Early in my career, I used to ask my boss this question. As I grew in my career and started managing others, this was also the question that was asked to me in variations of “what's the gap between me and the next level or next promotion?” Let me begin by saying that performing at the next level doesn't automatically guarantee a promotion, and vice versa. While I do believe that demonstrating performance at the next level improves your chances, many other factors influence promotion decisions–which we won’t get into here.
So what does performing at the next level look like? The answer varies. It depends on the individual, the organization, the company culture, and many other factors. I can't give you a definitive answer tailored to your career. However, I can share what I believe to be a common thread, and things I have found helpful, at least in my career and at the companies I have/had been with.
But first, another parable:
The King was out on his boat with his trusty general and two soldiers. They were on the King's annual deer hunting trip to the islands. The sun was getting high, and the two soldiers were drenched in sweat from rowing and maneuvering the boat. One of them murmured under his breath, "Why do we have to work so hard while that lazy general is just napping in the sun? What can he do that we can't?" The King overheard the comment but said nothing.
Later that day, they docked on an island. The King quietly sent the murmuring soldier ashore to check for signs of wildlife. The soldier returned and reported, "Your Majesty. I saw some deer in the bushes." The King then asked how many he had seen. The soldier went back into the island and returned saying he saw about eight deer in the bushes. "How many were male and how many were female?" the King asked. The soldier then went back into the island for a third time.
The King then woke the general, who was flustered to realize he had fallen asleep in the King's presence. The King asked the general to check for signs of wildlife on the island. The general went ashore, and when he returned, he said, "Your Majesty, there are about eight or nine deer grazing in the bushes. I saw two bucks and six does. I recommend we move on to another island with a greater abundance of deer for your hunting trip, Your Majesty."
There are certainly some questionable aspects to this story: did the general really sleep through the soldier going back and forth three times? It's a parable, after all. Best not think too hard about it. Still, you can probably guess where I'm going with this. Whenever someone asked me that question, the one thing I consistently asked in return–regardless of their level–was this: what kind of questions came up when presenting your work, and how could you have preemptively answered them without awaiting incoming questions?
To me, performing at the next level–at least one key aspect of it–looks like someone who can preemptively answer questions that someone at the next level would ask (themselves). If you understand what I mean, there's no need to keep reading, as I don’t have many more insights to offer. But if you're interested, I can elaborate a bit more.
There are a few reasons why I think it's important:
- Preemptively answering questions forces deeper thinking. It encourages you to be more comprehensive and consider more aspects of a problem. This is how skill sets are developed–in both depth and breadth. Answering these questions often means thinking about trade offs, how to present information in a way that's easily digestable, etc.
- Being prepared with answers (should) help accelerate progress, get a faster sign off without lots of follow ups–one trip onto the island rather than three, so to speak.
- It demonstrates diligence and increases preceived competence. In a collaborative environment, competence isn't just about what you know, but also how others perceive your ability. Things tend to go much more smoothly for those who are seen as highly competent.
Together, these behaviors allow someone operating at the next level to de-risk decisions and drive progress more quickly than someone at a junior level.
So what does this look like in practice? Well, it depends, but here are a few examples
- If you're an engineer sending out a changeset or pull request, review your own work first. Put yourself in the shoes of a reviewer with less context. What questions would they ask? You can preemptively respond in code comments. Better yet, improve the code or documentation to avoid the questions altogether.
- Ask someone more senior to review your work privately. Whether it's a document or a presentation, get feedback in a 1:1 setting and iterate. Then do the same with another person. Then a small group. By the time you present to a larger audience, you've already anticipated and addressed the key concerns. I always tell my team: big group meetings aren't the place to get alignment. Those meetings are just to inform.
- Look beyond your immediate work. Operating at the next level means thinking beyond your current scope of work. That could be considering the long-term trajectory of your work or understanding how your efforts align with those of your peers. This is a rich topic I’ll explore in more detail another day.
These are just a few incomplete examples–hopefully, ones you're already practicing. As mentioned, this is just one aspect of many. There are other important areas too, like effectively leveraging others, mentoring and developing teammates, and managing upward. I’ll save those for future posts.