When I started my career, my parents told me, as many immigrant parents told their kids, "work hard and you will be rewarded, noticed, and promoted."

That advice served me well for the first few years of my career. However, as I got more senior in my roles, I found myself focusing on my performance: putting in the hours, hustling to show how smart and knowledgeable I was. I didn't even know there were other parts to manage other than my performance until I came across the P.I.E model.

Not knowing about this cost me my job and a promotion, so I believe deeply in the P.I.E model.

According to Harvey J. Coleman, author of Empowering Yourself, The Organizational Game Revealed, performance alone may not be enough to get that next promotion. It appears that performance is only 10% of the consideration for promotion. Let me share that again, performance is only 10% of consideration for promotion. WHAT?? So what else is your promotion based on? Image and exposure make up the remaining 90%.

Managing your image and exposure becomes increasingly important as you move up in your career, and you need to start looking and acting the part of your next promotion. The P.I.E. Tool is a great way to think about this in an all-inclusive way:

Performance: This is about the day-to-day work you’re tasked with and the quality of the results you deliver.
Image: This is what other people think of you. Your personal brand. Do you maintain a positive attitude? Do you lead with solutions to issues, or are you the person that solely offers roadblocks when others suggest changes or alternatives? Do you leave dead bodies along the way to your results? Do other teams/peers enjoy working with you?
Exposure: Who knows about you and what you do? Does your boss know what you do? Does their boss know you and what you do? Do others inside and outside your organization know anything about you?

Management discussions regarding promotions and succession planning typically start with someone in the room suggesting a candidate’s name for consideration. Performance will be evaluated of course, but the first thing most people think of when they hear a name is whether they know the person or not:

Do I know what they’ve done or accomplished?
Have I interacted with them directly?
Have I seen them do presentations?
Have I read things they’ve written?
Have I heard others talk about them?
In a nutshell, are they visible?

If your boss and your boss’s boss don’t know who you are, you’re very unlikely to get promoted. Promotions go to the next leaders and role models, and it’s impossible to think of someone in that way if they don’t recognize you by name. This is why you should start taking action to move beyond performing well and start increasing your exposure and creating an image for yourself.

It might just be the key to your next promotion!

As Dorie Clark put it, “God forbid something happened at your company and there are layoffs. What you want is a situation where so many people know you and respect you that like five minutes later, your phone is exploding because people are like, Oh my gosh, maybe we can get her.” Establishing yourself publicly as a subject matter expert allows you to become more indispensable in your field. Her 3-step formula includes content creation, social proof, and network; build up your reputation and credibility so that individuals outside your organization know about your expertise.

How do you expand your exposure?

Don't just prepare presentations and strategies to your boss, ask to attend to support them in the meeting or to be the subject matter expert.
Ask your boss what meetings you can attend that would increase your exposure. These should align with a project or your career goals; the goal here is to get exposure to your boss's peers to increase your influence and for them to see the great work you’re doing.
Raise your hand for stretch assignments or projects.
Executive shadowing, ask to be a fly on the wall for your boss's boss’s meetings so that you understand the language they use, how decisions are being made, and so that you have a greater understanding of the gap you have between your current position and the next level.
Seek external exposure and visibility as well. Building a brand and exposure outside the organization can develop your brand internally. E.g. board work, teaching, volunteering with an industry organization.
Share your ideas and voice via a speaking engagement, a published blog post, or via your involvement as a board member for a professional organization.

Questions to think about:

How would you rate your exposure today?
What is a new strategy you can start to apply this week?

“Exposure and attention make a work famous - the more you talk about it, the more attention it gets, the more validity it achieves.” - Andy Warhol

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