A Business Mentor Explains How To Get Promoted In 2026

What’s changed most about getting promoted in 2026 compared to even a few years ago?  

AI is the big beast. On a more micro-level, companies are restructuring, jobs are being cut and automation is the new buzzword. On a macro-level, the world as we once knew it seems to be shifting into even more unpredictable territory. Companies seem to be reacting to this by taking on less risk, often making promotions harder to come by. Building your case for promotion is therefore even more critical and needs more clarity and strategy. 

What’s the biggest myth people still believe about promotions? 

That hard work alone will get you there, eventually. This is not the case. Just keeping your head down and delivering consistently is not enough. You need to be seen to be 'seen'. Today, leaders tend to look more at breadth. They want to see how you conduct yourself across the board, whether your behaviours align with the company's values and whether you’re already demonstrating that you are leadership material (even if the promotion you are after does not, strictly speaking, lead a team).  

What can you do to raise your visibility to the decision makers? 

• Network – get to know your colleagues across different functions and departments. Allow them to get to know you, what you're working on, where your skills lie, and where they may be able to call on your expertise. This will help get your name out there (especially if you are relatively new to the organisation) and may potentially land you with some interesting and unexpected projects. 

• Level Up – each quarter, set 20 minutes aside with your line manager's boss (or equivalent in your company's structure) to run through what you are working on and what you are hoping to or have achieved. Make sure your boss is aware that you are doing this (so that you are not keeping them out of the loop), but this is a really good way of getting exposure to the next level up, who can then start to think of you when the next round of structural changes or promotions come around. 

• Join Groups – find committees or roundtables within and outside your organisation that can help raise your profile, gain industry insight, and expand your network. If these groups are external, find ways to weave the learnings back into your organisation and share them. 

• Build Your Own Personal Boardroom – this is crucial. Start by getting yourself a mentor or ideally more than one, whom you respect and whose career is going places in the organisation. They will no doubt understand the politics and process for promotion, so they should be able to steer you in the right direction. This can also lead to the fundamental piece of the promotion jigsaw: sponsorship. Pick people you trust and who will challenge you and ask the difficult questions, so that you are prepared when it comes to the candidate selection. Make sure your personal boardroom includes your own cheerleaders, the people who really boost your confidence and keep you motivated and of course, those with whom you can let off steam when needed – it’s important to keep your stress levels in check.   

What’s the difference between being good at your job and being genuinely promotable?  

Networks. Promotions rarely come about just because you are excellent at your current role – in fact, it could arguably hinder a promotion as people will want you stay where you are. Having a strong network and increasing your exposure within the company (and ideally outside it in the wider industry) is usually what gets you promoted faster. 

When should you start acting like you’re already in the next role – and what does that look like day-to-day?  

If you’re serious about getting promoted, your current role should still feel slightly nerve-wracking. In other words, you should still be growing in your current job. Once you start to feel like you’ve gotten to grips with the skills needed for your current role, that you’re meeting or excelling at achieving your targets and that you’re getting to the stage when you’re beginning to grow out of your current role (the timing on this will be different for everyone) that’s when you can start putting out the feelers to move on or up and take on tasks or leadership opportunities that fall into the category of the level you want to be promoted into. 

What are your top three ways to build influence and presence quickly at a company?  

If you’re new to the company, it all starts with your First 100 Days Plan: work out who your key stakeholders are, and carve out scheduled time and regular catch-ups with them to get a deeper understanding of the business, strategy, and immediate challenges. This way, they get to know you and feel you are taking the business seriously by giving them allotted quality time (this is all about observing and asking questions so you can shape your role and hit the ground running). Finally, get to know your team mates, what they’re working on and what you might be able to get involved in as a learning opportunity. If the company doesn’t already have a formal mentoring scheme, ask if you can be paired with a mentor for the area or skill set you want to build – this can also open up your professional network and sphere of influence early on. Finally, look out for the easy wins that can demonstrate your can-do attitude from the start. 

How do you make your impact measurable if your job doesn’t come with obvious metrics or KPIs?  

As an example, being an in-house lawyer doesn’t come with measurable metrics, even though you’re supporting the business and helping your commercial colleagues drive up profits. Your measurable metric in this situation is to show you are the “go-to” trusted business adviser and team player who consistently delivers. You can adapt this type of model to your own situation. I would also strongly recommend getting involved in mentoring programmes – not only will it build your network and raise your profile, you will no doubt learn a lot from these relationships as well as learning more about the business and potentially the politics too.  

Actively seek stretch assignments that might allow you the opportunity to work with different teams or different stakeholders that can benefit you when the promotion process comes around. Another way to do this is to look out for any opportunities to make efficiencies that will benefit the company’s bottom line and where relevant, align them with market practice. This shows commitment and leadership skills to those who would benefit from these tweaks and can ultimately be measured by resulting business growth and increased profits. 

