Do you want to get a manager promotion?
Do you want to get a manager promotion?
It's an important milestone for lateral hire consultants. You can acquire critical management skills and increase your job market value. Let's learn how you can secure your promotion.
I had a fantastic manager on my first project.
Once, a senior client lashed out at him during his presentation.
I got very stressed and wanted to become invisible.
But my manager handled it very well.
He patiently listened to the client and softly responded to his attacks. After a few minutes, his calm demeanor disarmed the client, and we moved on.
After the meeting, the manager seemed unscathed by this incident, as if nothing happened.
That was the first time I witnessed what managers can do. As a consultant, I have often observed my managers perform like superhumans.
I remember thinking I wanted to get a manager promotion and work for a few years to acquire these valuable management skills.
Many lateral hires desire to become at least managers.
It's their first promotion since they joined consulting. This represents the successful completion of their career transition.
Many of them joined consulting to improve their careers. They wanted to change industry, learn new skills, and reach higher positions.
But getting a manager promotion is extremely challenging.
It requires learning the consulting toolkit well and demonstrating full readiness for promotion. This is a tight timeline, and they must accomplish this in 2 to 2.5 years.
Let's learn how you can secure this promotion.
If you are an MBB consultant and want to secure your manager promotion, book a free 1-1 consultation to discuss how exactly I can help you. There is no commitment, and you can ask any burning questions in a risk-free enviroment.
The requirements for manager promotions are slightly different for each firm. Let me describe them using my McKinsey experience, but the main principles should apply to other firms.
I would argue that,
High performance is an essential condition to secure a manager's promotion.
This is especially true in the current tough economic conditions.
Let me explain this.
The review committee doesn't base its decisions solely on ratings. Instead, they focus on your demonstrated readiness for the role.
In McKinsey, you must work on 2-3 projects in full manager capacity to prove that you are ready for a promotion.
This means you must be staffed as a full manager while still being a consultant.
Now, imagine a partner who is staffing a manager for their project.
They have a simple choice.
Staff an experienced manager or an inexperienced consultant.
I bet there is no shortage of experienced managers on the beach looking for any opportunity.
It's a tough competition for you as a consultant.
Your only slight advantage is that you are cheaper than a manager, but not by much.
But your chances can improve if you have high performance and a stellar reputation. Partners will be more willing to make a leap of faith.
This means that to get promoted, you must become a high performer before your promotion window opens, ideally a few months earlier.
Achieving high performance in such a short timeline is a tall order.
Your race for promotion starts around the 12-month tenure, as it often takes a full year to learn the consulting toolkit and achieve high performance.
Going through this journey alone is extremely difficult.
That is why I developed my coaching program for lateral hires. I help them achieve high performance and secure their manager promotions.
If you are an MBB consultant unsure whether you can achieve a manager promotion, I want to speak with you.
Book a Free 1-1 Consultation to discuss whether I can help you through my coaching program. There is no commitment, and you can ask any burning questions in a risk-free environment.
Read this post to learn more about the Hero’s Journey coaching program.