The biggest mistake agencies make is treating a promotion as a reward for doing the current job well. Doing the current job well is the baseline expectation; it's why they are still employed, not why they should be promoted. A promotion isn't a gold star for the past. It's a bet on the future.

So how do agencies make that bet responsibly? Define the destination before you promote anyone.

1. Document what each role actually requires and what the next one up looks like.

Every role on every career path at your agency should already have this defined, long before anyone's up for a promotion. Predefined expectations for each level: what success looks like, what the goals are, and what someone in this seat is accountable for. So if a role runs from Junior to Mid-level to Senior, don't leave the difference to the team’s interpretation - clearly define what's expected at each step.

Because here's the uncomfortable question: if you yourself, as the founder or the leadership team, can't clearly say what excellence looks like at each level, how can you possibly judge who's ready to move up? You can't assess someone against a standard that only exists in your head. It makes "they're doing a great job" a feeling, not a true measurement of caliber and skill. And gut-feel promotions are exactly how the wrong person moves up while the right one gets passed over, and few things push great people out the door faster than watching that happen.

When all levels are written down, all of that changes. Promotion becomes a clear comparison: here's where they are, here's where they'd be going, here's the gap. Now you're not asking "Do they feel ready?" Rather, you're asking "Have they closed the gap?" and that's a question you can actually answer.

2. Make them demonstrate the next role before they get the title.

And here's the cleanest test for individual contributors’ promotion readiness: are they already operating at the next level? The strongest candidates show competence in the higher role before they're given it: taking on harder problems, raising the quality bar, doing the work of the next seat while still in their current one. By doing this, you're not promoting them to prove themselves. You're promoting them because they already have. If you can't point to evidence that they can do the next job, then that means you're guessing, and guessing is how good people get set up to fail.

How long someone needs to demonstrate these traits before you make the call is up to you and what your agency actually needs. There's no universal number, but do not mistake "being thorough" for dragging your feet. Once someone has clearly and consistently proven they're operating at the next level, the clock starts ticking on your end, not theirs. 

Sit on it too long, and you send a quiet message that doing great work doesn't actually get rewarded here. Your best people notice that fast, and the ones ready to move up are exactly the ones with options elsewhere. So promote timely and accordingly to retain top talent.

3. Then have the tough conversations with 3 honest questions:

First question, for the IC: Do they even want it? This sounds obvious, but it's the most-skipped step. Plenty of brilliant ICs have no desire for more scope, more responsibility, or a different kind of work. Promoting someone into a role they don't actually want is how you lose a great contributor and leave a hole in the seat that they were built for.

Second question, for finance/leadership: Can the agency actually support it right now? Their readiness doesn't always line up with leadership's timing. Is the budget there for the raise that should come with the title? Is this the right moment, or are you mid-transition somewhere else that needs to settle first? And if you move them up, who covers what they do now? A promotion you can't resource is a promise you'll end up breaking.

Third question, for leadership: Is there a real need for this role, or are you just rewarding good work? Be honest about your motive. "They've been here a long time, and they're great" may not be the best reason to offer a promotion. The promotion should fill an actual need the agency has going forward. And sometimes the honest answer may be that they should be paid more, not given a different job. Recognition and promotion are two different tools, and blurring them is how good people end up in the wrong seat entirely or the right seat before they’re ready.

The Payoff of Promoting Well

Promoting ICs comes down to matching the person to the seat: skill for the craft, evidence over tenure, and readiness over recognition. Done well, a promotion is one of the strongest tools an agency has for keeping good people and growing them. Your best ICs are looking for a future here, and a clear path forward is what keeps them from leaving to find one somewhere else. Sit on a promotion someone has earned, and you lose them just as surely as a bad one would.

So promote smart. Done right, a promotion is one of the most rewarding parts of leadership: you watch someone grow into a role they earned, and you’ll see them build some of their best work and their future right here with you.

Learn how to promote smarter with us.