What should people document throughout the year to build a strong promotional case?  

It’s wise to think beyond your current role. What can you do to demonstrate your value add above and beyond your role? If this can be measured in numbers, even better. However, this could also be joining committees, creating committees (if there is a genuine requirement that you have identified), setting up informal 'lunch and learns' to share knowledge or improve efficiencies from a project you have been working on, taking part in industry events externally – speaking on panels is a good way to raise your profile and meet like-minded people in your area of expertise and beyond. All of these can be documented for your performance reviews that will help make you stand out from the crowd. No one is going to promote you just because you have been doing your job for a certain amount of time – showing that you are already starting to operate at the level above you is the one of the strongest factors that can push you upwards. 

When is the right time to raise the idea of promotion? 

Not at the start of your current role. Depending on the job you are doing and the level you are at, it is important to demonstrate that you are already working well at your current level before advancing. Only you will know when the time is right and you can test this with trusted colleagues if you feel comfortable doing so. Promotions should never be couched as personal favours. Objectivity is key, so that no one can claim you didn't deserve it or that it wasn't merit-based. If your company has a job description or similar for the promotion role you’re after, use this as a checklist for what you need to be showing for the step-up role. You can then keep a running list of all your achievements each quarter and what you are targeting for the next quarter. This then makes it a clear, no-brainer decision when it comes to promotion discussions.  If your manager says “not yet”, what’s the smartest follow-up? 

I would take this as constructive feedback. Make sure you ask where the perceived gaps are and what you need to show and by when, to ensure you are on the right track. Keep checking in with your boss as you start plugging those perceived gaps, as this shows you have taken on the feedback and are following their instructions on how to ensure you get the promotion you want.  

What skills are becoming ‘promotion currency’ in 2026 – especially with AI changing how we work?  

Although history may be repeating itself, a new world order may also be emerging, shaking up how we have learned to live and work. This all sounds very dramatic, but as individuals and employees, we can only control what we can control, which is relatively small against global changes, including AI. However, the fundamental traits of flexibility, willingness to learn, adaptability, resilience and integrity will stand you in good stead as 'promotion currency'. These have always been important, but now they seem to be even more so. We can also stand out from what many regard as the increasing threat of AI by growing our people skills and empathy. So far, AI has not been able to master these. 

What’s the best way to avoid being ‘out of sight, out of mind’ in hybrid or remote set-ups?  

This is always tricky, but post-Covid, teams are more used to the remote set-up. If the remoteness is due to differing time zones, ensure you are rotating the times of your meetings to make them more inclusive – one region will always take a hit but that should get spread out more evenly across teams over the year. If you work full-time remotely, or most of the time, then ensure you diarise regular catch-ups, even if they're only a quick 20 minutes, with colleagues, to check in, cover areas you are working on, or provide updates. Regular contact off email is very helpful in building and strengthening your networks and will help keep you front and centre. 

When should you accept it’s time to just move on elsewhere – and how do you do that strategically to level up?  

This can be a tricky one. If, for example, you have missed out on a promotion, the first thing is to make sure you receive feedback from the entire interview panel, including HR. From this, if you still feel there is room to grow, take that feedback on board, really work on the areas identified, and find clear ways to demonstrate your commitment to the company. Doing so will prove you are willing to grow and ultimately, that you are serious about the promotion role. Keep a list of good examples that you can use for your next interview process that tick the boxes that have been identified as needing more work. 

That said, there is another side to this situation, which is far more sensitive. It is where there is an individual ‘blocker’ to your promotion. You may already know who it is but often, they are a hidden, negative force, ready to provide all the reasons why your promotion should not go ahead – and these reasons are usually personal not professional. Revealing the blocker's identity is therefore crucial if you really want to stick around and add value to the company. Once their identity is revealed, do not ignore them in the hope they will disappear. They won't. You need to confront the situation head on. This takes courage and requires swallowing pride. Take time to meet with your blocker regularly – I would suggest quarterly. Ask them for their feedback and, crucially, help to get you to the next level. This may sound counter-intuitive but it works. The human ego may be a flimsy thing but it can be pumped up so quickly by flattery. Once your blocker has helped you strategise, they will not want to see their plan fail. If, after this, you feel that you really have given it your best shot and still no movement is imminent, that's when you can walk out of the company, head held high and ideally, into a better and more aligned role where your talents are valued.     

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How To Navigate Your Career Like A Legend by Natalie Abou-Alwan is published by Brown Dog Books. Available at AMAZON.CO.UK