Get promoted to VP at my company

As of a month ago, I now lead a team of seven talented, driven professionals after a re-structuring of our function. Working as a Director on a team of 8 in a $16B global company is exciting. I feel very privileged and fortunate to have this opportunity to lead. I see this as my time to demonstrate my talent, experience for what we do in our function – but also for how I can teach and motivate people.

Our team at work is in a highly transitional state. Fact is that we lost about a dozen people over the course of the last 6-8 months. That’s an unusually high rate of turnover at a first-rate, industry-leading company.

I’m ready to take on more responsibility and lead. My boss has told me that it is coming. He has said that my current job is “going away” and that I will lead a team of 5-6 people in a re-structured department in a new position. That was in December and January he mentioned this. This is supposed to happen in March.

I am trying to hold on. However, I admit I am frustrated and slightly bored. I have grown out of my position. I simply do not have any visibility or a lot of opportunity with my category.

My boss just gave me a new category on top of my existing responsibilities until we backfill the position. I need to grab hold of this and learn what I can, and truly drive whatever benefit I can in the short period of time I will have.

I need to be patient. I need to recognize that opportunities need time to ripen. I hope he will deliver on what he said by mid-March. If he doesn’t, I will need to have a heart-to-heart chat about how idle I am feeling and my future.

Today is Tuesday, Aug 28th, 2007—my 32nd birthday. On the career front, things seem to be going very well. I received some outstanding feedback from our Sr. VP last week when I scheduled a career conversation with her. I also have been chosen as a lead candidate to go over to China for 5 weeks to work on a special project.

I also received a favorable perfomance rating for FY07 and have been informed I need to be prepared to take on a broader leadership role in the next several months.

I am feeling very good about my progress. My goal is to make VP in 2.5 to 3 years. This is an agressive timeline, but I think achieveable if there is any luck and timing on my side.

I have noticed that I have not been as passionate about my work as of late. I don’t know what it is. My company is an industry leader and there is lots of challenge. But there is a missing dynamic among our immediate team. Really low connectivity and some recent turnover. Maybe that’s it?? I think there may be an opportunity to show some of my leadership potential.

I am doing reasonably well at my company. I have been there for almost 3.5 years. I have been promoted once – about 15 months ago. The next promotion to VP would be the biggest. I think I need about 3 years to get there.

Additionally, I just moved us out here to the Chicago area in May. A promotion may require that we move back to Connecticut to the head office. I’ve decided that I would be willing to consider the move back for the promotion. I’ve already planted a seed for Jen as well.

My plan is to move laterally by the end of 2007, which is a position that MUST be a team lead over multiple direct reports. This is my one gap in experience. Two solid years in the next role, I hope, will get me considered for a promotion in late 2009/early 2010.

In the meantime, I need to rock out my next 9 months in this current job.