Are you helping your boss?
Early in my career, I thought getting promoted was about individual excellence. I focused on producing strong work, meeting deadlines, and hitting every metric within my control. I assumed that results spoke for themselves. They don’t. What I learned later is that promotions depend less on personal output and more on leverage. In other words, how much easier and more effective you make your manager’s work.
The turning point came when I started paying attention to what my manager was measured on. Every leader has their own set of pressures. Some are under cost constraints, some need faster delivery, others are struggling with team morale or executive visibility. Once I understood those pressures, I stopped guessing what mattered and started aligning my effort with their priorities. The effect was immediate. My work became more visible, my timing improved, and decisions started going my way.
Helping your manager succeed is not subservience. It’s strategic alignment. By anticipating what they need before they ask, you free them to operate at a higher level. You also show judgement with the rare ability to see how your role fits into a broader system. That’s what senior leaders are looking for when they assess who’s ready for more responsibility.
This approach also strengthens your network of trust. People promote those they believe will make the organisation run more smoothly, not those who add friction. By reducing uncertainty for your manager, you become someone they can rely on in pressure moments. Over time, that reliability compounds into opportunity.
It’s advice I wish I’d understood earlier. Technical skill gets you the job. But making your manager’s life easier gets you promoted.
About my career advice
These lessons come from my own experience of navigating my career and helping others do the same. It’s written for people who want to make progress in their careers to maximise their impact and maximise their earnings.