onerous. As an engineer by coaching, I assumed my success can be performance-based. I mistakenly thought that my worth to a company can be measured solely by my technical abilities — how shortly and precisely I might compute the costs of advanced monetary derivatives.
It wasn’t till years into my banking profession that I spotted my mistake: I had ignored picture and publicity. Harvey Coleman’s 1996 examine on profession development revealed that profession success will depend on a mixture of efficiency, picture, and publicity (PIE). Actually, solely 10% of success correlates to efficiency, whereas picture accounts for 30%, and publicity for a staggering 60%.
In the event you’re delivering outcomes however are nonetheless being handed over for promotions, it’s time to take inventory of the lacking items in your PIE.
Picture: Your Popularity at Work
What are you identified for at work? In my first job as a overseas trade (FX) gross sales skilled at a Singapore financial institution, I didn’t do effectively as a result of I lacked social abilities. Regardless that I improved my promoting abilities considerably after a yr, the poor impression my colleagues and executives had of me was fastened. It was tough to alter their minds. If I had stayed on, I might have been a mediocre salesperson at finest. So, I left to pursue my grasp’s in finance.
Once I joined Citi in 2001 as a derivatives structurer, I confirmed a robust curiosity in instructing. I volunteered to conduct product coaching for each purchasers and colleagues. In a short time, I constructed a fame not simply as a talented structurer but in addition as a superb coach. This fame led to invites from gross sales heads throughout Asia to coach their groups and prospects, considerably enhancing my private model.
Construct Your Private Model
Develop a signature talent, one thing that’s totally different out of your core experience however may be included into your work.
As an illustration, should you’re a junior analysis analyst in an asset administration firm, you can develop video modifying abilities. By providing to shoot and edit movies for senior colleagues presenting at funding conferences, you can be seen as a precious crew participant whom they wish to convey alongside to occasions.
When you’ve got already labored at your present firm for greater than a yr, altering your inside model generally is a problem. I counsel specializing in creating your exterior model and letting it affect your inside standing.
Volunteering with a CFA society, organizing occasions, or serving as a speaker liaison are nice methods to do that. I’m proud to be a speaker on the CFA Institute LIVE 2025 occasion in Chicago subsequent Might. Share these experiences on LinkedIn and different shops, as I do, to showcase your capabilities as a grasp networker or organizer. Your employer will see you in a special gentle. Be taught to be a storyteller. Tales resonate extra deeply than information and figures. Use your tales to let folks learn about your persona, talents, and values. They’re essential elements of your private model.
Publicity: How Properly Do Folks Know You?
Publicity is about making certain that the correct folks — your colleagues and senior leaders — are conscious of your contributions. With out visibility, you gained’t get promoted.
I realized this the onerous manner. Once I was a vice chairman (VP, a mid-level rank) at an American financial institution, my boss went on vacation and requested me to current the weekly market replace to the gross sales and structuring groups throughout Asia on his behalf. I advised him I couldn’t host the assembly as a result of I used to be busy getting ready for my skilled exams. However this was simply an excuse. In actuality, I feared public talking. He obtained one other VP to do it as a substitute. By year-end, when it got here to promotion nominations, guess who my supervisor selected to advertise to director degree? That’s proper, not me, however the different VP.
In the event you carry out effectively in your job however don’t communicate up in conferences, you’re making it tough for managers to learn about your work. Even when your personal boss desires to advertise you, nobody else within the firm will help you as a result of they hardly know you. It comes all the way down to this easy equation:
How good you’re × Your presentation abilities = How good folks assume you’re
So not solely should you do good work, however you need to additionally seize alternatives to let folks know in regards to the work you do.
Improve Publicity
- Communicate Up Throughout Conferences: Share your insights, ask considerate questions, and ensure your voice is heard.
- Volunteer for Excessive-Visibility Duties: For instance, supply to emcee the corporate’s annual dinner.
- Pursue Worldwide Alternatives: Inside transfers to totally different places of work or nations can considerably enhance your publicity. I labored in London and Hong Kong throughout my profession, and these stints allowed me to construct relationships with world leaders.
- Interact with the World Neighborhood: Attend CFA occasions exterior your own home nation to attach with a broader community.
Full Your PIE
Promotions require extra than simply onerous work and outcomes. By mastering the PIE framework, you’ll place your self for long-term profession success.
