It’s my work anniversary this week, celebrating six years at Chicago Roof Deck and Garden. The growth of the organization over the last six years has been tremendous moving from a role as a designer to an owner and design principal. What has been the most impactful over that time is how much the brand of CRD has permeated my life and frankly how much my life and personality have been layered...or forced, ha, upon the company’s culture. As one example, I became a father at home and have hired a young design team that I often times see as additional children. Not that they need to be supervised like kids, but rather the paternal instinct is hard to break. After six years it has become difficult to separate the work life from the personal life. And so it goes the success or failure of one is reflected in the other. So it becomes ever more crucial to be able to do personal things at work and work related things while out of the office. One can not exist without the other.

When looking at mainstream examples of this one would make a list that starts with Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Mark Zuckerberg. Branson doesn't have an “outfit” but it is is hard to imagine Virgin without his white beard, Apple without the black turtleneck and grey shirt wearing Zuck. The quintessential visible CEO, the face of an organization whose personal and corporate brand have no separation. Im sure within the inner circle of the other top 100 CEOs in the U.S. you would find the same story, but with much less glam. Forbes listed SAP, McKinsey & Co., Ernst & Young and Northwestern Mutual among the organizations with the most liked CEOs. Steep drop in the “cool factor”. All of these I would venture to guess that mainstream america finds it “acceptable” that these people are so intertwined within their organizations, but why does it seem so different when the ‘little guys’, the small business owners or just the sales rep blend their personal and professional lives so much? Certainly the cool factor plays into what brands we find acceptable from a self promotional aspect, but when your friend jumps into…”I run a full service augmented platform for…” we almost can not stop our eyes from rolling. Branson specifically has risen in popularity with the ‘love what you do and you’ll never work a day…’ platform. You can’t find any story about or by him without the underlying ideologies of Virgin.

Maybe we find this acceptable because we wanted to talk to Jobs about the next phone, or Zuck about Facebook live video and have little interest in hearing our neighbor talk about new designs of asphalt roofing shingles. Personally, I want to be at an organization that so fluidly mirrors the things I find important. I want to do something everyday that I am excited about telling other people about on the weekends and after hours. We love hiring people that see a fuzzy line between work and home which translates into this co-branding effect. Our office and personal instagram feeds are filled with people enjoying outdoor spaces both of client’s homes and on the go. Our team loves reading about and visiting the latest roof decks in Chicago...because who doesn't like to drink outside? Maybe again we are lucky that we get to do or talk about is something that is fun and has broad appeal (no asphalt shingles here) and most people seem interested in learning more. So, I will just go on pretending that I am really interesting at dinner parties, and at the office, and promote my personal accomplishments along with the company’s team successes as one in the same. We will push our co workers to have a voice that is powerful promotional tool for them and their family’s success and the organization’s.

Every leader and organization thinks about what will happen when great talent leaves the company. Some chose to do something about it by developing a strong culture to retain people and some have open door policies to encourage people to talk about career goals in order to create specific jobs. These both come back to a basic concern of losing talent and the time, money and energy it takes to replace good talent. Ok, so what does this have to do with a promotion? I am using this as a foundation to understanding the mindset of the organization and talent relationship. How this directly relates to you in a super simple statement...your boss is terrified of losing you and having to replace your skill sets on their team. Now really great leaders know this is a foregone conclusion that the chicks will eventually leave the nest and they need to prepare, but let's face it most bosses are not great leaders. They have come to rely on your performance in some way to make their life and job easier and secretly would love to keep you there forever. Here is the tricky part. Identify the things that you need to improve upon to get a promotion at the same time you are helping someone fill in for the things you would no longer be responsible for completing. The idea is to bridge the transition gap for your replacement so performance for the team/ organization does not suffer in your move. Someone always has to file reports, make coffee, and clean the toilets.

I did leave one minor but very important part out of this process. Really the cornerstone to the philosophy and theory behind a promotion...you need to be good at your job. If you haven't mastered your current position I would highly recommend against doing this as you soon might find that management likes your replacement more than you and the promotion is substituted for a pink slip.

Last important part to this process. This should be an open dialog with both your boss and the person that you are training. All parties should be on board with the process as this should add value to each individual as well as the organization. Set goals and milestones for what each person needs to learn and master to get to that next step in their career. The transparency will be surprisingly refreshing and energizing. Keep other staff members in the loop of the tasks that each individual is adding to their plate so they can adjust accordingly and you can avoid the snarky “I don't do that anymore, ask so and so to do that”.

Just remember, in order to climb the ladder someone must hold the bottom.

Co-Branding; The Non Existent Line Between Work and Home

The best way to get a promotion, hire your replacement.