Early in my profession, I missed out on promotions regardless that I labored exhausting. As an engineer by coaching, I assumed my success can be performance-based. I mistakenly thought that my worth to a company can be measured solely by my technical expertise — how shortly and precisely I may compute the costs of advanced monetary derivatives.
It wasn’t till years into my banking profession that I spotted my mistake: I had neglected picture and publicity. Harvey Coleman’s 1996 research on profession development revealed that profession success is dependent upon a mixture of efficiency, picture, and publicity (PIE). The truth is, solely 10% of success correlates to efficiency, whereas picture accounts for 30%, and publicity for a staggering 60%.
For those who’re delivering outcomes however are nonetheless being handed over for promotions, it’s time to take inventory of the lacking items in your PIE.
Picture: Your Fame at Work
What are you identified for at work? In my first job as a international trade (FX) gross sales skilled at a Singapore financial institution, I didn’t do properly as a result of I lacked social expertise. Though I improved my promoting expertise considerably after a yr, the poor impression my colleagues and executives had of me was mounted. It was troublesome to vary their minds. If I had stayed on, I’d have been a mediocre salesperson at finest. So, I left to pursue my grasp’s in finance.
Once I joined Citi in 2001 as a derivatives structurer, I confirmed a powerful curiosity in educating. I volunteered to conduct product coaching for each purchasers and colleagues. In a short time, I constructed a popularity not simply as a talented structurer but additionally as a wonderful coach. This popularity led to invites from gross sales heads throughout Asia to coach their groups and clients, considerably enhancing my private model.
Easy methods to Construct Your Private Model
Develop a signature talent, one thing that’s totally different out of your core experience however might be included into your work.
As an example, in case you’re a junior analysis analyst in an asset administration firm, you may develop video enhancing expertise. By providing to shoot and edit movies for senior colleagues presenting at funding conferences, you can be seen as a beneficial group participant whom they wish to carry alongside to occasions.
You probably have already labored at your present firm for greater than a yr, altering your inner model is usually a problem. I recommend specializing in creating your exterior model and letting it affect your inner standing.
Volunteering with a CFA society, organizing occasions, or serving as a speaker liaison are nice methods to do that. I’m proud to be a speaker on the CFA Institute LIVE 2025 occasion in Chicago subsequent Might. Share these experiences on LinkedIn and different retailers, as I do, to showcase your capabilities as a grasp networker or organizer. Your employer will see you in a special gentle. Study to be a storyteller. Tales resonate extra deeply than details and figures. Use your tales to let individuals learn about your character, skills, and values. They’re essential elements of your private model.
Publicity: How Effectively Do Folks Know You?
Publicity is about guaranteeing that the correct individuals — your colleagues and senior leaders — are conscious of your contributions. With out visibility, you gained’t get promoted.
I discovered this the exhausting approach. Once I was a vp (VP, a mid-level rank) at an American financial institution, my boss went on vacation and requested me to current the weekly market replace to the gross sales and structuring groups throughout Asia on his behalf. I informed him I couldn’t host the assembly as a result of I used to be busy making ready for my skilled exams. However this was simply an excuse. In actuality, I feared public talking. He acquired one other VP to do it as an alternative. By year-end, when it got here to promotion nominations, guess who my supervisor selected to advertise to director degree? That’s proper, not me, however the different VP.
For those who carry out properly in your job however don’t converse up in conferences, you’re making it troublesome for managers to learn about your work. Even when your individual boss needs to advertise you, nobody else within the firm will help you as a result of they hardly know you. It comes all the way down to this straightforward equation:
How good you’re × Your presentation expertise = How good individuals suppose you’re
So not solely should you do good work, however you should additionally seize alternatives to let individuals know concerning the work you do.
Easy methods to Improve Publicity
- Converse Up Throughout Conferences: Share your insights, ask considerate questions, and ensure your voice is heard.
- Volunteer for Excessive-Visibility Duties: For instance, supply to emcee the corporate’s annual dinner.
- Pursue Worldwide Alternatives: Inside transfers to totally different places of work or international locations can considerably enhance your publicity. I labored in London and Hong Kong throughout my profession, and these stints allowed me to construct relationships with international leaders.
- Interact with the International Group: Attend CFA occasions outdoors your own home nation to attach with a broader community.
Full Your PIE
Promotions require extra than simply exhausting work and outcomes. By mastering the PIE framework, you’ll place your self for long-term profession success.
