Take the Manager’s Position First: A Proven Path to Promotion

In many tech organizations, the path to promotion is a maze of metrics, reviews, and waiting for permission. Yet some engineers consistently leap ahead by doing the job of a manager before they have the title. Their strategy is simple: assume responsibility early, deliver results, and sustain that level of performance long enough for leaders to notice. ### The Origin of the Idea During a brief one‑on‑one with my CTO, he jokingly suggested that "if you want to get promoted, try to take my position." The real lesson lay beneath the humor: begin to perform the expectations of a manager before you are formally assigned the role. The advice stuck, and seeing it play out when I later managed a team confirmed its validity. ### What “Taking the Position” Looks Like The most memorable instance was when a junior engineer presented a complete RFC to reduce incident volume on a service—complete with identified problem, proposed solution, and a four‑week effort estimate. The engineer hadn’t been charged with operations, yet they had already mapped out a problem my CTO cares about and offered a concrete plan. By stepping outside their day‑to‑day tasks and addressing team‑level pain points, they demonstrated the same capacity I would need as an engineering manager. ### Sustained Performance: The Key Differentiator Promotions are not awarded for a single win. They are based on a pattern of behavior that leaders can rely on over time. Research indicates that managers often identify promotion candidates 3‑6 months before formal reviews. During that window, they look for consistent evidence that a person can maintain senior‑level judgment, even when the spotlight fades. One impressive project does not speak to daily reliability; six months of steady, high‑quality work does. ### The Responsibility‑First Mindset Traditional career growth waits for the title before taking on responsibilities. A more effective approach is the inverse: act as though you already hold the next level of responsibility. Start thinking like your manager—identify cross‑team issues, draft proposals, outline execution plans, and communicate with the right stakeholders. By aligning your day‑to‑day work with the challenges that a manager solves, you gradually build a track record that speaks louder than a résumé headline. ### Practical Steps to Adopt This Approach 1. **Map the Managerial Domain**: Understand the strategic problems, metrics, and decision‑making processes your manager handles. 2. **Identify a Tangible Issue**: Look for a recurring incident, knowledge gap, or process bottleneck that affects more than just your team. 3. **Draft a Structured Proposal**: Write an RFC or technical design document that includes problem definition, proposed solution, cost‑benefit analysis, dependencies, and a realistic timeline. 4. **Own the Execution**: Lead the effort, coordinate cross‑team resources, and maintain transparency through regular updates. 5. **Maintain Visibility**: Document outcomes, lessons learned, and impact metrics. Share these with leadership to showcase sustained contribution. 6. **Iterate Over Time**: Repeat the cycle with new problems, building a portfolio of initiatives that demonstrate reliability and initiative. ### Outcome Persisting in this pattern not only increases the likelihood of promotion but also enhances overall team productivity. When engineers routinely assume a manager’s view, incident rates drop, feature cycle times shorten, and the organization’s resilience improves. In summary, if you want to accelerate your career, start by taking on the responsibilities of the role you aspire to. Think beyond tasks, act before titles, and demonstrate consistent, high‑impact results. Over six months—or longer—you’ll create an undeniable case for promotion.