What Not Getting Promoted Taught Me About Promoting the Right People
Let me take you back to my time at LinkedIn.
It was 2015, and I was about a year into my role as a Relationship Manager 1.
At LinkedIn, roles were tiered on a scale from 1 to 3 based on seniority, and promotions were the norm.
People got promoted fast, sometimes every 12-16 months.
It was my first full year in the role.
I had performed well, ending the year at 90% of my sales target.
Considering that I was the first relationship manager in Italy and had inherited a lot of churn to manage, I felt pretty proud.
My team and my manager seemed happy with my work, too.
Naturally, I started expecting the next step, a level-up in salary and role to Senior Relationship Manager.
I sat with my manager to discuss the promotion I thought I had earned.
Then, reality hit.
He pulled out a document I hadn't seen before (my bad): the "Leadership-Leverage-Results" framework (LLR for short).
He explained that LinkedIn used this structure to evaluate promotions.
Then, he opened his calculator, summed up my performance reviews from the past quarters, and walked me through the numbers.
It turned out I wasn't quite where I thought I was.
On Leadership and Leverage, I scored well.
I had taken on projects that benefited not just myself but my broader team.
However, regarding results - my ability to hit and exceed goals - I had only achieved 90% of my target.
I wasn't eligible for promotion.
I wasn't at risk of being fired (Thank God!), but I wasn't moving up the ladder yet.
My manager explained it very clearly: at LinkedIn, all three factors - leadership, Leverage, and Results - had to be met consistently to be eligible for a promotion.
Not two out of three, all three.
It was a wake-up call.
(For those curious, I did get promoted the following year. A change in leadership delayed my promotion for a semester, but it happened at the end).
Why Startups Need a Promotion Framework
At early-stage startups, promotions are never there.
Teams are small, structures are loose, and formal frameworks feel like something for "later."
After all, who has time for process-building when you're in the trenches?
But here's the thing: as your startup grows, so do your people.
And without a clear framework for rewarding and promoting them, you risk the best to leave.
Even in the early days, it's worth considering a system for promoting people that reflects your company's values and priorities.
Here's what I learned from LinkedIn's "Leadership-Leverage-Results" framework that can be applied to startups:
1. Leadership is Crucial
Evaluate how your team members lead formally and informally and act when nobody is looking.
Are they setting an example for others? Are they embodying your company's values in their day-to-day actions?
Leadership is not for managers only but for anyone who aspires to be one.
2. Leverage Counts
This is about impact beyond the individual.
Is the person's work lifting the entire team? Are they finding ways to create scalable processes and improve efficiency?
At a startup, Leverage often means multiplying results by working smarter, not harder.
3. Results Are Non-Negotiable
Hitting goals is the baseline.
Exceeding them is even better.
Your best people should deliver consistently - not once in a while.
Results don't mean just "doing their job"; they mean making a sizeable contribution to the company.
A Final Thought
It's never too early to start thinking about promotions, even in a fast-moving, resource-strapped environment like a startup.
Teams that thoughtfully track performance and reward the right behaviours create fairness, accountability, and a high-performance culture.
That's the kind of culture that wins in the long run and delivers the best results!
Thanks for reading, and I'll see you next week!
