4 steps to help you actually get promoted

Sarah was one of the most reliable people I knew during my time at Google.

She volunteered for everything.

Organized team offsites. Took detailed notes in every meeting. Managed the guest speaker series. Said yes to every favor request from partner teams.

Everyone loved working with Sarah. She was the person you could always count on.

She was also incredibly frustrated.

One day, Sarah told me she felt stuck.

She’d been at the same level for 4 years while watching peers get promoted around her.

“I work harder than anyone,” she said. “I say yes to everything. What am I doing wrong?”

The Problem

The frustration I watched Sarah experience is incredibly common.

In fact, it’s one of the most common patterns I see with my current coaching clients.

You say yes to every request.You volunteer for everything. You become the person everyone can count on.

And then you wonder why you’re not getting promoted.

You’re drowning in “NAP” work.

NAP = Not Actually Promotable.

These are tasks that need to get done but will never get you ahead:

• Taking notes during meetings
• Planning accommodations for offsites
• Coordinating team events
• Managing logistics for presentations
• Being the go-to person for “quick favors”

Here’s the brutal truth I need you to know:

When you say yes to every piece of NAP work, you’re training your manager to see you as the person who handles small things.

They think: “You’re great with logistics. Let’s give the strategy project to someone else.”

You become indispensable for work that doesn’t matter. And invisible for work that does.

The Big Small Thing

The solution isn’t to become unhelpful.

It’s to become selectively helpful.

Here’s the 4-part framework I give my coaching clients:

1. Do the NAP Audit.

Make a list of everything you did last week. Put each task in one of three buckets:

#1: Big: Projects tied to your boss’s top priorities. Work that puts you in rooms with senior leaders. Assignments that will be the first line on your performance review.

#2: Small: Work that makes you look busy but doesn’t move the needle on business goals.

If more than 15% of your time is in the “Small” bucket, you have a NAP problem.

2. Practice your “no” scripts.

Saying no is hardest with your boss. But it’s also one of the most important skills you can learn.

Q: “Can you coordinate the team lunch?

A: “No, I don’t have the bandwidth right now. I’m focused on the Q4 product launch.”

Q: “Can you review the 75 rows in this spreadsheet and update whether they’ve been actioned?”

A: “No, that’s not good use of my time on this project. I’d like to delegate that to one of our contractors, so I can finish the macro strategy of building real-time actioning into the process.”

Q: “Can you help plan the holiday party?”

A: “That’s not where I can add the most value. I’m deep in the customer research project.”

Notice: No apologies or long explanations. Just a clear no with brief context about your higher-priority work.

3. Volunteer for one big thing this quarter.

Instead of raising your hand for everything, raise it for something that matters.

The project your boss mentioned is a top priority. The presentation to senior leadership. The initiative that will be a bullet point on your quarterly performance review.

Then crush it.

4. Make it easy for your boss to see the value you’re creating.

Send them a weekly email highlighting your progress on strategic projects. When you’re in meetings, reference the analysis you’ve been working on. When decisions need to be made, be the person who shows up with data and recommendations.

The work that gets you promoted isn’t the work you do. It’s the work people remember you doing.

A Quick Story (MUST READ!)

When I first wrote this draft, I hesitated.

Would I really tell someone to say no to their boss? Isn’t that career suicide?

Then the very next day, I had a coaching session with a woman in the retail industry. She told me she was overdue for a promotion. Her manager agreed. And you know what he told her?

“Learn to say no.”

He literally asked her to stop taking on so much. To set better priorities and go deeper on fewer projects.

They even laughed about how he was part of the problem and always giving her more to do!

That conversation reminded me: saying no (even to your boss) isn’t rude. It’s a leadership skill.

Want more tips on how to get promoted?

How This Helps You Get What You Want

When you escape the NAP trap…

People stop seeing you as the person who “helps out.” And they start seeing you as the person who “gets important things done.”

The hardest part isn’t learning to say no.

It’s believing you deserve to say yes to bigger things.

You do.