Copyright forbes
Promotion conversations are already happening behind closed doors—where careers are accelerated, stalled, or quietly passed over. Here are three moves to ensure you come out ahead. It goes without saying that preparing for your performance review matters—but it’s not the career juggernaut many professionals have been conditioned to believe. By the time you hit "submit" on your self-appraisal, the real promotion decisions are already taking shape behind closed doors. Titles, raises, and opportunities are being discussed—often weeks before you ever walk into that meeting. And that’s why understanding how the performance review system really works is crucial if you want to stay visible when decisions are made. If that realization makes your stomach drop, you’re not alone. Many high performers assume the performance review is the moment their results will speak for themselves. In reality, it’s when your manager confirms what’s already been decided in a series of private calibration sessions—where names are penciled into boxes and discussed by leaders two or three levels above you, including cross-functional colleagues who may know you only by reputation. The good news? Those decisions aren’t permanent. There’s still time to influence how your story is told in those rooms—especially if you know where to focus your energy. Before you do anything else, start with one essential step—grounding yourself in your own value Prep Step: Collect Your Career Receipts Every smart move starts with self-awareness. Before you enlist advocates or signal ambition, you need a grounded understanding of your value—what you’ve delivered, why it matters, and how to communicate it during your performance review discussion. If you’ve already gathered your wins and feedback, you’re right on track. If not, start collecting your “career receipts”—the results, recognition, and impact stories that prove your worth. When your receipts are clear, your reputation writes itself. Once you’ve gathered your receipts, it’s time to put them to work. Here are three power plays that can shift perception, spark advocacy, and keep your name in promotion conversations before decisions are locked. MORE FOR YOU Declare Your Next Career Move Managers can’t champion what they don’t know you want. Research shows that “talent hoarding”—when managers hold onto high performers to avoid the pain of backfilling—remains a widespread issue in large organizations. That means silence can cost you advancement. The key is to be transparent about your ambitions while staying attuned to your manager’s perspective. As Erika Jefferson, founder of Career Intelligence for Scientists and Engineers, explains: “Make sure you also know your manager’s career aspirations before you share yours—you don’t want to be perceived as a threat. And consider the impact of your move on your team; understanding those dynamics helps you navigate the politics that often determine promotions.” The Pitfall Ambition can backfire if it’s delivered without context. Declaring “I want a promotion” without linking it to enterprise goals can sound self-focused or premature. The Power Play Frame your aspiration in terms of shared value: “I’d love to explore how I can take on a broader scope next year—particularly in areas that help our team deliver on [specific goal].” It signals growth and collaboration, not competition—and positions your manager as your ally, not your obstacle. Rally the Right Advocates Promotions are rarely decided by one person. Behind every advancement conversation—and every performance review roundtable—is a roomful of leaders weighing trade-offs—whose voices carry, whose names come up, and whose don’t. Performance calibration often includes leaders beyond your direct chain of command. And according to LeanIn.org, women remain 24 percent less likely than men to have a senior-level sponsor actively advocating for them. The Pitfall Advocacy can’t be forced or faked. Asking a senior leader to “vouch for you” without a relationship or proof of impact can feel transactional. The Power Play Focus on people who’ve seen your work firsthand. When someone thanks you for a job well done, follow Sarah Perugia’s advice: “Be brave and say, ‘Thank you so much—I really appreciate the feedback. Would you feel comfortable passing that along to my line manager or a senior stakeholder?’” If you’ve missed these moments during the year, take inventory now. It’s always better to request recognition in real time, but it’s not too late to ask for it intentionally. And when you do, be specific. Marvin Webb, a fractional CFO and CHRO, notes that you can’t control what’s said about you behind closed doors, but you can guide it: “If you’re asking for advocacy,” Webb advises, “be specific about what you want.” Give advocates something concrete to repeat—like a metric, a project, or an outcome that demonstrates value. The clearer your story, the easier it is for someone else to tell it. Signal Next-Level Readiness Finally, promotions aren’t rewards for past work—they’re bets on future potential. You want decision-makers to look at you and think, “She’s already operating at the next level.” Or, “He’s done this before.” By the time your performance review conversation happens, your manager should feel like the promotion is simply catching up to the reality of how you’re already showing up. Research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology reinforces this dynamic: performance level alone explains surprisingly little about who gets promoted—it’s the trajectory that counts. In other words, motion promotes promotion. Managers reward upward momentum and visible growth just as much as they reward achievement in your current role. The Pitfall Many professionals assume that great work automatically speaks for itself. But without visible signals of growth—new skills, stretch projects, or leadership behaviors—decision-makers may see you as reliable, not rising. And research shows those perceptions aren’t always equal. Executive coach Sarah Perugia notes that men are often promoted for potential while women are promoted for proven experience—another reason it’s essential for everyone to learn how to tell stories that connect past performance to future impact. That’s why learning to tell your story—through examples, data, and real impact—matters so much. It helps decision-makers connect what you’ve already done to what’s next. When colleagues and leaders can’t picture you operating at the next level, they default to keeping you where you are. The Power Play Act—and communicate—as though you already hold the role you want next. As executive coach Dr. Grace Lee advises, “Start practicing what I call future-state decision-making. Before key meetings, ask yourself, ‘How would I approach this if I already held the next role?’” That doesn’t mean overstepping; it means modeling the mindset, ownership, and perspective of the level above yours—delegating more, mentoring others, and making cross-functional choices that serve the broader enterprise. By doing so, you shift the story being told about you from “She delivers” to “She leads.” Or from “He’s reliable” to “He’s ready.” And by the time formal ratings are locked, your promotion won’t feel like a leap—it’ll feel like a formality. Before the Ink Dries By now, most of the names being considered for promotion have already been penciled into boxes. Conversations are happening in rooms you may never enter, with people who know you by reputation more than relationship. But here’s the truth: pencils have erasers for a reason. Before the formal review cycle concludes, there’s still time to shape the story being told about you—through clarity, connection, and the way you carry yourself right now. The right conversation, advocate, or visible act of leadership can still tip the scales in your favor. Because in the end, no one gets promoted alone. Titles may be finalized behind closed doors, but the influence that shapes them starts long before the performance review meeting—and sometimes, in these final weeks, that influence can still make all the difference. If you liked this, you’ll also want to read: Think A Stellar Performance Review Will Get You Promoted? Think Again Women Are Still Breaking the Glass Ceiling—But At What Cost? Confused About AI? 4 ChatGPT Prompts Reveal The Right AI Skills To Get Promoted Renessa Boley Layne is a speaker, author, coach and creator of the FREE Success and Happiness Test. 12 questions reveal your unique strategy to get highly paid doing work you love. Editorial StandardsReprints & Permissions
