by Stephanie Bickel
You’re ready for a promotion, but something feels off. You’ve met all your targets, received positive feedback, yet no one is discussing you for the next leadership role. What’s missing? You’ve seen others move up the ranks, and you can’t help but wonder—are senior leader communication skills the secret to advancing? Is it about performance alone, or is there a more strategic approach?
Advancing into senior leadership is not just about doing your job well—it’s about ensuring that decision-makers see you as ready for the next level. In our latest podcast episode on Campaign to Promotion, we uncover the critical role that senior leader communication skills play in positioning yourself as the obvious candidate. It’s not only about hitting performance milestones but about effectively communicating your readiness, showing leadership maturity, and building visibility with the right people in your organization.
Many professionals believe that promotions are solely based on merit and performance. However, the truth is that senior leader communication skills are often a deciding factor in whether or not someone is seen as promotion-ready. As Harvard Business Review highlights, promotions often favor those who can communicate leadership potential—even when their performance isn't drastically better than others. It’s about how well you can convey your leadership abilities, articulate vision, and make yourself visible to senior management.
Here’s the good news: mastering senior leader communication skills can significantly improve your chances of promotion. Start working on how you articulate strategy and vision, specifically. Highlight the return on effort and investment. Create value and communicate that value. Relying solely on performance without enhancing your communication and visibility can limit your upward mobility. To stand out, you need to intentionally manage how you’re perceived, communicate effectively in leadership settings, and build strategic relationships.
According to a study in the Harvard Business Review, 68% of managers struggle with providing clear guidance about promotions and career advancement, leaving many employees unsure about the path forward. Additionally, professionals who actively develop senior leader communication skills and cultivate relationships with senior leaders are 23% more likely to be promoted. This data underscores that being a top performer isn't enough—you must communicate your value and potential effectively.
Consider Sarah, a mid-level manager at a tech company. Despite consistently delivering impressive results, she wasn’t being considered for promotion. Sarah realized that her lack of visibility was holding her back. She began asking her boss for feedback, improving her senior leader communication skills, and making her achievements known in meetings. She also networked with senior leaders and started preparing stories to illustrate her impact on the company’s bottom line. Within six months, Sarah’s efforts paid off—she was promoted. Her success wasn’t just due to her results, but also because she learned to communicate her leadership readiness to the right people.
Fast forward six months. You’re in a leadership meeting, not as an attendee, but as someone being discussed for the next promotion. Senior leaders are sharing stories about your strategic impact and how you’ve contributed to the company’s success. You’ve honed your senior leader communication skills, built strong relationships with decision-makers, and positioned yourself as an emerging leader. You’re no longer just a high performer—you’re seen as a future leader. By investing in these skills now, you can shape this future for yourself.
Start your campaign to promotion today by learning more about senior leader communication skills in our latest podcast episode: Campaign to Promotion.
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How you speak is how you lead. Want to study this with other leaders? Take a look at www.speakbydesign.com/join. That's our leadership communication program that includes private, group, and self-paced learning for every learning style.
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